Bad credit score and worried I’d be rejected for sim contract

[Swags12]

Hi everyone,
I am a little worried about being rejected for a 12 month sim only contract I saw with virgin media and it’s £8 a month but I feel like I’m going to fail the credit check as my credit score isn’t that great I have a score of 550/700ish which is under the needs more improvements category. This is because I had lost almost £6k to scammers which led me to use £1300 of my overdraft limit of £1600. But I had paid all that off in April but it’s still going to take time to build credit after this. I’m really scared about being rejected by the sim only contract because of the fraud that’s effected my credit score. I also have 3 current accounts which I’m not sure if it’s bringing down my credit score and worry if having 3 accounts too much. I use one for my car insurance direct debit, one for emergency fund and the other for my shopping like birthdays, groceries and petrol.
Do you think I should wait a couple more months to see how my credit score goes or just apply for the sim contract.
Please help I’m really worried about this.

Thank you tor anyone who replies and sorry for any grammar mistakes.

Is there anything else you want to use your credit score for?

If not just go for it

Just for that for now but I’m trying to improve my score so later on in a couple of years I can hopefully buy my first own home.

Thank you for the reply.

My dp is paying an IVA and still was able recently to get a sim only deal with three. There isn't much loss to them if you don't pay it because they can just limit your services whereas with a phone contract they lose the phone.
Years ago I was able to get a proper phone contract after paying a sim only deal for 6 months or so because I had proved I would pay it .
You will almost certainly get it. If not try Three , if my dp can get one I'm sure you can.

You could just get a different contract, that doesn't need a credit check, eg from Giff Gaff, Lebara or Smarty. You set up a monthly recurring card payment so it offers a similar experience without being tied in or needing a credit check.

You'll be able to get a quite decent allowance for £8 or can choose a different amount, depending on what you need.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/phones/cheap-sim-only-contracts/

A better way to improve your credit score would be to apply for a credit builder credit card, use it for some of your normal spending, eg some grocery shopping, and set it up to pay off the amount in full every month, so you don't pay any interest or get into debt.

I'm with Giff Gaff - it's fine.

OP I have a phone + sim contract with Virgin and your credit score is better than mine

Which credit score company did you look at? 550/700 for clear score is considered an excellent credit score.

help.clearscore.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005327469-What-is-my-score-out-of-

@Ditzyduck thank your for your reply if virgin does refuse me for the contract I will have a look at three.

@BarbaraofSeville
Haven’t heard of smarty but I’m family with lebara and giffgaff so I will look into it for sure. Thank you for these recommendations.

@BarbaraofSeville
This is what I’ve been thinking about as I’ve heard it helps build a good credit I might do that with my grocery shopping.

@basil9456 I did it with money saving expert the free credit report check.

@CockCarousel Thank you for replying I’m going to go ahead and give it ago and if I do get rejected I’m probably going to go with giffgaff.

Credit scores are one step from meaningless. In the UK lenders make their own criteria. Mobile networks are less likely to reject a customer for a SIM-only plan, compared to a plan that involves a phone.

Having debt is no big deal. Missing required payments is what has a bigger impact on your creditworthiness.

Since you have been targeted by fraud, get your credit reports and check all the accounts and borrowing they list is yours.

Also, do you have a credit card? If you don't, then you'll be in the situation that most lenders treat "no credit" the same as "bad credit".

OP, don’t worry about your “score”, it doesn’t exist in the fact that no one sees it apart from you (and that includes potential lenders).

@safariboot
Thank you, Thankfully I have never ever missed a payment and I’m planning on getting a credit card to pay for groceries and making sure I pay it back in full.

@19lottie82
Thank you for the reply and I didn’t know this

That’s not to say it can’t be a very general representation of your credit worthiness, it can. Sometimes.

I always see people posting on here and money saving expert “I have a credit score of 999, why did I get rejected for a loan?”

Just concentrate on maintaining your credit history, and try not to focus on this mythical score that doesn’t mean much in real life!

why bother with a long contract? For example, Plusnet do unlimited data for £6 a month when I last looked, rolling 30 day contract. EE network, same as Virgin.