Awful credit rating, advice please

[DisneySenior]

I have a really bad credit history.

Have failed to pay back several cards, catalogues and loans etc over the past 9 years due to reckless decisions and basically being uneducated in finance and credit.

I've been really stupid.

Has anyone improved their rating to the point of being able to get a mortgage, car finance etc?

Where do I start?

A lot of it has been written off

Go to Clearscore. They do a free credit score, which is quite in depth, and updates monthly, so you have a really good idea where you are. Get a catalogue, Very or whatever, that bumped my rating up. Apply for a credit card like vanquis or marbles, specifically for people with a shit credit history, spend on it every month and pay off in full. Just for starters, more people will be along with more advice soon I'm sure

Your telling someone who's failed to pay off catalogues to open a catalogue account, are you mad?

This is the problem, I'm not sure if I will ever get credit again.

I have a vanquis card and I'm paying every time but I am after advice on paying off what debts are there.

Is a consolidation plan the best way forward?

Holly I was working on the assumption that the OP has grown up and wants to mend her credit score. Easy to get credit, when managed well, is an excellent way to rebuild a score (it's what I did after doing loads of research). OP, some debts will drop off your record 6 years from date of default, so take advice on which ones to pay off as priority. You need to really put some time and effort into researching all of this, I'd start with Clearscore to get a breakdown of what's showing on your file , so you can prioritise. And getting a Vanquis card is great news! Chin up, it's not all bad!

You will get credit again, thats for sure. Start as anyname123 says, by getting a copy of your credit file and seeing exactly what is on there. Clearscore is free, as is Noddle. It may be worth signing up with both as they may contain different data.

Defaults will fall off after six years. If debts have been written off then they will still come off your file after 6 years.

Trust me, I suddenly found myself unable to pay my 12K credit card debts after being made redundant in 2009. I defaulted on a loan, catalogue and about 4 credit cards. My defaults etc have all come off my file now, I started with an Aqua credit building credit card and I have recently been accepted for a mainstream credit card, yippee!!! (for emergency use only, not to rack up debt with again!)

I defaulted on about 8 accounts and had a CCJ. My CCJ has dropped off, and my defaults are slowly dropping off. I got a joint mortgage this year with 6 defaults on my account. It is possible. Show you are responsible, things have changed and focus on paying off your debts

Mummyme87 may i ask who you were able to get a mortgage with?

Darlington Building Society