credit rating

I hate the idea of having to pay £2 to find out though.

Although speaking of strengths of cheese, I should read Mason & Dixon - or whichever one has the Octuple Gloucester in it. I hope it's not forthcoming in bloody Infinite Jest, which I would start reading again except for the fact that CLAW OF THE CONCILLIATOR is infinitely better already.

Mmmm. Cheese. I'm hungry. And thinking of a cheese that exists in EIGHT DIMENSIONS although I haven't really got to grips with the fourth dimension yet.

Remember, it's not a credit rating you'll receive, but your credit file. Experian doesn't tell companies whether they should give you credit or not, just what your credit history has been in the past.

The best way to build up credit rating is get yourself on the polling register, and, unfortunately, pay council tax. In fact, especially, for people from overseas, if you aren't on the polling register it's practically impossible to get credit in this country.

Things that make you undesirable to some companies are a huge number of credit checks in a short period of time. Every time someone requests your credit file a note is made, so if you keep being turned down for a credit card, and keep on trying, you're only making things worse.

If something looks bad on your file, e.g. it shows that you've missed several credit card payments, but it wasn't actually your fault, e.g. you were unemplyed and your payment protection scheme should have been paying it, but they were imcompetent, then you can make a note to that effect on the file.

I've just scared myself....

(Although I think it's good in stews and roasts but haven't made any of those recently...)

I was going to order my file, but I have no idea what my current address on record would be, and they'll only sned it to that.

I've heard of similar stories like this, good and bad -- good friend Karen was able to buy her condo with an excellent credit report, while one of the former housemates I was initially going to share a place with in this move turned out to have an awful one, torpedoing the chances of getting a spot together (turned out to be a good thing in the end, we're both happier with our respective setups). So it's probably good to keep tabs with it as you go just to avoid really nasty surprises!

Credit ratings = the devil's work.

of course, I imagine this is a good thing for some people!

Being on the electoral role will help, once it shows up. If there were any extenuating circumstances surrounding any of the debts, then you have the ability to put an explanation in.

The best thing is to build up a good history from now on. If you do continue to pay for stuff using your credit card, then make sure you pay it all off, on time, every month.

So, a better question would be - with no way of getting credit, how do I build up a credit rating?

And also, how does being on the electoral role help exactly? I've sorted it out propely because, well, this thread told me to, but how does it work?

Given that you've now paid off your credit card debt, I'm surprised Barclaycard won't give you your card back. You could try asking them for a credit card with a very low limit, so that you can prove to them that you will use it responsibly.

How much has your credit rating been looked at lately? Lots of requests also looks bad, so I wouldn't advise going round all the credit card companies looking for one that will give you a card.

The higher APR won't matter so long as you pay it off every month.

I worked for a credit card company (and still contract for them) for a long time so I know more about this shit than i care to. I don't think Cap. One is active in the UK, but there is probably some credit card company out there who specializes in higher risk applicants (this is the sort of company I used to work for); get one of their cards, use it very judiciously for a year, and your rating will go up.

In the US, the three credit bureaus are Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. You can request your report from them for a nominal fee; it's very interesting and useful and I do it every few years (don't do it too often or it can allegedly look bad to creditors; this is why applying to hundreds of credit cards is a bad idea). When there are bad things on there, it often helps to contest it; the reporting agency has 30 days to verify the validity of the item, or else the bureau will remove it. The best time to do this then is the beginning of december, because so many people are out over the holidays, they miss these verification deadlines. it's worked for me half a dozen times.

Cap1 run a lot of TV ads in the UK, I would've assumed you could get one here, but I dunno really. When I had a legit job that paid well, I got one of those cards that you have to pay off in full every month--this made things a lot simpler somehow...no mounting interest, etc, although I was told at the time that I should instead get one with interest and pay off just under the amount each month, to somehow prove that I could handle debt responsibly, and the rating and limit would rise quicker. Anyway since then they've changed the policy and 'travel-related' shit doesn't have to be paid off, and that's all I use it for really.

i tried to change my address on the national lottery site, but it wouldnt authenticate because it didnt match the credit companys information. so i now need to get information from experian again. but its confusing, i changed my address back to yorkshire back in early 2003, so it should be that, but its not! where is it? i dont know!

and they want me to put previous addresses, since 2003, but i (officially) havent lived anywhere other than yorkshire since 2003. i dont think they are going to like that!

perhaps its because im not registered to vote in yorkshire. where am i registered to vote? im not sure! i thought it was in yorkshire, but i never got a form.

now i am reregistering to vote in yorks, but they want the previous place i was registered to vote, so they can remove them, but i dont know which it is! how can i find out this information?

they wont accept my details, basically they dont believe when i lived at places. i ring a helpline and its all automated. its all a bit of a muddle because ive had bills being paid for things at my parents, plus my bank/credit card there, but my broadband has been at london addresses, so its totally unclear where i've 'lived' on their records.

and if you dont get your addresses correct to the month, they dont want to know

i even tried the helpticket submit query, but without a reference number for your credit file, it wont even send the query! I DONT HAVE A FUCKING CREDIT FILE YET, CUNTS! i just made a number up, and told them that in the query

it seems quite impossible now. so basically, im just resubmitting continuously with various combinations of 4 addresses over the last 6 years. but i cant even confirm where they *think* i live!

i'll call them in the morning. wonder if there will be an actual person at the other end of the phone

i dont think theres any problem with mine, i have no debt of any kind. but i have been associated with dodgy properties (also, the ease of which you can put someone elses name on a £3300 bill without them knowing is pretty scary). but i have a complicated living situation (its possible that credit checks were done on me for 3 separate things at 3 different addresses last december...long story, but it doesnt make it easy to establish things properly)

"payment protection plans" are a scam right?

Yes the "benefits" only kick in if you run a balance. Either way you lose.

I hadn't pulled my credit report in awhile and I discovered that my credit rating isn't nearly as bad as I thought it was. Go me!

they should wipe these for everyone now

fuck that noise, I'm over 730 this quarter.

836, bitches.

Paying barter all those years pays off!

so hypothetically if one were to be evicted from a property one would be f'd on all above-board rentals for the 7 years it remained on the credit report, right?

This is all a massive scam isn't it? My credit report has incorrect information and it's different depending on which one of these credit check companies you ask, so do I have to open an account at Experian, Equifax, CallCredit and any other bunch of crooks to get it all corrected? I don't understand how any of this works, they don't have my main current account on there but they have some Tesco grocery delivery account from 9 years ago?

I have no idea how it works in the UK. In the US, you can get a free report from each once per year and then contact them to determine how to correct things.

is your main current account a loan or credit card?

No, but one of them has my other current account (joint with my wife) which isn't a loan or credit card either.

It's the fact that each agency has different information I'm confused about. My current landlord used CallCredit and they gave me an OK score because their info is less wrong than Equifax's is, who gave me a crap score today. I guess I have to correct both of them but then there's Experian as well and probably others and they probably all have different wrong info as well!

imo unless it's negatively affecting your ability to get a loan or it contains obvious evidence of identity theft, ignore it

experian thinks my score is over 800, proof there is no rhyme nor reason to anything

it may be negatively affecting my ability to rent a house :(

oh :(

yeah, contact those jerks

I think repeated credit checks in a short period of time can affect your credit score on their own but I know very little about it all.

yeah I rang up the agency after I corrected my previous address on Equifax to run the check again and they said it would be a bad idea because it would damage my rating to check it again so soon.

Weird thing is Equifax on my personal credit report DO have me down as on the electoral roll, yet the report they gave the agent this morning says I'm not on the electoral roll. I haven't changed my current address. Just a bunch of incompetent arseholes ruining people's lives. They should run for election! Trenchant social commentary there.