Credit score discussion.

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Just seen an Experian advert. It seems to show a man in what appears to be a dentist's surgery who naively takes out his smart phone and announces to all present..."Have you seen my credit score". Are people supposed to keep such information private and confidential. Someone told me recently that anyone with criminal intentions can access such phones if near to them....is that true or not?

 

[yorksrob]

It wouldn't surprise me with modern technology.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

More to the point, aren't Experian damaging themselves by this "boost your credit score instantly" thing? I mean... if you were a credit manager, wouldn't you now automatically mentally knock off at least 100 - 150 points from any Experian rating as a result of them allowing people to make themselves look better like that?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

More to the point, aren't Experian damaging themselves by this "boost your credit score instantly" thing? I mean... if you were a credit manager, wouldn't you now automatically mentally knock off at least 100 - 150 points from any Experian rating as a result of them allowing people to make themselves look better like that?

How does this work anyway apart from you sharing even more personal data with Experian?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

How does this work anyway apart from you sharing even more personal data with Experian?

I have no idea. I never look at credit score rating agencies at all.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I have no idea.

If you don't understand the product or service that's being advertised (me neither with Experian Boost!) guess it's possibly not really for you.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

If you don't understand the product or service that's being advertised, guess it's possibly not really for you.

Credit rating agencies were fine when they were just for their core purpose of allowing businesses to check the financial reliability of people asking them for credit, but once they started allowing people to check their own scores, well... fair enough... but now boosting their own scores? That makes no sense at all. It surely destroys the whole point of the rating system?

( We should perhaps continue this on a dedicated thread if there is enough to discuss about credit rating agencies? )

 

[yorksrob]

Credit rating agencies seem by their very existance a contradiction of modern data protection standards.

 

[JamesT]

Credit rating agencies were fine when they were just for their core purpose of allowing businesses to check the financial reliability of people asking them for credit, but once they started allowing people to check their own scores, well... fair enough... but now boosting their own scores? That makes no sense at all. It surely destroys the whole point of the rating system?

( We should perhaps continue this on a dedicated thread if there is enough to discuss about credit rating agencies? )

Your credit score is just their rating of how reliable they consider you, which is normally done based on your previous behaviour in terms of borrowing and repayments.

I use Credit Karma who are a competitor. (The mortgage broker wanted to see my score when I was applying was my reason for signing up). They show me my score and at least some of the items that have gone into it. For some items they suggest actions that would improve it, for example increasing the limit on my credit card. Presumably having borrowed more and continued to repay on time shows me as being a better risk and hence getting a higher score. I look at it occasionally when considering financial activities that could affect my score. I get a good score for having had an account open for almost 20 years, so although there may be better deals elsewhere, I’ll want to keep that account going.

A quick look at the Experian Boost page says they want visibility of your current account to see what kind of payments you make. The examples given are things like council tax and saving into an ISA, which are indicative of being a solid, reliable person. As @Mcr Warrior said, it’s sharing more of your data so they make a ‘better’ judgement, there doesn’t seem to be anything nefarious where people using it are getting an unfair advantage.

Credit rating agencies seem by their very existance a contradiction of modern data protection standards.

They collect data for a specific purpose, which seems in tune. It means companies that you deal with don’t need access to lots of your personal data to make a judgment on you, they can just use the score which is protecting your privacy to a degree. Possibly they don’t need to hang onto the data for as long? But for some things at least, you need to have that level of history to give a proof of reliability.

 

[ComUtoR]

I have no idea. I never look at credit score rating agencies at all.

Experian and Equifax are the two main credit reference agencies with TransUnion being a third. They are notoriously inaccurate. One of the easiest ways to "improve" your score is to request a copy of your file and make sure its got the correct details.

These new apps with your "credit score" are ok. They have given people access to their data and for the most part, made it free. With many people living in debt its good that these apps exist because it gives people the tools to help them. It also highlights your spending patterns. A friend of mine was in an IVA and was declared bankrupt and still had a higher score on these apps that I did ! Sadly what these apps also do is promote getting into more debt. I used Clearscore but after being bombarded with adverts for credit cards and loans it was quickly deleted.

 

[Ianigsy]

Last time I had one done, it was messed up by the fact that a bank had failed to remove one of my credit cards from the record when it had changed from Visa to MasterCard, so it looked as if there was a card I hadn’t paid for a couple of years. I’d also used my bonus to clear an overdraft and some cards a few weeks previously, but it hadn’t fed into their sweep of the accounts yet.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

A quick look at the Experian Boost page says they want visibility of your current account to see what kind of payments you make. The examples given are things like council tax and saving into an ISA, which are indicative of being a solid, reliable person.

That sounds a bit like the old adge that banks will only lend you money if you can prove you don't need it!

 

[johntea]

I won't go as far as saying a credit score is meaningless but don't lose too much sleep over it, each lender has their own criteria as to who they lend to so you could have a credit score of 999 and still get turned down whilst someone with a lower score will be accepted!

You can check your credit report (and score!) free with the Money Saving Expert credit club (it basically just pulls your data from Experian anyway)

Credit Club | Get your FREE Credit Score, Credit Report & more

Access your full credit profile, boost your credit score and see your chances of getting the market's top deals. This and more in Credit Club, all for FREE.

www.moneysavingexpert.com

The most important part is checking all your details are up to date

 

[Westcountryman]

Had a look at my credit score on my bank app. I got mid 690s out of 710. It said that there was a negative in that I don't have a current active mortgage. Odd, that. At my age, having paid off all our owings when I retired in 2013, I owe nothing to anyone and I am lucky enough to have income that well covers our monthly outgoings. I can't see any reason why I shouldn't have 710 out of 710. But I suppose the few points I'm missing will make b all difference if I wanted to apply for a loan I'll never need.

 

[birchesgreen]

If you have no debts that means you are probably unlikely to want any loans any time soon and thus lenders won't make any money out of you, maybe that's why the lower credit score

 

[Gloster]

I was actually told (ten years or so ago) that I would have a very low credit rating as I haven’t had a mortgage for years, don’t use a credit card, don’t buy anything through a loan arrangement and pay most of my bills over the counter. It was suggested (by someone in the bank) that I ought to get a few of these in order to build up my credit rating. Why?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

It was suggested (by someone in the bank) that I ought to get a few of these in order to build up my credit rating. Why?

If you are not intending to ever use any credit (whether it be a credit card, mobile telephone contract, or maybe even your gas / electric supply paid quarterly in arrears) then probably it's not that important for you.

 

[Gloster]

If you are not intending to ever use any credit (whether it be a credit card, mobile telephone contract, or maybe even your gas / electric supply paid quarterly in arrears) then probably it's not that important for you.

Sorry, I did (roughly) understand why they might think that having a good credit rating could be advantageous, but I object to having them try to alter my habits. This is particularly so as I manage my finances carefully, don’t buy what I can’t afford with money I haven’t got, and don’t get into debt. The last time I was overdrawn was twenty-five years ago and that was the bank’s error. So I do not think that suggesting to me that I should get into debt is a good idea. Even though I have become very comfortably off in recent months, my attitude has not changed since when I was living on a pittance. (Or even from the days when I used to use BR C&D parcels delivery forms, which had a foil backing, to ‘waterproof’ the soles of my boots until I could save up to buy new ones.)

 

[Mcr Warrior]

... my attitude has not changed since when I was living on a pittance. (Or even from the days when I used to use BR C&D parcels delivery forms, which had a foil backing, to ‘waterproof’ the soles of my boots until I could save up to buy new ones.)

No worries, and most of us, at one time or another, have been there, in trying to eke a bit more mileage out of a pair of well worn footwear!

 

[najaB]

Are people supposed to keep such information private and confidential.

A credit score is just a number. There's zero that a nefarious character can do with it.

Now a full credit report on the other hand...

 

[nlogax]

I use a couple of the free ones - Clearscore and Credit Karma - to keep an eye on things. Don't really care about the score, the regular check for any suspicious activity is far more important.

 

[Lucan]

I was actually told (ten years or so ago) that I would have a very low credit rating as I haven’t had a mortgage for years, don’t use a credit card, don’t buy anything through a loan arrangement and pay most of my bills over the counter.

Reminds me, as the Duke Of Edinburgh is in the news [RiP] that some years ago a newspaper commented that the Duke would never qualify for a credit card. Because :

1) He had never had a CC before
2) He did not have a mortgage
3) He did not have a "proper" job
4) He had never had a loan in the past
5) He lived in his wife's house
and
6) He lived on a state income

I am also a bit of an oddity. I have never had a loan in my life, apart from the temporary loan of credit cards (until I pay them off in full at the end of each month), and mortgages now all paid off. Even so, I get begging letters from my CC company asking me to raise my limit. I haven't a clue what my credit score is, and don't care.

 

[Puppetfinger]

I have access to a credit score service through the identity theft protection on my credit card (had my fingers burnt by this before).

I ignore the score bit, to be honest its a number that means nothing to me as I don't have a good reference or understanding of it.

Where it is very good is the ability to review all credit applications and financial histories. It can be that banks / lenders / credit providers make admin mistakes which go against you, and without the access to the credit report, you may never know these exist, all the meanwhile affecting your credit score. Once you know you can take action to have it corrected.

A simple view of your file will not improve your credit score though, if all is in order, then it is what it is. However if you view it and find errors, correcting them, by your own actions may very well improve it. Also worth noting that every time you view your credit file, this is recorded, although they state not in a negative way.