Re: FN-FORUM: Checking your credit score

date posted 29th May 2007 12:51

Colin Woor wrote:
> As far as I was aware, checking your score shows up on your record but
> does not affect your actual credit score.
> SimonMartin wrote:
>> Just wondering if anyone knew...
>>
>> I have it in the back of my head that just checking what the
>> credit-score companies have registered about you can adversely affect
>> your credit score.
>>
>> Any truth in this, does anyone know?


The term credit score is a myth. There is a record, and what is on that
record will be scored by lenders in what ever way suits them. They will
have statistical models which they will use to determine how credit
worthy you are based upon their previous experience and/or educated guesses.

This means that when you send of to Equifax/Experian you do not get a
meaningful "score". I believe this is not the case in the US.

If you are having problems with getting credit the best you can do is
look at your record and check for inaccuracies, request that they are
corrected, leave it a bit, re-apply and hope that the changes made will
mean lenders take a different view.

Lenders are getting more risk-averse at the moment with interest rates
rising and some economists believing that we are heading for a house
price crash, HSBC as of a week or two ago will only lend 90% of the
value of a house instead of the 95% it had been willing to lend before.

HSBC is well known for being risk-averse in it's UK mortgage lending
decisions however.

From the Times:

"Barclays is expected to announce that it is writing off a record £1.67
billion because of defaulting British consumers as it reports its
full-year results today. Later this week Lloyds TSB will wave goodbye to
£1.26 billion or so, followed by HBOS (£1.24 billion), Royal Bank of
Scotland (£1.34 billion) and HSBC (£943 million)."

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/money/borrowing/article1409189.ece

Regards
Richard


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