Can anyone advise me on my extremely poor credit rating?

[Binbonboomf]

I have 3 different accounts currently in the hands of debt collectors. Just small things that total £270 or £70 with discount to pay in one go.

If I pay these off immediately will that help sort my credit rating?

Apart from that I have a CCJ from 2016 for a larger amount that is still on a debt collectors website but says 'on hold' I've never paid anything towards it.

I'm on equifax but can't see anything about the ccj/large amount. Does that means it's fallen off my file now?

How long does a CCJ stay on your credit report? A CCJ will stay on your credit report for six years, even if you pay it off during this time. After six years it will no longer appear on your credit report, even if you've not paid it all off by then.
https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/guides/ccjs.html#:~:text=How%20long%20does%20a%20CCJ,it%20all%20off%20by%20then.

And while paying or settling your collection accounts may certainly look better to future lenders, there's no guarantee your credit scores will improve as a result
https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/can-paying-off-collections-raise-your-credit-score/#:~:text=Debt%20collectors%20attempt%20to%20collect,will%20improve%20as%20a%20result.

The way you improve your rating is by reliably making regular payments according to a pre-agreed schedule. Leaving a debt for ages and then suddenly paying it off in a lump sum may be better than never paying it, but won't help as much as being regular.

Whatever lump sum you have available, put it into (a) any debt that could leave you homeless or imprisoned if unpaid (b) whatever dent is incurring the highest interest level.

Work out your ongoing monthly budget and how much can go into debt repayments every month. Make sure you pay at least a token amount into each debt every month but put the majority into your highest priority debt (as per previous paragraph) until it's paid off, then continue with 2nd highest priority etc.

Improving credit score - if you can get a credit card to a zero-debt status, start using that card for a single category of your normal spending and pay off the debt in full every month without fail - after doing that for 6 months your score will be significantly improved

I paid off all the debts today so I don't owe anything anymore but my rating is so poor that I can't build it up.

Great news that you've paid them all off. You need to apply to the relevant court to have your CCJ marked as satisfied. It's then a 6 year wait as a precious poster as highlighted until it comes off your credit report. Until then, you will have a poor credit rating.

If you can trust yourself to make a small purchase rach month on a credit card and pay it off in full each month, this will help.

Hi, I had the lowest of the low credit, but have just got into fair.
I paid off all my debts and made sure that I didn't get more.
Also missed payments by normal utility bills make a massive difference.
I found that Thames water reporting on my credit rating really affected it, second was broadband.
I really make an effort to pay on time.
A few debts I had that were past 6 years I didnt pay and they did end up going away. Although I don't think that is good advice

The CCJ was from 2016. I never paid that but it's gone from my file.

I only had about £200 worth of debt from 2 phone companies that added loads of charges and they are now settled.

I can't get a credit card. Even a 50% interest one as I'm on longterm sickness benefits.

So even without having defaults each month my credit is zilch.

On equifax I have all green ticks on my file apart from the debts I just sorted.

But my credit is 300/1000 and 'very poor' because I have zero borrowing history. I've never had a loan. Never had a credit card. Can't get store credit.

Things that can help you build would be having direct debits going out of your bank monthly and you paying it on time. So phone contract, energy, broadband. Also get them to come out of the same bank account.

The CCJ is from a catalogue my ex used back in 2015 and ran up behind my back.

I use zilch, clearpay, laybuy etc all the time and always, always pay on time but they don't count towards positive credit :(

I've done that for years.

Have you got a phone contract? Do you pay that regularly? That is a credit account and will help improve your score.

As a PP said, it’ll be any missed payments that are holding you back, especially on “important” accounts like mortgage or council tax or utilities so if you can really prioritise those, that’ll help.

in my experience, it’s a slow process and a bit of a mysterious dark art.

Also, try looking at Experian. I think that’s the main one and has more detail on the free version.

good luck OP I hope you can get yourself sorted. It’s very disheartening to see I know.

I don't miss any payments for bills at all.

The debts I had were for broadband, when I swapped they carried on billing me and kept adding charges because I disputed it. It then went to arrears and collections.

And also a virgin pure contract I cancelled early.

All my bills are paid on time every month.

My mum has my mobile phone contract for me as I can't even get a phone :(

I pay the kids PAYG phones.

Its just going to take some time. If you just paid off the debts its still fresh, it will slowly build.

You could get a £5 sim only rolling monthly contract with a mobile phone company and pay it off each month.

Even before I had these debts though, like 6 months ago, I was trying to sort it out.

The advice was to get a credit card, even 50% interest and pay it off immediately but I couldn't get one.

Or get a mobile. And I tried and couldn't get one.

Then I was told I was making too many applications in a short space of time!

Right in that case, get into Experian and dispute your rating. It’s quite easy and ime they are very responsive

There's nothing to dispute? It's all correct.

Congratulations on paying off your debt, it is a big achievement.

Do you need to build your rating for a specific reason?

There are lots of things that you can do to help build your rating.
1- are you registered to vote?
2- Close any unused accounts especially joint ones if the other account holder has poor history
3- set up payments via direct debit
4- don’t apply for any new lending or accounts while you are building your score

once you have given it some time apply for a credit card that is designed to help people with poor credit history

If you've made lots of applications recently you should wait 6 weeks before making any new applications.

When you applied for a credit card was it a "normal" one or a "specifically for people with a poor credit score" like thimbl etc?

I haven't made any lately. That was the last time I tried to improve my credit by getting a card for people with poor credit. Vanquis etc. Then I was told I'd made too many applications.