Understanding a credit report

[baineth]

Hi and thanks to everyone who's posting helpful info on this site.

 

I intend to pursue my bank (Co-operative) for refund of charges but I am not clear whether they have also registered a 'default' against me on my credit record. I was turned down for credit late last year and obtained a copy of my report from Experian. As far as I can see, I don't have any defaults showing and I'm wondering if bank charges would show up the same way as loans etc do on the report or is it possible there's some kind of 'hidden' black mark against my name. I need to know so that I know whether to include the paragraph about removing the 'default' when I write to the bank. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

Baineth

[hondamad21]

Hi baineth,

You should also check Equifax credit agency. There are companies that only update you details to either Equifax or Experian. Therefore it is good to check your record with both agencies. If you have a credit/debit card you can go online and get access to your report for a month for free.

As for ‘hidden’ black mark I believe that is illegal. The Credit agencies have to show you everything on your report, if something is there incorrectly they have to remove it.

You have to understand that each company you apply for has there own criteria for credit scoring. As I do not know what type of credit you applied for I cannot guess as to why you were denied. Remember that not making the payments, making payments late or going over your credit limit has an adverse impact on your credit score. It may be that if you applied for a loan the company turned you down because you are too young for the amount you want to borrow. A person I know got turned down for a £25k loan because the company concerned considered him too young. He is 29 years old!!!

Hope this helps,

Hondamad21.

* This is just my opinion, built up form my previous experiences. I believe it to be correct but it could be wrong.

[baineth]

Thanks for the quick response. I'll see if I can find out any more through Equifax.

 

I initially applied for a Career Development Loan of 3,000.000 with Barclays - I'm 44 and unemployed and needed the money to get qualified to get a job. They turned me down so I applied for a personal loan with Halifax (who I had a small account with) and was turned down again. Not realising at that stage it was my credit that was the problem (I've never had a problem before) I then applied to Capital One for a credit card and was again refused. That's when I got a copy of my credit report from Experian and there is nothing showing up as defaulted on it. I pushed Capital One on this and they eventually, very grudgingly, gave me a card with a 200.00 credit limit.

 

One other question - going through my bank statements, I find that when I've been overdrawn they've charged me interest, usually a "service charge" and often a "daily excess charge". Am I right in thinking I can only reclaim the two types of charges and not the interest?

 

Thanks for your help

Baineth

[thunderpuss2k]

Hate to say this, but the words 'unemployed' normally set huge alarm bells ringing at lenders. Not defending them, but put yourself in their shoes. Would you lend yourself £3k if you weren't 100% sure they could afford to pay it off?

 

Lenders work on risk and probability. If you've got good credit history, a fairly stable income from a job, and they know you live where you say you live, then the probabilities of getting the money back is a lot higher - and the risk is lower.

 

Not knowing your circumstances (and not wishing to be nosey!) but if you need the money to get training to get a job because you're currently unemployed, there's got to be some kind of Government scheme out there or something that can at least help a little bit? Maybe the Job Centre is a good place to start, depends how helpful they are at your local. I'm not really the person to ask, but New Deal, springs to mind off the top of my head - doesn't that cover training?

[thunderpuss2k]

One other question - going through my bank statements, I find that when I've been overdrawn they've charged me interest, usually a "service charge" and often a "daily excess charge". Am I right in thinking I can only reclaim the two types of charges and not the interest?

 

Service charge, yes. Daily excess charges, yes. Charges for returning items unpaid, yes. However, what you *can't* get back is monthy service fees you may pay - like for add-on options, or extra services.

 

Re: interest, it's a little tricky to calculate. You'd need to calculate the interest on the charge only, and not the overall interest. That's why most people (including me) have left that out! However.. if it gets to the stage of going to court, you can add on 8% interest under county court rules.

[baineth]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've been through all the jobcentre/govt training options including via my MP. I simply want to understand why I'm turned down for credit when there's nothing showing up on the report and I've never defaulted on any payment. I wondered if it could be related to a previous occupier of my address as it's only since I moved here that I've had any problem - but I expected this would be mentioned on the credit report somewhere if so. I'll see if an Equifax report can shed any light.

 

thanks

Baineth

[pmhread]

Hate to say this, but the words 'unemployed' normally set huge alarm bells ringing at lenders. Not defending them, but put yourself in their shoes. Would you lend yourself £3k if you weren't 100% sure they could afford to pay it off?

 

Don't think students suffer this problem when the banks throw tens of thousands at them. Several institutions offer career development loans these days as a way of capturing the increasing number of mature students in the marketplace who, more often than not, have their own home, family, car and much less likely to do a runner when the time comes to pay up.

 

Baineth what else is showing on your credit report? You mentioned there are no defaults but is there anything else you haven't told us about?

[baineth]

Hi pmhread.

 

Not sure how much you want to know but my credit report shows:

 

"No electoral roll information available" for current address - don't know why because I'm registered as far as I know.

 

6 entries for "alias" - all just showing my maiden name. There seem to be that many because of the multiple requests for credit rating which the lending institutes (Barclays, Halifax and Capital One) put in when I applied for loans/credit card from them. I don't understand why they put in more than one request each.

 

Then the credit account info:

1. Littlewoods Mail Order - Balance 0.00 - status history 000000000

2. Co-op bank fixed term loan - balance 0.00 - settled 02/03/04 - status history 000000000000

3. Co-op bank fixed term loan - balance 0.00 - settled 01/09/05 - status history 000000000000

4. Co-op bank fixed term loan - balance 4916.00 - status history 000 (this replaced previous loan and had only been running for 3 months or so)

5. Telewest Broadband - balance 0.00 - status history 0 (this is a monthly direct debit which has been running for ages so I don't know why they only show one month's history

6. Co-op bank fixed term loan - balance 0.00 - settled 02/01/04 - status history 000000000000 (the assorted loans with Co-op were because of the way their loans work. You can't renegotiate a loan or settle it in part, yuou have to replace it with a new one)

 

Previous searches - 8 show up over the previous 2 months: 1 from Halifax when I applied for a loan, 2 from Barclays when I applied for a Career Development Loan, 4 from Capital One when I applied for a credit card and 1 from Experian (don't understand this one?)

 

Linked addresses are my own current address, my 2 previous addresses and my brother's address which I used as a correspondence address back in 1999 for a few months.

 

So there's nothing in there to suggest why I'm considered a bad credit risk, unless it's just that I'm not on the electoral roll??

 

No mention of bank charges on there either but I have exceeded my overdraft on occasions and had direct debits etc refused which is why I thought it might have something to do with it.

 

Wouldn't it be nice if they made it easy for us to understand our own finances??!!

Baineth

[hondamad21]

Hi baineth,

 

OK first of all go and find out if you are registered on the roll. If not, then register. This can have a bit of an impact.

You should not have 6 entries for alias. Ask experian if they can reduce it to just one.

Your payment history looks perfect.

Equifax have told me in the past that having more then 2 searches in a month or more then 7 a year lowers your credit score.

Experian say having more that about 3 searches a month lowers the score.

 

 

Also moving houses a lot or being at your present address for less then 2 years can have an adverse affect on your credit score.

 

 

This is all that I can see that MAY have an adverse affect on you file. Nothing too bad the major being just to confirm if you are registered on the roll.

 

In my opinion I think that you being unemployed seems to be the reason that you are not getting a loan.

 

One thing to do might be to call that banks that have rejected you and ask to speak to the underwriters and ask them why they have refused you. They may be able to give you a better/more detailed explanation as the so called "customer service advisors" are just robots reading what the computer tells them.

 

And yes it would be great if it was easy to understand how to get credit without the need for all this cloak and dagger stuff the banks and credit agencies seem to love!!!

 

 

 

Hondamad21

 

 

 

*Again this is my opinion only and even I can be wrong!

[baineth]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll see if I can improve my credit over the coming months by following them up. Off to investigate whether or not I should start to pursue bank charges now!

 

Baineth

[elsinore]

Hello baineth.

 

It's a very interesting tale, but there is one thing that I am not clear about.

 

Do you now have, or did you have at the time of your credit report, a loan with Co-op with an o/s balance?

 

Elsinore

[baineth]

Yes, I had (and have) one loan with Co-op. I've only ever had one loan at any time from them but, because of the way their system works, I have to pay a loan off and take out a new one if I want to change the terms - e.g. when I wanted to extend the term, I could only do it if I paid off the previous loan and took out a new one for the same amount + 500.00 and when I wanted to pay off part of the loan, I had to pay off the whole thing and take out a new loan for the new amount. Don't like their method but as it seems they're the only people who'll give me credit, it looks like I'm stuck with it for now.

 

Baineth

[elsinore]

Well, that's the reason why you were turned down for credit and cannot get a loan of £3000. It has nothing to do with your credit report as such, which is not at all bad. (Mine's far worse!). As hondamad says, your payment record is excellent.

 

Put yourself in the prospective lender's shoes. Would you lend someone £3000 who has an o/s loan of just under £5000 and no job?

 

As to the Co-op loans, could there be a commission factor which causes them to write a new, bigger loan every time, and/or a desire to keep you as a borrower indefinitely??

 

Anyway, if you are happy to stay with the Co-op they might be your best bet for a (bigger) loan. But they will be looking for assurance that you can service the repayments without problems, given that you have no job.

 

Good luck

 

Elsinore

[telewest]

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