How can I repair my credit scoring?

-- emma penticost (lisafrith@btconnect.com.), September 28, 2000

Answers

You can't strictly repair a credit score. Credit scoring is what lenders use to decide whether or not you're worth the risk when lending money, whether it be a credit card, overdraft or mortgage.

The criteria varies from lender to lender, so there is no way to guarantee that you will pass a credit scoring test. Also, the risk criteria changes frequently to help prevent fraud.

The kind of things which you are "scored" on include, whether or not your employed; the kind of job you do (sales executive compared to a cleaner for example); how much you earn; whether you own a home or rent; the kind of area you live in; other credit commitments and how you handle the accounts; the lenders experience in dealing with your "type" of risk etc etc.

So you can improve your credit score potential by having a job rather than being unemployed for example, but you can't fix it.

You can't "repair" a credit record either for that matter. There are lots of companies who claim to be able to clean up your record, but there is nothing they can do which you cannot do yourself.

For example, if you have a County Court Judgment registered against you, and it has been paid off, then you can get a Certificate of Satisfaction to show this. This looks better than an unsatisfied CCJ on your record.

Details of your payment history, credit limits etc for each kind of credit card/hire purchase agreement are also shown on your record. The history goes back about 36 months, and shows if you paid on time, or if you were late, how late you were with the payment.

As time goes on any late payments will drop off your record, and you'll have a better chance of getting credit in the future. CCJs stay on for about 6 years.

Hope this helps.

Pendle

-- pendle (pendle@amun-ra.demon.co.uk), September 28, 2000.

I pretty much agree with Pendle (in my limited experience - I've never tried credit repair).

However, there is a detailed explanation of how Barclays credit scoring works further down this Q&A list. I can't, for the life of me, remember which subject heading it is under but it contains several useful tips on small things that you can change that have a relatively large impact on your credit score. (Or, more accurately, your credit score as Barclays allegedly assesses it).

If anyone does find the time to go through the list and find it, please post the subject heading in reply to this posting.

Thanks

Lee

Lee

-- Lee (repossession@bigfoot.com), September 28, 2000.

Check this link out:

http://www.oft.gov.uk/html/consume/cas4-00.htm

for a very interesting article by the Office Of Fair Trading about Advertisements offering to clean your credit reference file or restore your credit rating. It also details where to obtain a booklet "No Credit?" published by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.

Hope that this helps in some way.

-- Lamps (Lamps@btinternet.com), September 28, 2000.