To ask how you go about repairing shocking credit history?

[chocolatestreet]

I have got my credit report and no surprises it is Very Poor.

I have at least one CCJ on there.

My main priority is trying to sort it. My questions are -

How do I do this? Is it just a question of time - waiting it out and making sure no new debts accumulate in that time?

Is there any hope of me ever getting a mortgage?

And any other helpful advice ...

I’ve buried my head so far in the sand with this that I’m practically in the centre of the earth so there may be some stuff you ask me I don’t know. I’m not being obtuse at all.

Go on moneysavingexpert there’s a guide on there to repairing credit.

There's some good stuff on money saving expert about this. From memory, partly it's time - but also trying to build a record of managing credit well - if you still have a credit card, keeping your balance well away from the credit limit (or even better, paying it off every month), having a phone contract that you pay every month, etc. Be on the electoral register as well.

Hi, first of all how long ago was your ccj and your last defaulted or delinquent debts? They will stay on your file for 6 years after they occurred. As long as there are no further "bad" debts your score will gradually improve over that time, and every time one goes past the 6 years and taken off your report it will improve more.

Second, check that all information is accurate. It's worth getting the free one month trial for all three major credit reports (Experian Equifax and CallCredit) so that you can check all information is accurate. Also check for any financial associations and get them removed (they will tell you how to do this on their website) but you won't be able to do this if you still have any accounts with that person.
Keep credit searches to a minimum. 6 months without any "hard" searches will go a long way to improving things.
Look at getting a prepaid card (cashplus is a good one, that's the one I used and they have a good app to keep track of things). They also do a credit repair service in effect you "borrow " the annual fee (just under £5 per month you don't actually get given the money) they register it as a loan with the credit reports and after a year will show it as settled. Bear in mind that initially this will have a bad impact on your score but the idea is it will improve it over the year. Also make sure you always have the money in the account to pay the monthly fee as this is in effect your loan repayment (I put the whole amount on at the beginning so I didn't have to worry about it but did keep checking!).
Use soft searches to see if you can find a credit card provider to let you have a low limit card. You will pay more interest for these (things like marbles or ocean card or aqua) but again the idea is that you will be improving your score. You might not get one straight away but in time hopefully you will. Never go above 1/3 of the card limit and always pay over the minimum amount. Don't get one if you are struggling at the moment it might be too tempting to use it and get yourself in more trouble! I didn't carry mine around with me so I wasn't ever tempted, just used it online for small payments monthly.
If you have outstanding debts you are not paying at the moment contact the debt agency and arrange a repayment plan. The debt will go off your report 6 years after it defaulted even if it's still unpaid but you need to be paying it otherwise you run the risk of further ccj's which you definitely don't want! Debt agency's are so much better these days and have to by law allow a repayment plan suitable for your income. I pay back £5 per month on all of mine. Have your income and expenditure ready when you call them but the important thing is never ignore them.
If I can think of anything else I will let you know. Good luck, it is a slog but it is possible.

Thanks.

So at the moment I have credit cards which I don’t use. I’m guessing it might be worth using then to say fill up with petrol every month then pay off in full.

I also have a contract phone, never had any problems paying that.

I’ve no idea where the CCJ is from, being honest ... just don’t know. And the credit report doesn’t tell me. So it goes after six years which is good to know.

Thanks.

Hi, I think it's really important that you find out where the ccj is from. If you are not paying it or not paid it off it could cause further problems for you even after the 6 years.

Also as the pp said make sure you are on the electoral roll.