Reply to: Credit score has changed. Do I need to check?

[sadkingbilly]

Hopefully its nothing too serious - have you recently applied for something like car insurance as that may have taken a few points off?

I really like the paid for Experian app as it should tell you what had reduced the score. It also has a credit lock feature with the idea being that it helps to block fraudelent credit applications in your name through Experien.

you lost me just there

[Martin@AS Financial]

I've just got a message that my credit score has changed. I've checked on experian and it says it's gone down by 1 point and there is 7 positive and 1 negative influence. To check the influences i need to pay 15 quid a month according to the site. Would I be right in thinking I can apply for a free statutory report? That shows all info held but might not show what is a negative impact.

Does 1 point matter so I can ignore or worth checking out? It's a single digit change on my score so not an issue I don't think.

Hopefully its nothing too serious - have you recently applied for something like car insurance as that may have taken a few points off?

I really like the paid for Experian app as it should tell you what had reduced the score. It also has a credit lock feature with the idea being that it helps to block fraudelent credit applications in your name through Experien.

[hobnob]

I haven't tried checking with any of these companies but I suspect I don't exist.

I recommend checking, just in case there's anything you don't recognise. A while back, my score dropped due to identity theft. (After I moved house, the new residents took out a credit card in my name and ran up a big bill.) I got it all straightened out, but only because I knew about it.

[woody1]

No mortgage, no debts. Only credit card is in wife's name.

I haven't tried checking with any of these companies but I suspect I don't exist. A couple of times I've tried doing stuff money-wise online and it's come back "computer says no".

[Protagoras]

I get 889
own house, no debts, no mortgage, pay off credit card monthly by DD.
haven't borrowed anything for 10+ years.
889???

From the same position, I've started buying some things using interest free credit just because it was available.
Doesn't seem to impact credit score; but the amount of credit card debt accrued every month does.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter though, doesn't?

[jamesbrown]

Credit scores are a marketing tool, nothing more. There's a reason that creditors do not use the scores from credit reference agencies, they are meaningless. It's your credit report that matters. They simply keep stupid punters engaged, as they can understand a gold star or score out of 10, but can't really understand a credit report. A single hard search with no surrounding searches can lead to a 10% drop in your credit score, but does it reduce your credit worthiness by 10%? Of course not, and any lender would understand this.

[sadkingbilly]

I get 889
own house, no debts, no mortgage, pay off credit card monthly by DD.
haven't borrowed anything for 10+ years.
889???

[TestMangler]

+1 for ClearScore. I use the iPhone app, report updated weekly and free.

I had a nice round 1000 on Clearscore for over a decade until I paid off my mortgage (early) a couple of years ago, when it dropped to 951. It stayed there for ages until I bought something (a few hundred quid) on an old credit Card that I hadn't used for years. On doing that it went up by about 20, then back down again when I paid the card off within the month. I have literally no borrowings and my 'score' on CS is now lower than it's been for years, albeit only 49 off the maximum available on their system.

[fatJock]

+1 for ClearScore. I use the iPhone app, report updated weekly and free.

[hobnob]

I don't know about the statutory report, but I recommend using the free credit report from 3 places:
* Experian every 30 days
* ClearScore (Equifax) every 7 days
* Credit Karma (TransUnion) every 7 days

They each have their own algorithm to calculate the score, but the raw data (e.g. what % of your credit limit you're using) should be much the same for all of them.

Also, they all have bands (e.g. "Excellent", "Good", "Fair", "Poor"). As long as you're in the same band, I wouldn't worry about a 1 point change.

[NotAllThere]

and don't commit the cardinal sin of living outside UK.
On return: no credit score
no no claims bonus on ANY insurances
Even though the country you lived in happily took ratings from UK over, UK co's DON't reciprocate.
fecking blinkered, xenophobic, money grabbing barstewards (Vetty probably sets policy for them)

At least I've still got a UK bank account, so I've got some credit score. Not that I'd ever go back.

But yes, I was quite surprised when I moved over here and they just asked me how many years no claim I had, and applied that without proof.

[WTFH]

I've just got a message that my credit score has changed. I've checked on experian and it says it's gone down by 1 point and there is 7 positive and 1 negative influence. To check the influences i need to pay 15 quid a month according to the site. Would I be right in thinking I can apply for a free statutory report? That shows all info held but might not show what is a negative impact.

Does 1 point matter so I can ignore or worth checking out? It's a single digit change on my score so not an issue I don't think.

It's all relative. If your score is 998 and it has dropped to 997, don't worry.
If your score is 9 and has dropped to 8, that's a different matter.

[sadkingbilly]

and don't commit the cardinal sin of living outside UK.
On return: no credit score
no no claims bonus on ANY insurances
Even though the country you lived in happily took ratings from UK over, UK co's DON't reciprocate.
fecking blinkered, xenophobic, money grabbing barstewards (Vetty probably sets policy for them)

[ladymuck]

WJBS

Have a think: did you put something expensive on a credit card (yeah, I know you're a tight arse but it could happen), or apply for a new credit card? Such things shouldn't make much of a difference but might explain the wobble.

The free report is fine to check that all is in order. The influences are somewhat subjective. I get marked down all the time because I'm a renter, despite that being the norm for a large proportion of people.

The influences are things like: being on the electoral register, longevity of credit accounts, recent credit applications, % use of credit, whether you're a homeowner or renter.

You could sign up to Martin Lewis' credit club or whatever its called. They use Transunion and give you some decent access to data you might find useful. I personally think Transunion aren't as polished as Experian or Equifax but I guess that's what makes them cheap for the MSE service. I had a run in with them after they claimed I wasn't on the electoral register (the other two said otherwise) and demanded I get a letter from the local council elections office to prove I was on the register. They then closed the compliant saying there was no fault found, after updating my record. Since then, I don't trust the quality of their data but haven't actually found any new faults.

[jamesbrown]

Yes, completely irrelevant and, as you probably know, creditors don't see or use the scores provided by credit agencies, they look at your file.

As an aside, I think some of these agencies (although not Experian in my experience) add a random fluctuation month-to-month of a few points to get you to check your score more regularly and expose yourself to their credit ads. Anyway, 1/999 is completely irrelevant for Experian, but I will say that my Experian has always been stable without changes in the file. yes, you can request your statutory file, which will outline all of the recent identity/credit etc. checks.