To think I should have a better credit score

[curiousgeorgie247]

My credit score and report are emailed to me monthly. It scores you out of 5 (5 being the best). Mine was always 5 until we bought our first house 3 years ago. Since then it's fluctuated between 3 and 4. Currently a 3! It says I may be occasionally rejected when applying for credit or not get the best deals.

I don't understand why?!

The only debt I have to my name is the mortgage, which is always paid and we even pay extra on.
I've had car loans and credit cards in the past. Never missed a payment in my whole adult life. Paid them off years ago. All are still showing as settled/closed on my report.
I don't even have an overdraft.
Surely I am a creditors dream?

So why is my credit score so low and what can I do to improve it?
I'm planning on buying a new car next year so will need to get a loan and I obviously don't want my application to be rejected.

Maybe it's because you don't actively use any of your cards so it's harder to judge how you handle credit.

It might be to do with the amount of available income you have. Some of those reports are based on info you provide such as salary and indebtedness.

Yes to that

DSis couldn't get any credit and was puzzled. Eventually she read something that agreed with what I had been telling her for about 10 years - get a CC and use it for something you HAVE to buy, like food and petrol, pay it off every month and watch your credit score improve!

It took 6 months, she can now be taken seriously if she applies for a loan / mortgage!

Agree with pp. You don't have enough credit history on something like a credit card or unsecured loan so they see you as a risk in that sense.

To fix it... apply for a credit card, use it regularly and never miss a payment.

You need to use credit cards to improve your credit.

At the moment they have no way of knowing how "responsible" you are. Yes, you pay your mortgage but they have no idea how you'd be with multiple monthly payments, if that makes sense.

Get a credit card and use it every month. Just make sure you pay it off in full.