What is your credit score?

I got into a dispute with BT which resulted in me telling them to poke their £300 debt.

After the usual shenanigans with debt collector threats and sham solicitors they placed a default on my file.

It made no difference to me apart from:

a. My standing overdraft limit dropped but I never used that anyway
b. Not being able to apply for a new credit card which I didn't need anyway.

I refused to engage with the sham
solicitor as I was in the right all along.

I contacted BT after 3 years by which time they couldn't lay their hands on all of the relevant info so they eventually settled the debt for £5 (which was about 10% of what I expected).

I've had similar issues with Vodafone but they were so incompetent they eventually lost all of the details.

Don't let any company bully you especially if you're in the right but make sure you keep good records.
 


Totally meaningless number. Account history is more important. Different companies report to different agencies, so scores can differ from agency to agency.
 
What is a Credit Score? I dont understand it.

Do I need one? The only debt I've ever had in my life was a bonk loan in 1971 to buy a car, then a mortgage in 1979 to buy the house I still live in.
 
socrates said:
What is a Credit Score? I dont understand it.

Do I need one? The only debt I've ever had in my life was a bonk loan in 1971 to buy a car, then a mortgage in 1979 to buy the house I still live in.
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It’s a way of some getting lots of things they can’t really afford and possibly in the main stuff they don’t need.

It’s not a bad thing mind, get into £80,000 worth of debt, struggle and you’ll only have to pay a fraction of it back, you’ll still have all the stuff you don’t need and probably have a big belly from all the takeaways the extra money had allowed.

Well that’s one take on it, I’m sure there’s lots of others.
 
Cee Jay said:
probably crap( no mortgage or car loan and pay CC off in full each month)
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It is bad if you’ve never had credit. As they like to see, well, a record of credit. But if you’ve had all of those and a good past payment records, it will be good.
Cee Jay said:
Thought the score was better the more credit( as long as payments etc are up to date) you had ?
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If you have a lot of credit and keep asking for more. Even with an excellent past record you will eventually be turned down. Obviously income dependent.
 
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joemcdokes said:
It’s a way of some getting lots of things they can’t really afford and possibly in the main stuff they don’t need.

It’s not a bad thing mind, get into £80,000 worth of debt, struggle and you’ll only have to pay a fraction of it back, you’ll still have all the stuff you don’t need and probably have a big belly from all the takeaways the extra money had allowed.

Well that’s one take on it, I’m sure there’s lots of others.
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That's a pretty bad take on it like. Credit can be extremely useful.

You also need a decent credit rating for a mortgage which is a life essential.

To an old sod like Socrates it doesn't matter mind. :)
 
Never had a credit card until a few months ago, paid for something on finance once and still paying now, never missed a payment, use overdraft a lot though so I don't know if my rating will be slightly good for not missing payments or utter shite because of my overdraft.
 
Kenna said:
Never had a credit card until a few months ago, paid for something on finance once and still paying now, never missed a payment, use overdraft a lot though so I don't know if my rating will be slightly good for not missing payments or utter shite because of my overdraft.
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Just register for a score. A couple of minutes at most. Basic ones are free. Think you have to pay for more detailed.
 
socrates said:
What is a Credit Score? I dont understand it.

Do I need one? The only debt I've ever had in my life was a bonk loan in 1971 to buy a car, then a mortgage in 1979 to buy the house I still live in.
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A credit score is a made up number. There isn't a single financial institution in the land that sees it.

Credit worthiness is what they look out 9Income vs expenditure), past payments etc etc etc
 
James said:
That's a pretty bad take on it like. Credit can be extremely useful.

You also need a decent credit rating for a mortgage which is a life essential.

To an old sod like Socrates it doesn't matter mind. :)
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It’s a true story based on someone I know.
They’ve never had a mortgage.
 
James said:
That's a pretty bad take on it like. Credit can be extremely useful.

You also need a decent credit rating for a mortgage which is a life essential.

To an old sod like Socrates it doesn't matter mind. :)
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You're right, it doesnt matter to me. I've never had debt other than the car loan in 1971 and mortgage in 1979.

I was taught, 'if you cant pay cash you cant afford it'. Back in those days this was true. Nowadays with Credit Card etc. people dont bat an eyelid at borrowing thousands. I wouldnt sleep nights if I had debt.
 
Accessing your credit report is essential to keeping track as to what is on your file, it helps you know if any spurious searches or accounts are being set up in your name.
 

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