How long will this affect my credit score for?

[FizzyPink]

So up until last month I had a near perfect credit score.
I then got sick of Lloyd’s being so useless and switched my 17 year old bank account from them to Starling. I also closed two other empty accounts I had with Lloyd’s at the same time.

I’ve just checked my credit report and it’s lost me around 50 points. How long will this take to come back up?

I also have two credit cards which altogether have about £1,000 on. I pay off a significant amount each month so it’ll be gone before the end of the year. I was going to get rid of one when I do this but is this actually not a good thing to do? Is it better to keep them both and just only use them for big purchases?

I know it’s not gone down by much and it’s still 946 according to Experian but we want to buy a house next year so I want it to be as perfect as possible.

Please ignore your credit score, it is absolutely meaningless. Credit providers such as banks are only interested in your credit history. As long as you keep up to date with all credit payments and dont carry an unreasonably high amount of debt then you should be fine. Your score will probably go down further if you clear your credit card, so it really means nothing.

With regards to your card, once it is cleared can you put your normal monthly spend on it and clear it in full every month? This can help your history as it shows you pay in full and manage credit well. If you cannot guarantee that you will repay it in full every month then please don't try this trick.

Finally, creditors do look at the length of relationship with financial institutions (e.g. bank account, credit cards) and at addresses (registered on electoral role), which on their own should not stop you getting a mortgage, but accumulated with late payments etc, can have an impact.

Second what PP has said - your score isn’t what’s important, it’s what’s in the history. Missed/late payments and length of credit relationships.

I paid off a couple things on finance as part of my mortgage offer which made my score go down but it was needed to approve the mortgage! Just shows you really shouldn’t pay much attention to the number on your score.

Thank you both, that’s reassuring! I’ve never missed a payment and have perfect credit history so should be all good