How to Create a Brand New Credit File in the UK

If you have had trouble paying back your creditors, your credit file contains information regarding history of late payments, default notices and, in England and Wales, County Court Judgments. Such information on your credit file will often have negative repercussions when obtaining credit in the future. Mortgages, car loans and credit cards will be difficult to obtain. As a result, you may wish to clean up your credit history by repairing past financial defaults.

Instructions

1

Get your credit files from all three UK credit reference agencies, which will contain information regarding any defaults you may have. The three credit reference agencies in the UK are Experian, Equifax and Call Credit. Each will charge you 2 for your credit file and will need your name, date of birth and any address you have lived at over the past six years.

2

Contact any creditors which whom you are in default. You can try to get a default notice removed from your credit file by asking the creditor in writing. This strategy is ideal for small debts, such as those under 500.

3

Enter into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement for any debt that could not be removed from your credit file. An IVA is an agreement with the creditor that you will pay back part or all of the outstanding debt in a certain time frame. Although an IVA will reflect negatively on your credit file, it will stand better against a default notice and will last for six years only.

4

Pay all your current bills in a timely manner. Creditors typically put greater importance to your recent credit history when making lending decisions.