How much will my credit rating go up or down? That is a very common question. But it’s often tricky to answer!
This article has some guideline numbers from Experian that may help.
These are only indications – your credit score may not go up or down by this much.
They assume nothing else has changed on your record. They also apply to single issues. If you have two defaults already, getting a third won’t be as bad … And if one of your three defaults then drops off after six years, your score won’t improve as much because there are still two remaining.
If your main concern is wanting to get credit at a good interest rate, what matters is how each lender will assess your credit history. Lenders don’t actually use the calculated credit scores! So I’ve added some notes about how lenders tend to think about these situations.
Contents
How balances & credit utilisation affects your credit score
“Credit utilisation” shows how much of the credit limit that you are using at the moment. If you have a limit of £5,000 on a credit card, your utilisation would be 20% if your balance is £1,000 and 80% with a balance of £4,000.
Credit scoring gives you extra points if you are using a low amount and deducts points if you have a high utilisation. All the numbers in this article are from Experian:
- if your balance is under 30% of your limit, you gain 90 points.
- a very low balance is even better – less than £50 or zero will gain an extra 60 points – so that’s the boost you get if you clear your balance each month.
- using over 90% of your limit loses you 50 points.
- a very high balance of over £15,000 will lose an extra 50 points.
The size of the limit itself also affects your score, but not by as much:
- A high limit of over £5,000 adds 20 points to your score
- A very low limit of less than £250 loses 40 points.
Is it the utilisation for each card or overall that matters?
It’s both! So getting the utilisation for one card below 90% – or even down to zero – won’t have major effect on your credit score if you have large balances and over 90% utilisation on your other cards.
Do overdrafts count in this calculation?
No, Experian doesn’t include overdrafts. But the amount you are using of your overdraft is counted as part of your total unsecured credit.
What do lenders think about credit utilisation?
Most lenders don’t like you to have maxed out your credit cards, it suggests that you are struggling, so why would they want to lend you more? Do some lenders prefer you to have a balance, not clear your card each month? That may be an urban myth…
Lenders usually have an extra piece of information here that doesn’t show on your credit record – your income, because you will typically have been asked for this on your application.
If you have one credit card with a low limit and you are using most of it but your income is high, you can probably get car finance at a good price. But if you have borrowed a lot compared to your income you are going to struggle to get offered more credit at a good rate.
The effect of missed payments, defaults & CCJs
- A missed payment on a bill or debt would lose you at least 80 points.
- A default is much worse, costing your score about 350 points.
- A CCJ will lose you about 250 points. (For many CCJs, there will already be a debt with a default on your record, in this case a CCJ then increases the harm to your credit record, but not by as much as 250 points.)
It doesn’t matter how large the size of the problem debt is. A £25 mobile bill has the same effect as not being able to make the repayments on a loan of ten thousand pounds.
These problems are seen as less serious if they are older. Once a default is more than two years old, the negative effect falls to 250 points, then when it is over 4 years old it drops a bit more to 200 points.
These hits to your credit rating aren’t reduced when you start to pay the debt, or even when it has been fully repaid. (There is one exception here – a CCJ is deleted completely if you pay it in CCJ in full within a month of the judgment.)
What do lenders think about defaults?
Lenders vary a lot in their attitude towards defaults:
- high-cost lenders such as payday loans and guarantor loans won’t automatically reject your application if you had a default a couple of years ago, even if it hasn’t been repaid – they are targeting people with bad credit;
- you may be rejected by some best-buy balance transfer deals if you have any defaults or missed payments, even if these are old and repaid;
- some mortgage lenders will reject people with any defaults, repaid or not, but others may offer a reasonable rate of interest if your defaults are old and they have been settled for a while.
Four small wins
Once you have big problems on your credit record such as defaults or CCJs or an IVA, only time will get rid of those “black marks”. You can’t speed this up and often the key thing is to stop any new problems being added.
But here are some small ways to boost your credit score:
- Stop applying for credit! Not making any credit applications for 6 months adds 50 points to your score.
- Keep a credit card for more than five years. This adds 20 points to your score. But if you are trying to decide which card to close, always keep a card with a lower interest rate – that’s more important than 20 points on your credit score.
- Register to vote. It’s a simple way of adding 50 points to your score.
- Pay for car insurance in monthly installments. This can increase your score by 20 points. But do check what your insurer charges. Many people are paying over 20% interest to pay monthly, with a few firms charging over 50% so this can be incredibly expensive!
There is also Experian’s Boost facility. That can add up to 66 points to your Experian Credit Score – but it isn’t clear how many lenders will actually use this new Boost data.
Four things that DON’T affect your credit score – are you surprised?
- checking your credit score – this doesn’t affect your credit score and lenders can’t see that you have done this either.
- paying off a debt that has defaulted. Most people don’t believe this, but it’s true… your credit score only looks at what has gone wrong in the past, not how you are trying to put it right. But of course, repaying the debt prevents any chance of getting a CCJ, which would mess up your credit score for another six years… See Will paying a default improve my credit rating? for details.
- Someone else at your address having bad credit. You are only financially linked to someone you have a joint loan, mortgage or current account. If you aren’t, it doesn’t matter how many letters from debt collectors arrive if they aren’t for you. Have a look at your credit reports – those problem debts won’t be showing.
- From summer 2022, BNPL data such as Klarna purchases will start to be shown on some credit reports. However these will be ignored when calculating your credit score. Even when you miss a payment and a lender such as Klarna adds a late fee, this will still not affect your credit score – but as the missed payments will show on your credit record other lenders may decide not to give you credit.
Equifax and TransUnion – the other two credit reference agencies
This article has been all about Experian’s credit score calculations.
Equifax and TransUnion are the other two major credit reference agencies in Britain. They have broadly the same approach as Experian, but their credit scores have a different maximum (if you think this is bonkers, I agree!):
- Experian’s maximum score is 999
- Equifax’s maximum score is 1000 (it used to be 700 – it was changed in 2021.)
- TransUnion’s maximum score is 710.
So a change to your score for any particular factor is going to be smaller on TransUnion than Experian. And a 500 score on Equifax is poor but it’s good if you are looking at a Clearscore report!
The major lenders like the big banks report to all three credit reference agencies. But smaller lenders may only report to one or two. So you may find that your scores and reports are very different on different reports.
If you are worried about your credit score you should check all three credit reference agencies. Luckily you can do this for free, see The best ways to check your credit score.
Improve your credit score for a mortgage
How to use a credit builder card
What should the default date be?
Jane says
Hi I have a cci which will be 6 years old on 18/07/2016, i have no other defaults or loans running. how long will it take for my rating to improve and by how much?
TIA
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your credit rating should improve in the following month. By how much will depend on the rest of your credit record.
Brad says
Hi,
Great article. I took out a student overdraft with a high street bank back in my university days and never paid it back. It was on my credit file and the default date was 2010, it dropped of my credit file in July this year and my credit score increased over the last 5/6 months.
However a company called Lowell finances have performed 8 searches on my file in the lsat month and my credit score has dropped again quite significantly. Is this legal i.e. can they search on a debt that has passed the 6 year default mark and what is my best course of action? This is stresstinv me out quite a lot as I’ve been good with my finances for years now and I am hoping to apply for a mortgage in the next few months.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is only application for credit searches that affect your credit rating. It’s seems unlikely that the Lowell searches are the cause of the fall in your credit rating. Have you looked at the details of your credit record?
Brad says
Yes I have looked and under purpose it says ‘administrative review’. It’s dropped by 34 points and there’s nothing else changed on my report apart from that.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Admin searches shouldn’t affect your rating. Are you now using a larger proportion of your credit limit on a card? Have you switched to making only minimum repayments? Has an old debt that was closed dropped off? Have you got a new card you aren’t yet using? Something else has changed…
Brad says
Yes I’m using a higher proportion of my credit limit on a card so that’s probably it. Why would Lowell be performing searches after the 6 year default date and it’s been removed off my credit file? Do I have anything to worry about and how would I find out if that debt is statute barred?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you know why Lowell’s are doing searches because of that statute barred debt? There isn’t a simple way to confirm that a debt is statute barred – you could phone national Debtline and talk it through with them?
If you want a mortgage in a few months this would be a good time to start paying off your credit card debt, not adding to it.
Kim B Smith says
Great article! I always like to go over our credit and things every year to make sure its all in check.
Mary T says
Thanks for the insight. I have two defaults on my credit file. One of the lenders agreed to remove one of the defaults. I wonder whether this will improve my rating given that I have another default? or it won’t make any impact? thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it should do. But two defaults aren’t twice as bad as one, so one going won’t halve the penalty being applied to your credit score. And if the default that is bein removed is old and the one remaining is new, perhaps not as much as you might hope.
Jay A says
I phoned experian as I have 2 defaults and they said the first one which expires this month, has no impact as they always go by the date of the oldest default
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That reply seems a little odd, it may depend on the exact wording of your question and their reply.
Jay A says
It surprised me too, however the first is due to come off this week. In the same phone call they told me, my credit file will be updated the following day after its expired, so I’ll be able to update the thread this week, with my personal experience, that being said if Mary T has any feedback on this I’d love to hear it
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it would be great if you could come back and say how much difference it did make!
Kelly s says
I have two ccjs and numerous defaults most of these things are 4 years old I looked into bankruptcy but given that will be there for 6 years I figured in less time Il be able to improve my score my self. I’ve recently added my self to electoral roll , become an authorised user on my father’s credit card and taken out a sim only contract my bank have upgraded my account and put a overdraft in place which I don’t need but is there anyway will any of this help or am I just kidding my self . I’m a single mum just had a baby so income is very low I can’t afford to pay these debts I’d have to offer a pound a week on each of them.
Thanks
Kelly
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“I’ve recently added myself to electoral roll” as the article above says, this makes a small positive difference
“become an authorised user on my father’s credit card” this won’t appear on your credit record and so won’t help your credit score. you have no liability for this, only your father has.
“taken out a sim only contract” this is unlikely to help your credit score, it is only the expensive contracts where the mobile company is effectively lending you the amount to buy a handset at the start that will help.
“my bank have upgraded my account and put a overdraft in place which I don’t need” if you don’t use it, this will help your score a small amount.
The big trouble with trying to improve your score is the defaults. If any of the lenders goes for a CCJ, then your score is wrecked for another 6 years.
do you know what the CCJs and the defaults and any other debts add up to at the moment?
Peter says
A very useful article. I have 5 defaults, all of which are over 2 years old and all of which have now been settled in the last six months. You have said that “two defaults aren’t twice as bad as one”. Is there a rule of thumb as to how much additional defaults affect a credit score? Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not really. But the time you have 5 defaults your credit record is so complicated they can be a LOT of factors at work.
Nicky says
Is the a morgage lender who lends to low credit score x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, but the interest rate will be very high and you will need a very large deposit. It’s usually better to wait and try to improve your credit score!
Steve Gain says
Hi
i have a discharged bankruptcy (bankrupt September 2011 and discharged in 2012) soon to be removed from my credit score ( September 17), and my credit score is around 380.
i also have 8 historical defaults which will remain for another 3 years maximum.
will i be able to open a normal bank account once the bankruptcy is removed and will my score improve by a larger amount ( upto good )
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what are these 8 historic defaults? Are they all debts which you incurred after your discharge?
Steve Gain says
Hi
Some of the debts were in the bankruptcy but the companies put the defaults on a year after
Some are post bankruptcy ( 2014)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The debts which were in your bankruptcy should have a default dates on or before your bankruptcy date. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/credit-file-after-bankruptcy/ for how to get this corrected. Once this is done, they will drop off when your bankruptcy goes.
With a lot of defaults on your record, the bankruptcy itself doesn’t make matters much worse. You should see some improvement when the bankruptcy goes but probably not as much as you are hoping for.
Julie Warren says
Hi. I have been trying to improve my score for most of this year and have managed to get into just over half way mark of fair from being in very poor on experian. I have 6 defaults which are all settled. 5 will be 6 years old by september 2018 while 1 has another 3 years left. I have no other negative factors on my score apart from these defaults. Will my score not improve any more now from where it is untill the defaults are gone or can i improve it any more in the mean time while waiting for the defaults to go. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have any credit showing which you haven’t defaulted on?
Julie Warren says
i have a bank account, my phone contract and my credit card. My credit card has a £1300 limit but i only spend about £50 a month on it and pay off in full each month
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Those are all the perfect things to be doing. It’s just a question of waiting for the defaults to go. Getting another credit card or a loan won’t improve your situation.
Julie Warren says
So as the defaults are the only negative thing left on my report will my score stay where it is now until they are gone or can it go up any more by continuing to keep using everything i have sensibly
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it will probably stay about where it is now. you just need to be careful to stop anything bad happening.
Julie Warren says
Will it get any better once the defaults start coming off. So will my score get any better when say only 3 are left then only the 1 left instead of it being all 6 or will it stay about the same until all 6 are gone. Does 1 default have the same negitive impact as 6 does
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It will get better after 5 defaults go but it’s unlikely to get to good. Also, when the last one will be over 4 years old, it has less impact (see post above).
Andrew says
Hi,
Thank you for the article, some useful information.
Im 32 and I dont think my credit has ever been good since I was about 18. I worked consistently from 16 whilst studying, and was soon being offered credit cards and loans which was all too tempting for a young man who wanted it all.
In hindsight, temptation allowed me to ignore the consequences. I always remembered thinking I would never need credit given how much money i always assumed i would earn (I know, naive and over confident…)
I subsequently defaulted on a couple credit cards. These were not particularly substantial amounts (couple thousand probably), but after graduating and starting to work full time, I soon repaid these debts.
Ironically, I work in trade credit risk and needless to say, now truly understand the value of a strong credit rating….
Andrew says
….
Ironically, I work in trade credit risk and needless to say, now truly understand the value of a strong credit rating.
With my two defaults expiring, I was recently landed with another; £70 from a communications provider for a service I never orderd. Having moved and unaware of subsequent communication, I eventually received communication from a debt collection agency. Having disputed the payment, the collection agent sent me a letter to confirm they had passed the account back to the provider and further advised they were sending out communication to the credit agencies advising as such.
We’re now about six weeks on and the collection agency are still reflecting as a default on my credit score. Old defaults have now cleared, but I saw very little improvement. My score is now at 615. With everything else in perfect order, would it be reasonable to expect an improvement by as much as 350 points when this is cleared (hopefully when the report next updates).
On that basis (default registered in August), I could expect my score to reach as high as 965?
Bottom line, I earn well, save a about £3k pm and want to buy a house. Deposit aside, at what level should my credit score be to approach a bank (of my choice), with confidence they will support my application.
A long worded way of asking a simple question, but perhaps someone can either relate or learn from my experience….hopefully I’m nearly there!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you using the free credit score checkers, Noddle, Clear Score etc? If you are, then you see a snapshot which is only retaken every 30 days, not your realtime credit record, so depending on timing, you may be looking at old records and yours may already have been updated. If they haven’t been updated in another couple of weeks, put in a written complaint to the DCA.
Of course the original service provider also has to delete any problems from your credit record associated with this incorrect debt. Once they have done then your credit score should indeed be several hundred points better!
The exact level of your credit score is irrelevant for a mortgage application. Earlier this year you could probably have got a mortgage at a good rate because all your defaults would have been over 3 years old and have been repaid for over a year. The problem now is not that your credit score is low but that the default is too recent – mortgage lenders like to see you have not had problems for years before lending.
“Apply to a bank of your choice” well two points. First you should avoid applying to the same bank group that either of the first two defaults were with. Even though they have vanished from your credit record the bank may be able to see them on their internal records, they may not care, but why take the risk when there are plenty of other lenders out there.
Second I would always recommend going through a broker. I probably know as much about the mortgage market as anyone who doesn’t work in it does and I would go through a broker if I needed a mortgage… Brokers can find deals you can’t see and they can also make the process of buying smoother.
Ayten says
Hi,
I would like some advice regards to improving my credit report/score.
Recently, I have disputed 2 default accounts from 2014 as these are having an impact on me obtaining credit for a mortgage. I have also been in contact with one of the banks that has issued late payments however they said they were willing to remove the late payment records as the overdraft had been cleared in 2015.
Could you please advise how much would my credit score improve if the remaining defaults were removed and the late payment? Currently my score is 335 with Equifax.
Much appreciated.
Ay
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Will there be any defaults or late payments markers after these have gone?
Ayten says
no other defaults or late payments will show
Thanks
Ayten says
Hi Sara,
No there shouldn’t be as far as I know
Thanks
Nicola says
Hi Sara,
My score with experian is just in the poor. I opened a bank account in June and took out a low balance credit card of £300 to help with the rating. I spend around £30-50 a month and pay balance in full every month by direct debit.
I have one default due to an Iva and they are both due to come off Christmas Eve this year. I was just wondering what my score is likely to increase by? I’ve been very good following credit and paying all finances on time. I am also newly registered on the electoral roll as we have just moved. Desperately want to apply for a mortgage in the next year or so but very wary at the fact they will ask if any previous Iva etc. Do they make an exception after a certain amount of time? Many thanks for your help!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you IVA and all the debts in it will disappear on Christmas Eve, your credit score should be looking good in January!
Yes many mortgage lenders will ask about previous insolvency, which includes IVAs as well as bankruptcy. I suggest you don’t apply to a mortgage lender directly but talk to a broker and explain your situation. There are lenders that will offer you a mortgage at a reasonable rate but you need to know which ones to avoid.
Nicola says
Thank you for your help! I appreciate the advice :)
Nathan says
Hi Sara,
One question regarding utilisation of credit. From your article, it seems keeping under 30% is best.
Is this in reference to utilisation against total credit, or against each specific lender?
I have a credit card with a £3000 limit drawn at 90% (£2700) and further have another 3 accounts providing an additional £10000 in credit, all undrawn. My drawndown against available credit is less than 25%, but given my high usage of one account, will my credit score be negatively affected and how much would it benefit from clearing the balance (interest free for 24 months).
Thansk.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good question! It is by individual lender. So yes your score will gain from getting that utilisation rate down to under 30% and then to zero. If it’s on interest free with 24 months to go, setting up a standing order to repay 1/24 of the current balance every month (or more?) would be a simple way to clear this.
You now have a lot of unused credit. Some is good but too much, although it is good for your credit score, may make a lender reluctant to lend more. What I usually suggest with these is closing one account or two. The ideal is to have one account, very old, with a low APR, and a credit limit of just over 5000.
Leah says
Hi my score is 537 and i need to get it to 614 to be in the “good” section.
I have up to date payments with everything, the only thing is i have a default on my account from 2013 (this has been settled in full last week) will my credit score go up now i have paid the default or do i need to wait till 2019 when the default clears from my account?
what is the likelihood of being able to get a mortgage under these circumstances?
Thanks for your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your score doesn’t matter to a mortgage lender. I suggest you read https://debtcamel.co.uk/mortgage-recent-defaults/
Thomas Prosser says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for this thread. Quick question. My score with experian is 558 and im looking for it to improve for mortgage reasons. I have one default left on the account due to expire jan 2019 with a balance of £1100. I also have two accounts with MBNA that showed late payments for the past 5 years. its onlt recently i have tried to get these to default and currently working with the FO to get these to default. I have since cleared the arrears on these accounts and for the past 4 months these have been marked as up to date. My question is, do i clear the balance in full on both these accounts (approx £800) or pay monthly to get these to £0 over the next year, is the up to date payment helping? and also when the final default drops off early 2019, will i see a significant rise in my credit score (assumed 300 points). I have also contested this default as i belive it should have defaulted 2 years earlier. I was hoping to get a mortgage so thinking early 2019 will be my best time to apply. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The sooner they are paid the better. MBNA can be very difficult about adding defaults. The final default going will increase your credit score but you also need to settle the debt – partially will be fine – so you don’t get a CCJ.
If you clear the MBNA debts now then by the time the last dafault goes in 2019 the MBNA debts will have been settled for over a year which is good for a mortgage application.
Thomas Prosser says
Thanks sara, i have a payment plan in place with the final default, its about £1100. will write to them and ask for a settlement and hopefully save a bit of money. so potentially once this drops off in jan my score could be around the 800 mark? one final question the mbna debts which havent defaulted say “DMP” in the description, once paid off will this have a negative effect when im ready for a mortage? will the highstreets touch me? thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What your score is doesn’t actually matter for a mortgage. Each mortgage lender has their own way to evaluate your application, including your credit history. What happens to your credit score will depend on what happens to the MBNA debts, with to debts in a long-term debt management, you aren’t likely to have a score of 800. If you can get defaults added of before Jan 2013, obviously they will disappear.
Yes, the MBNA debts will affect your credit score and a mortgage application even once they have been paid off. getting them paid off is your top priority, if you can repay them now, then debts will have been settled for more than a year by the time you apply for a mortgage. If there is nothing else wrong on your credit record, then you be OK for a mortgage but you MUST go through a mortgage broker, not apply direct to a high street lender.
Zara says
Hi there, my score is 699 and I need it to get to 721-881 which is either fair or ideally good. I don’t have any previous debts. I have one defaulted account which defaulted in April 2014 and paid off by July 2014, almost 4 years ago. How badly is this affecting my credit score? Is there any way I can improve my score from here? Will I be rejected for my first time bying a home with my husband?
This credit score stuff is very stressful. Thank
You to anyone with any answers.
Zara
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As the article above says, a default over 2 years old will typically reduce your credit score by 250 points.
BUT there are plenty of mortgage lenders that will give you a mortgage at a good rate because the default is over 3 years old and has benn paid off more than a year. Some won’t… so make sure you go through a mortgage broker, not direct to a bank.
zara says
Thank you very much for this help – I’m in the process of disputing the default so we will see what happens next.
Thanks again for your quick response
Zara
Lee says
Does a car finance refusal affect credit score?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Credit searches when you apply for a loan have a small effect on your credit score, but it isn’t shown if credit was declined. the search history disappears after 12 months.
S says
Hi,
I currently have two defaults on my credit file. Both these defaults are the same debt, registered once by the original creditor and once by the debt collection company. The debt is satisfied. They were first registered on 17/11/2012, so will be off my file this year. However, I am wondering whether there is any point in seeing if I can get one of the companies to remove theirs now, as they are for the same debt. I haven’t had any serious issues in almost two years and am working hard to improve my rating every month – what are your thoughts? My current credit rating is 617 with Experian.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It may look like 2 defaults, but there will be a marker against the debt with the original creditor which says that it was sold to someone who reports to the credit reference agencies… this means that this debt is ignored in calculations of your credit score and by lenders deciding whether to lend to you.
So no, there is no point in bothering about this as it is correct and isn’t harming your credit score. Come December 2018 it will all be gone.
Simon says
Hi. I have an old default that is due to drop off my credit file in 3 weeks. I have no other defaults and have kept up to date with everything else on my report. I am about to apply for car finance but have decided to wait 3 weeks until the default is older than 6 years. I was wondering if this default even though very old still effects my score (200 points) and if my score will improve as soon as the 6 years has passed.
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, the improvement in your credit score should be immediate once it drops off after 6 years. If you are using one of the free credit score checkers such as Noddle, these are snapshots that are only taken every 30 days, so if you check immediately afterwards you may still be seeing the same snapshot as previously.
Vaughn says
We are wanting to get a mortgage this year with a LTV under 70%. My partners credit score is shocking and I can’t work out how to get it up. It’s 294 , he has no defaults or ccjs no missed payments. He has just lost 150 points for a high utilisation so once this is cleared in the next month this will hopefully go back to 450s out of 999 but still very poor. I’ve done all the usual things advised over the last year , taken a credit card now has £5k total , pays a handset loan type mobile contract. Only thing we don’t have is a home phone but have virgin showing on his report. I’m at a loss of how to get this up over 450???
I have a ccj from 3 years ago for £300 satisfied (incidently this was a past house that was rented out and I wasn’t on the electrol roll their but the ccj was sent there and so knew nothing about it) and a default for £45 un satisfied from 4 years ago which I’m going to dispute and satisfy. Low utilisation and mine is 457.
Other forums say your credit score means nothing but this really doesn’t seem the case as all places seem to take me to subprime mortgages!
I can’t work out how people who have ivas and have been bankrupt can have scores in the 700s?
Any help please
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A LTV of under 70% – so you have a large amount of savings? If you do, all your current debts should be cleared. You do not want to have a balance on any credit card or catalogue or ever use any of your overdraft. The best way to max your credit score is to use a credit card for a small amount every month and repay it in full every month, not carry a balance at all.
The mystery of your partner’s low score – is his record linked to yours in any way? If it is, your CCJ will be harming his score.
Your score is not going to be good whilst that CCJ is on there – paying the CCJ doesn’t actually improve your credit score. The 4 year old default – why haven’t you sorted this out before now? Unless you can get it deleted, it is not just a problem for your credit score, it is a big problem for any mortgage application.
Your credit score isn’t in itself important for a mortgage application, but all the problems on your credit record are factors that a mortgage lender may be interested in… With a CCJ and a default which has only recently been paid you are going to struggle.
People with bankruptcy and IVAs on their credit record don’t have scores in the 700s and don’t get mortgages.
Sham says
Hi Sara,
I have almost 18k of credit cards default sitting in my credit report (5 default creditors) and it’s almost gonna be 5 years in 2018.. it’s because of large sum I been wit DMP for last 5 years.. I been maintain my payment ms ever since.. I am wondering after 5 years when it’s cleared from credit file do I still need to make payment through DMP???
Is there are any chance of my credit scoring will get better ???? I really wanted to go for mortgage by 2020…
please advise me…
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“do I still need to make payment through DMP?”
YES see https://debtcamel.co.uk/paying-old-debt/ which explains why.
“Is there any chance of my credit scoring will get better ???? I really wanted to go for mortgage by 2020…”
Your credit record will get a LOT better when the defaults drop off in 2019 after 6 years. BUT that doesn’t mean you will be able to get a mortgage because your DMP will still be running, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/dmp-mortgage/
One option may be for you to offer full and final settlements to the debts? This would be using some of the money you wanted to use for a deposit, but you simply aren’t going to get a mortgage until your DMP debts are settled.
Michael Bainbridge says
Hi,
I entered into an IVA in November 2012 which was to last for 6 years. This was paid off in April 2017 with a lump sum offer. I have 3 Defaults on File which as a result of my circumstances are due to drop off in November 2018 as this was linked to my IVA, and 2 in 2019 all paid off.
I currently have 3 x credit cards with limits of £500, £400 and £300. I use only one of these with the intention of getting a better credit limit, as I would ideally like to apply for a mortgage in November. With these items dropping off in November and the Defaults showing as paying by then, am I right in thinking that my score will increase markedly from 599 (Experian), providing I keep my repayment history in good order?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The defaults in 2019 – were these for debts in your IVA?
Michael Bainbridge says
The ccj which is due to drop off in November is as this is the same time as my IVA drops from my file. The other 2 defaults were as a result of an oversight due to stress and depression as a result of my situation at the time.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry but do you mean the 2 other defaults were for debts that should have been included in your IVA but weren’t? Or for debts that you took out after your IVA started?
With these defaults not going until 2019, your credit record isn’t going much past 700 until they are gone. So i am asking to see if the default dates could be changed.
But yes, you probably will be able to apply for a mortgage at the end of the year as all your defaults will have been repaid for over a year and the IVA marker will have disappeared. Make sure you go through a broker and you need to avoid applying to anyone whose debts were included in your IVA.
Michael Bainbridge says
Hi Sara, yes they weren’t included on my IVA as I forgot about them. I have written to the companies concerned yo see if they will remove as a good will gesture as it’s been paid and as the IVA affects my situation anyway. Hopefully they will be kind.
Thanks for your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Also check to see if the default date should be earlier, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/
John says
Hi there – I have a poor credit score currently but I have a CCJ on there that is dated January 31st 2012 and which was satisfied in OCtober2013 – will the 6 year rule apply to the date it was lodged or the date it was satisfied? If it comes off at the end of this month what sort of increase should I see in my credit score? Also I have 2 late payments on a CC 3 months ago (upto date for the last 3 months) what effect will these be having on the score and how long will it affect the score? Thanks in advance. J
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The CCJ will disappear 6 years after the date of the judgment – so Jan 31 2018.
I can’t really guess how much your credit score will jump – could you come back and tell us as other people would be really interested?
I think late payments that you have caught up on only damage your score for about a year.
John says
Thanks Sarah – counting the days down to the 31st of this year then haha. Will come back and let people know for sure. On a separate note I used your templates for payday loan reclamation and got notification last week of a significant sum coming back to us from Wonga and that they are also wiping all their loans from my credit score!!! 2018 will hopefully be a new start to things.
Elizabeth Nutburn says
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for this interesting article.
My husband and I are trying to buy a house, my credit score on Experian is 905/999 and his is 507/999.
He has 4 defaults on his report.
1 of them is due to come off at the end of January 2018, one in July 2018, one in December 2018 and then one that I am disputing with Experian, as the settled date (he made a partial settlement in June/July 2016) is 08/06/2022.
I have read that some banks will give you a mortgage with up to 3 defaults on your account. Is this true? We only have a 20% deposit, so we have to wait for his score to go up and I don’t want to go with a non-high street bank.
Is it true that the date of defaults is the ‘settled’ date on Experian, or do I need to get my husband to contact them and ask for specific dates that they will come off his credit report.
One default came off in December and his score only rose 155 points…..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“1 of them is due to come off at the end of January 2018, one in July 2018, one in December 2018”
Tthese would have had default dates of Jan 2012, July 2012 and Dec 2012. Have all these debts been repaid? When were they settled?
“one that I am disputing with Experian, as the settled date (he made a partial settlement in June/July 2016) is 08/06/2022.”
there is never any point in disputing something with Experian – you have to get the creditor to correct it.
It sounds from the dates you have given that no default date was ever added for this debt, so it is going to drop off 6 years after it was settled. What was this debt? When did he stop paying it?
“I have read that some banks will give you a mortgage with up to 3 defaults on your account. Is this true?”
I am not aware of any banks using that to make decisions about lending. Most banks want to know that the problems happened at least 3 years ago AND that they have now been sorted out for at least a year.
“One default came off in December and his score only rose 155 points…..” That isn’t surprising when he had other defaults on his account.
Elizabeth Nutburn says
Hi,
In response to your first question, they have been repaid with a settlement figure in June/July 2016.
In response to your second question, I don’t think that he ever repaid it…. That’s why I need to query the default date, as on the report it’s showing the settled date as 08/06/2016. The other defaults show as “settled” in the same year they were taken out.
Should I get him to ring the lender then and get them to update the information so that his credit report is then updated?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m not asking when he settled the second debt, I want to know what sort of debt it is and when he originally stopped paying it.
Jamie says
Hi Sara,
I currently have car finance at c.£34k, this is being displayed as a negative impact on my Experian file. If I was to reduce this to less than £30k (which Experian suggests would remove this as a negative factor on my file) will this have much of an impact on my credit score? My current score is 676, Ideally i’d like to get my score to +721.
Many Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Having a balance at over 90% of a credit limit damages your credit record by 50 points. That is presumably why Experian are suggesting paying more to the car finance. But if you have multiple problems on your credit score, tackling just one may not have that much impact. So you also need to ask yourself what the other issues are?
Why do you want to get your credit score up to 721+ ? No lenders actually use Experian’s calculated score… are you trying to get a mortgage? Or a balance transfer?
Jamie says
Hi Sara, yes I’m trying to get a mortgage.
I was approved at the rate and LTV that I need on a property with the same value last year, my credit score then was 725. The sale fell through so the move didn’t happen. The only thing that has changed on my credit file in the last year is the car finance agreement. Appreciate the Experian score isn’t exactly what the lender will be using but reducing the outstanding balance below £30k will remove the negative factor and take me below 90% of the total credit agreement, I would expect the score to then recover to the same level it was and put me in the same position I was in last January?
I do have a default on my file, it expires in September 18, this affects my score but the age of it shouldn’t affect my application as I already have a mortgage with the same lender.
Thanks for your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well perhaps….but the other thing that has changed is you taking out car finance for such a huge amount may have affected the affordabilty calculations.
simon says
Once a default is removed will my report gain 200 points ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If that was the only problem on your account, yes it should. If there are multiple problems, the effect of each isn’t just added up. For example if you have CCJs and are now in an IVA with all your other debts having been marked as defaulted, you may get hardly any improvement by just getting rid of one default.
Sara West says
Hi Sara
In early 2013 I lost my job and was out of work for 5 months, at that time I informed my 3 credit card companies of my situation and for a few months we agreed to not paying anything and then as soon as I got a job, I made arrangements to pay them at their agreed amount.
Looking at my report, 1 of the cards is showing ‘arrangement to pay’ and shows I have been paying each month since 2013. The other two are showing as ‘default’ and not showing any payments at all since 2013 despite the fact I have been paying them as per our agreement
I have been in touch with these two companies and asked them to update my credit file to show that I have been paying and that we have an ‘arrangement to pay’
If they do this, will this then improve my credit score, that is presently stilling at 274 (on the threshold of Poor and Very Poor)?
thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What are the default dates on the 2 debts? Is the balance showing correct?
Sara West says
the dates are may 2013 and both of the companies have come back to me and stated it needs to stay as default even though i have agreed payments with them – so i think, given it will be 6 years in May 2019, I am best just waiting for them to drop off and the credit rate will then change – I have been in this state for 5 years now, another year is not going to harm
as for the balance, I would need to check, the companies did say that they were updating the amount owed to experian etc each month
thanks sara
AD says
Hi Sara,
Great work on answering queries. Thank you.
I have checked my equifax credit score and it is 329(poor) and my experian score is 886….
I have one default with defaulted date in Nov 2014. so once this is removed, would it help my score significantly? How much approx on Equifax and how much on Expedia?
My credit card limit is £750… and utilisation is 66%. I made one off payment and Got it to 0. How many points this will add to(approx) I know there are other calc involved?
Also, In 2017, I have late Water bill payment… First was paid after 3rd reminder(in march), second was paid after 1 reminder(july) and third one was paid after 1 reminder(Jan2018). The problem was not with the cash flow but due to non set up of direct debit. Also, my personal circumstances were not great and I wasnt really checking letters. Only when i got a text from them, I repaid everytime in bulk and there is no default or debt.But the bottom of the story is that I was late. Will this be a major issue considering my all other payments-2 personal loans(one worth £15,000 and other worth £4000), my credit card and other utilities like internet, gas, electricity were in time….. Infact the I paid Settled the loans early.
What are my chances of getting mortgage?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is the default showing on Experian? Have you repaid this debt? Have you set up the Water DD now?
The “numbers” for credit card utilisation are given in the article above, but those aren’t exact when there are other problems (defaults, late payments) showing.
When are you hoping to get a mortgage?
AD says
The default does not show on experian… only on equifax…. Experian negetive point says that credit card limit is less than £1000…. also highlights high utilisation…. How can I improve that?
I have now set up direct debit… the company in question is Thames Water..I called them and explained that my personal circumstances were not great in 2017…then they checked my previous records when i used to use thames water.. this was in 2012-2014… during this period, my records are spotless… So the lady has provided a note on my account for their credit internal credit team… dont know if they will consider taking them off….
Regarding the debt, the company has raised a dispute and hopefully this will be taken off.. what should I do here?
I am looking to take a mortgage in next 6 months…. Is this a good time?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have paid off the credit card so the utilisation should improve.
You are going to struggle to get a mortgage at a reasonable rate with a default and 3 late payments in the last year showing on your credit record.
jake says
Hi,
I am going to apply for mortgage in March 2018. Currently I have got a credit score of 725(Experian) & 385(Equifax). I have one settled default dated 08/03/2012 which will hopefully be removed by 8th next month. Secondly, there is one late cc payment in last 6 years which occurred in January 2017 due to some misunderstanding from my side.
1. Will my Experian score significantly increase once my default is removed approx. 200 points as you mentioned?
2. Do lenders take late payment serious which is older than a year and only one is last 6 years?
3.Is it possible if I contact with my bank to remove late payment as goodwill gesture(Current CC utilization is Nil for this bank)?
4.I have got credit cards & overdrafts worth 24k and my credit utilization is 29% at the moment. If reduced will it increase my score? (One credit card has 85% utilization while rest are Nil or under 30%). My utilization in March’s credit report will be under 10% as I have already made more payments.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much your credit score changes depends on what else is happening at the time, but it should certainly jump a lot if that is your only default.
But is that default showing on your Experian credit record? If it is, what else is showing on your Equifax report to make that score so much lower?
Lenders case less about older late payments, especially if there is only one, but each lender will have their own views on this. Most won’t care about a single late month over a year ago. It is HIGHLY unlikely your bank will remove the late payment as a goodwill gesture.
You can obsess too much about credit scores. just pay down your credit carsds as much as possible. If you have several at Nil, thinking about closing at least one of them – try to keep older cards that have a low interest rate – as some mortgage lenders don’t like you to have too much available credit even though it won’t affect your score.
jake says
Thank you for your reply. I have matched Equifax and Experian. Both have similar information except E-On direct debit which is only showing on Equifax, there is not any late payment on E-on account though. Equifax is showing late payment 13 months ago as a negative point (Amber colour) while Experian is not considering it as negative anymore. Default is on both report. Credit score on Equifax & Experian both are fair.
The month before late payment I paid 3k into the credit card, if lender can see the payments made against the cc then it should be understandable that there was not any financial difficulty which triggered the late payment.
I can close credit cards but as all of these were opened more than 2 years ago so would it not affect the average age of my cards which is currently 53 months, especially if I close card with higher interest rate which was opened more than 8 years ago?
Secondly, I checked Experian credit score of my partner. Her score is 957 with one negative point (She is not registered with Voter at our current address). Will registering for vote increase the score further?
She has also got 3 credit cards worth 27k but utilization is below 10% and one account has -100 (overpaid) balance since last year and there is no activity at all, but that is also around 9 years old cc with 3k limit, not sure whether closing it will be worth it. I have asked her to visit the bank to withdraw the overpayment though.
Apologise for taking your time.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Credit scores aren’t that important for mortgage lenders. And they do care if you have large amounts of unused credit. I suggest you and your partner should be reducing unused credit a lot! keeping older cards rather than newer ones is only a pretty marginal factor in credit scoring anyway. I would definitely keep the cheapest card – if one is 18% and one is 19% then keep the older one.
jake says
Hi Sara, thank you for your reply. My default has been removed today and my credit score has increased by 190. My credit score at the moment is 981, I hope my lender will calculate the score in the same way.
Tim says
Hi Sara,
I have a question regarding my overdraft with my bank. I have a £2000 overdraft and unfourtunatley am stuck in it.
Lloyds charge me daily for being in it (new policy) even though its a planned overdraft.
even when i am paid i am still in it but it sits at -£50 is this affecting my credit score and should i get out of it quickly would i see an improvement?
thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you stay in your authorised overdraft, this isn’t harming your credit score.
But yes, you should try to get out of it asap! First because it’s incredibly expensive. Second because although it won’t harm the headline credit score number, it may still make other lenders less likely to give you credit. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/overdraft/ for some ideas.
MHDJ says
I had a £2500 overdraft with Lloyds when the new charges came in place – stressed I was going to fall into further debt I rang and voluntarily put myself in collections department with my account. All charges and interests were frozen and I’m paying it off over a set period, each month the overdraft reducing so I have no choice and don’t dip into the money. I did have the benefit of having a separate account which my salary and bills come out off so use this on a day to day basis and have my overdraft account sitting ticking over and reducing each month. Once this is paid off, in October this year, the account will be closed. So far I am seeing a slight increase on points each month on my credit file which I am assuming is down to the overdraft reducing. Just got a couple of defaults and a credit card to be paid off and i’m hoping my credit score will sky rocket by the end of the year with debts paid off.
Ali says
Hi Sara
Love this site!
I wonder if you have any advice on the following….
I am looking to purchase a new vehicle soon and have been doing regular checks of both Experian and Equifax of my CR…
Last week I had a bankruptcy fall off my credit report which increased my Experian by 77 points putting it to 688 (just below fair)
I am up to date with all current credit accounts and have a capital one cc which I took out to help me rebuild my credit.. I hardly use it now.. it’s sitting at a limit of £200 and with a zero balance.
Is it worth me cancelling this to improve my credit-worthiness?
Also.. I have queried Equifax as they have my credit utilasation at 453%?! I have no idea where they have gotten this from?!
I do have one outstanding default which I will be clearing ASAP. And another settled default which will be falling off in July this year..
Any advice you have would be amazing!
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A card with a limit of under £250 harms your credit record, so you could close it or ask for it to be increased to say £400?
“I do have one outstanding default which I will be clearing ASAP. And another settled default which will be falling off in July this year..” good, it won’t affect your score but it may increase your chance of car finance.
“And another settled default which will be falling off in July this year…” it sounds to me as though this debt was in your bankruptcy? In which case it should have had a default date not later than your bankruptcy – see https://debtcamel.co.uk/credit-file-after-bankruptcy/.
Ali says
Hi Sara,
I closed off the cap1 and now my credit score on Experian has dropped from 688 to 615?!
I now have no active revolving credit.
Would it be worth me reapplying for another cc short term or not?
I don’t want to apply for a cc and then Car finance or vice versa over a short period of time so I’m now a little confused as to my next move.
Thanks again for taking the time to reach out.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
With 2 defaults on your credit record still, those are your main problem. If you don’t need to apply for credit soon, waiting until they have gone will be a big improvement. You could then apply for a better credit card?
Ali says
Hi Sara these are Experian’s positive/negative points on my record as it stands today..
+ The average age of your credit accounts is 47 months.
+Your total non-mortgage credit balance is £0.00
+You are using 2 non-mortgage credit accounts
+You have not made any credit applications in the last 6 months.
-You have a defaulted or delinquent account
Would the defaults still out weigh the positives?
Thanks again
Craig says
Hi Sara,
I am just starting to rebuild my credit rating. Destroyed it during the recession sadly. Experian score is 156 right now……
I have a ccj due to come off June this year. I Was wondering how this will affect my rating. Will it increase my score or will it simply look better to lenders?
Also, I’ve recently set up direct debits for everything. I have a pay monthly mobile phone, virgin etc and am paying off 2 relatively small defaults.
I was just wondering how long does it take on average to rebuild a credit score? Seems like I’ve got very long wait on my hands thanks to my 20 year old self….
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The CCJ dropping off will improve your score. But 156 is very low – you must have other CCJs? Or defaults? When will they drop off? Knowing those dates is vital.
Craig Sneddon says
The 4 debts I’ve started paying off are still showing default. I’ve only just started paying them off so not sure if that’s why.
Also should probably explain that I gained
A bit of debt and defaulted quote a bit during the recession. I was a bricklayer and the industry died over night and ended up in a but of a hole so pretty much his from it.
So although my file shows 4 defaults there may have been more but may have been wiped since.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So check your credit records – you want to know what the default date is on each debt.
Craig says
2 show july/August 2012 and the others are early 2017.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The 2012 ones will disappear in July / August this year.
But the others are there for another 5 years unless you can get the default dates changed to be earlier, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/
ABDUL says
Hi I do have debt total of£38k with 10 different creditors LOANS +Credit cards , 9 of them defaulted and one I got CCJ , in which 8 of my defaulted account not showing into my credit report even I am paying £1 to each except my ccj account which I am not paying at all.I DO HAVE ALL THESE DEBT SINCE 2010 . For the defaulted account can I go for full and final settlement , as well as ccj account. I dont know what to do as I dont have any good job now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have any money for full and final settlements? Do you own a house?
Rebecca says
Hi,
I have a poor credit rating from when I was a student and store cards and overdrafts were too tempting.
I have a default on my file for £422 from 2012 but also a CCJ of £422 from 2012. Is this the same debt?
It will drop off at the end of this year so I am assuming things will improve? My only concern is if the debt is with different companies and I get a last minute CCJ.
My score is 535 with Noddle currently.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it looks like it might be the same debt. You could contact the court to find out who the claimant was on the CCJ to be sure.
Yes your score should get better when they go – by how much depends on what remains on your record.
Stacey says
Hi Sarah,
After not checking my credit for several years, I joined Experian in Dec 2017 to check my likelihood of being approved for a travel credit card that I needed to go abroad that month. I was over the moon to see that I managed to get an excellent credit rating of 989! (I had recently gotten a high paid job)
I was approved for a travel Barclaycard which I received in December (my score then went up to 990 in Jan). I then committed what I now realise was a rookie mistake and applied for another card – an Amex chargecard (my thinking was that the barclaycard was for travel and the amex would be for normal use). In Feb my score then decreased massively from 990 to 919.
I’m assuming this was due to opening 2 credit accs within 3/6 months? (There have been no other changes and my credit utilisation is kept low)
My questions are:
-Can opening 2 accs cause such a big hit? And after the 6 month period when the accs have aged will my score increase? (I am planning on applying for another mortgage)
Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes two new lots of credit in a short space of time does harm your credit score. It should be on the mend again after 6 months. The best thing is to repay both cards in full every month, not run a balance at all.
Stacey says
Thanks so much for your reply Sarah,
So when you say ‘on the mend again after 6 months’ – do you think it will jump back up as dramatically as it fell or only creep back up? A hit of 70 points is a lot and I’m wondering if it is only going to creep back up slowly…
By the way – I have been and plan to continue clearing all my balances well in time and keeping my debt to income ratio low
Thanks!
Max says
Hi,
I had an old default on the last repayment on a gadget loan from Curry’s PC World for 69.99. I missed the last payment, moved house and never heard from them again. I was recently approached by a company called Lowell that had bought the debt. This has smashed my credit score right down (again, apparently) as the default has now reappeared on my credit report.
I would like to know how best to regain my credit points – or is my score permanently ruined by a default? Can my credit score only reach a particular height now due to a couple of late payments (living that university life) and this one default?
Thanks,
Max
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“ the default has now reappeared on my credit report.” how old is this default?
Max says
January 2014. I realise this is within the 6 year window but there was no record of it with either Noddle, Equifax, ClearScore or Experian until last month when Lowell purchased the debt. So I’m just confused and want to know why my score has suddenly dropped if the default has been on my record for 4 years already.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hard to say. Perhaps Curry’s didn’t report the debt to the CRAs? But if you agree you owe the money (do you?) and the default date is Jan 2014 and you think that is correct, there is no reason to challenge the record Lowell has added.
A record with a default date of 2014 will drop off your credit file in 2020. Until then the best thing is to pay it asap, so the balance is zero – this doesn’t improve your credit score but may increase your chance of getting any credit – it also prevents a CCj which would wreck your score for another 6 years.
Craig says
Hi,
I have a settled CCJ on my credit file (settled on 24/08/16) which is due to drop off on 13/11/18, I am looking to get a mortgage September/October time. Am I better waiting until December for this to disappear? or will it take time to improve my credit file? I have no other negatives on my file, and one Credit Card with a limit of £6200 and that balance is cleared every month.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can talk to a broker in September or October but you are likely to find it easier to get a good mortgage offer in December. The CCj should drop off your credit record immediately the 6 years is passed.
Craig says
Thank you.
Mandy says
Hi Sara,
On Saturday (2 days ago), I made on application for credit. Before this, I had not applied for credit in over a year and therefore had no hard searches on my credit reports. I have just this minute checked my Experian credit report and my score has gone down by 46 points! This is what it says (copied and pasted):
Your Experian Credit Score has decreased by 46 due to:
1 changes on your credit report
You have made a new credit application. This has had a negative effect on your Experian Credit Score.
Isn’t 46 points a bit much for a single credit search? Is this normal?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Those credit reports tend to just pick one thing that has changed, there will have been others at the same time. Apply for and taking out new credit always harms your credit score a bit.
Mandy says
Strange. The only thing I can see is that one of my old accounts dropped off, reducing the average age of my accounts from 17 to 16. That might be enough to do it.
Karen says
Hi
I have a default on my account which is due to drop off June 2018, my equifax score is 315, once removed (no other bad credit) how many points should my score increase by ?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
At 315 your Equifax credit score is currently rated Poor. It may well get up to Good when the default goes – it will depend on what else is on your credit record. Your credit score can be harmed by things such as making too many credit applications or having a high utilisation rate on your credit cards, not just late/missed/default markers. Why don’t you come back and say next month, as other people would be interested to know!
Karen says
Hi
Thanks for the response, I will come back to you next Month !
Lovi kang says
Hi
I had default in 2014 bcoz of medical reasons
And then arranged payment plan with them and now cleared ALL but my credit score is very poor although i have decent income over £20k
Will i be accepted for mortgage please and if yes what % of deposit will i need to put in
Thanks LOVI
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/mortgage-recent-defaults/ which looks at this situation.
It’s likely to be hard to get a mortgage unless your deposit is 10% or more.
LOVI KANG says
I have 15% deposit at the moment
Will that be enough for yes
As some people saying me for 20 or 25 % deposit ,
So what deposit I need for definitely yes for mortgage please
And at noddle my credit score is 565
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As the article I linked to in your previous comment says, it depends on how long ago the debts were settled and the individual lender. I suggest you talk to a good broker.
Albert says
Hi Sara, I have been on a DMP for over 6 years, have been paying £ 250 amonth. All defaulted over 6 years ago and don’t show on my credit files. However, I have a ccj dated 2012 which i settled in 2014. I think it will come off my credit file this year. Have a very bad credit score at the moment 532 at Noddle. Will my score better after the ccj comes off my credit file?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, your score will improve when the CCJ drops off – but actually 532 isn’t a “very bad” credit score at Noddle, as their maximum score is only 710.
Can I ask how long there is to go until your DMP ends?
hayley says
Hi Sarah
I have 2 defaults that drop of today, how much will my score increase by, i have good histroy apart from that
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It depends what credit report you are looking at – the figures in the above article are for Experian reports. Also I am afraid on the details of the rest of your report – do you have loans and credit cards where you have made all the repayments on time, how much of the credit card limits are you using etc.
What don’t you come back in a couple of weeks and say what happened in your case? people love to hear actual numbers!
Ben says
Hi , I recently checked my credit report and have noticed I have a ccj against me. I think it may of been for an unpaid parking ticket, the report says I have £250 unsatisfied judgement from 8 months ago. I am willing to pay this and am aware that this will be on my report for six years , but will it increase my score if it shows as satisfied on my report? Thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Paying the CCJ will not increase your credit score but it will prevent you from being visited by bailiffs and it may make some lenders more prepared to give you further credit.
Kev says
Hi, I have a CCJ on my file that from 21/6/12, it was discharged after i paid it on 21/8/14. Will this be removed from my credit file from the Judgement date or from the Discharged date.
As its an old CCJ will my rating increase by much? this is the only blemish i have on my record.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
6 years from 21/6/12 … bet you can’t wait! It should make a good difference, why not come back and say what happens in your case – other people love to hear actual stories.
Katie says
I have 1 late payment on my credit file and my husband has 2 on his we both changed banks and wasn’t in the ball these were paid and we have now paid the complete balances and closed these accounts I know they stay on your credit file for 6 years but how long till we see an improvement of our score and how much would it potentially go up by?
We only need his to go up slightly for us to be able to apply for a mortgage (his defaults will come off in 6 months)
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how long ago were these late payments? will they be the only problems on your credit records when his defaults drop off? Also has he repaid the defaulted debts?
Sally says
Hi my credit limit on my credit card has just increased from £200 to £1400 will this increase my credit score my balance is £300
Sara (Debt Camel) says
An increase to the previous small credit limit will help your score. How much will depend on what has happened to your credit utilisation – if that has gone down (it’s now under 25%) that will help too.
Sally says
I intended to clear the balance on pay day. I know it would be an estimate but what sort of increase do you think I’m looking at? I’m currently 493 thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It really does depend on what else is on your credit report. Also if that’s an Experian score, so it’s out of 999, or Equifax/Call Credit which are out of about 700. Why not come back and say what did happen? People love to hear actual reports.
S says
I have entered into an arrangement with a credit card provider for 12 months to help with reducing the balance of the account.. how much of an impact will this have on my credit score
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who is the lender? Have they frozen interest? And how long will it take you to pay off the whole balance, not just reduce it?
S says
hi
its Capital One
they have frozen interest and charges for 12 months
the balance is £900
I have agreed £20 a month for 12 months and then i will increase to £50 a month to clear.
Gary says
Hi Sara, wonderful site!
I have a Default for Car Finance which shows ‘Default Date’ of 04/09/12, for which I paid a partial settlement offer of £800 for a £1542 debt on 19/08/15. ‘Default Satisfaction Date shows as 19/08/15’, with a Balance as £0. The finance company also sent me a letter saying “Please accept this letter as confirmation that this debt has been Satisfied in full and further monies outstanding will not be written off without any further liabilities to you.”
My questions is that after 04/09/18, when in theory the default drops off, can they apply for a CCJ for the £742 shortfall? The history shows as ‘Last updated: 28/10/2015’ with the previous 37 months from that date as a Default. Am I safe to assume that this will all disappear forever a month or so after 04/09/18? Plus will this also lead to a significant increase in my credit score?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The finance company also sent me a letter saying “Please accept this letter as confirmation that this debt has been Satisfied in full and further monies outstanding will not be written off without any further liabilities to you.”
is there a typo there? Should it have said “further monies outstanding will be written off without any further liabilities to you.” ?
Gary says
Sorry Sara, yes that is typo. It should read:
“Please accept this letter as confirmation that this debt has been Satisfied in full and further monies outstanding will now be written off without any further liabilities to you.”
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good!
“when in theory the default drops off, can they apply for a CCJ for the £742 shortfall?” No!
“am I safe to assume that this will all disappear forever a month or so after 04/09/18?” yes
“will this also lead to a significant increase in my credit score?” well that depends what else is on your credit record. If there are a lot of problems, losing one won’t make much difference. If it is your only problem then yoes there should be a jump.
Gary says
My score was showing as ‘717’ 24 months ago. When I did a like for like comparison today I noticed that my score has dropped to ‘705’ even though I have had no adverse credit in that time. Could this be due to:
**Me moving 16 months ago and not registering on the Electoral Role
**A NEW Car Finance I took out in October 2017 not showing on the Experian Report for some reason
**There only being a total of 3 things showing on my Experian Credit Report, the 3 being – BTL Mortgage (up to date last 40 months), Virgin Media account (ended Dec 2016 with no adverse history), and the Default I mentioned in earlier (satisfied 19/08/15’)
So the above shows no ongoing problems from what I can see apart from the lack of activity.
Based on the above staying the same and the Default falling off after 04/09/18, what sort of jump should I see on Credit Score?
(sorry for the simplistic questions)
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Moving and now not being on the electoral roll could cause that small drop.
New car finance probably doesn’t show as that lender doesn’t report to Experian.
I never at guess at what a jump someone might get – why don’t you come back here and report on it?
Frankie says
Hi Sara,
I have two closed and fully settled accounts for a loan and a credit card that were in an arrangement to pay from 2011 which I paid in full in December 2017. Everything that is an open account is all up to date on my credit file. I realised the AP markers will show for 6 years but wondered when they have less impact on the score – is it after 12 months, with no further payment difficulties on open accounts of course? Do things generally improve after every 6 months or so? Or does the score remain bad for 6 more long years? I opened a bad credit card account in 2015 which I use regularly and pay off in full and they have recently increased the limit to £1250. My Experian score is 868, Clearscore 376, Noddle 550. Would I have any chance of getting a mortgage if I use a broker – I now have a deposit of £50,000 but as I am 49 I am not sure what age they will lend to? Many thanks,
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who were the loan and credit card with? Were you only paying low amounts at the start of the AP?
Frankie says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the quick reply,
The loan was originally with Egg then sold to IDEM and was reported as AP from the start (£15pm) and right up till I managed to get a PPI payment and pay it off in December 2017. The credit card was Barclaycard and they had it marked as 6 months late from 6 years ago until 3.5 yrs ago when it changed to geen ‘up to date’ monthly markers but still in AP. My payments were £5 pm the whole time until I paid it all off in December 2017 again with a lump sum from the PPI.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, well you can probably get Barclaycard to add a default date back when it started to be 6 months late – if this is over 6 years ago, the debt will promptly disappear from your credit record. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/. Worth trying as well with Egg.
Can you get a mortgage now? Well 50k sounds like a hefty deposit, so it may be worth talking to a broker now. But a standard rule of thumb is that many lenders don’t mind problems that started over 3 years ago if they have been settled for over a year. So if a broker doesn’t sound optimistic now, try again in January.
Frankie says
Thanks Sara – I tried really hard to get them to agree default dates but neither of them would budge and the ombudsman unfortunately agreed they had been reported fairly. Thanks for the advice though that’s really helpful to know that in January things will look bettter.
jo says
Hi Sara,
I started an IVA with Payplan in October 2012, at the end of the five years I agreed to an extension of two years. My question is does the IVA still drop of off my credit file October this year as it will be six years, or would I have to wait I’ll after the extension to see an improvement in my score.
Thanks
Jo
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your IVA will drop after 6 years or when you get your completion certificate (which will be a few months after your IVA finishes), whichever is the later. So in your case 7+ years.