Transferring balance to Interest free CC has ruined my credit score. Will this correct itself?

[newlabelwriter]

I've spent a most of this year paying off my Credit cards and managed to pay off £9k of a large balance, because of this my credit score went from fair to good and I was able to transfer the balance to a Virgin interest free CC - all good so far. I've just checked my credit score for this month and it's now Poor and gone down by 24 points and this looks to be because on my report it's now showing that I owe £30k which is double the amount I actually owe. Has anyone else had anything like this? I'm really p..ed off as I've worked so hard this year to improved my credit. Has anyone else had anything like this and will it sort itself out?

Thank you.

V

It’ll sort itself out in a month or so.

Great - thank you. Was quite worried (and annoyed) by it

Don’t be annoyed and don’t be worried

It is totally, 100%, completely and utterly meaningless

@Rachelheels

Don’t be annoyed and don’t be worried

It is totally, 100%, completely and utterly meaningless

In what way?

You don’t have a credit score. Nobody does.

When you sign up to totally money etc they give you a score, but it’s totally meaningless. It’s used to help sell you things basically.

No lender will ever see it, ever. They’ll look at your behaviour and score you in their own way (which you will never get to know etc)

I promise you it is as meaningful as throwing the numbers 1 to 1000 in the air and catching one at random

Thank you. My non money brain finds it all v confusing. ;)

No lender will ever see it, ever. They’ll look at your behaviour and score you in their own way (which you will never get to know etc)

I had a CCJ on my credit file years ago, when I was in my 20s. Lenders definitely looked at that as I couldn’t get ANY kind of credit AT ALL for years until it was gone.

@Rachelheels

Don’t be annoyed and don’t be worried

It is totally, 100%, completely and utterly meaningless

This

Each potential lender will make their own decision on their specific criteria if you apply for credit. They aren't looking at a score

There's no such thing as a one size fits all credit score although of course the numbers that some people are a bit obsessed with will give you an indication

@ThatOtherPoster

No lender will ever see it, ever. They’ll look at your behaviour and score you in their own way (which you will never get to know etc)

I had a CCJ on my credit file years ago, when I was in my 20s. Lenders definitely looked at that as I couldn’t get ANY kind of credit AT ALL for years until it was gone.

Yes that’s on your credit report.

It’s got nothing at all to do with your credit score.

@ThatOtherPoster

No lender will ever see it, ever. They’ll look at your behaviour and score you in their own way (which you will never get to know etc)

I had a CCJ on my credit file years ago, when I was in my 20s. Lenders definitely looked at that as I couldn’t get ANY kind of credit AT ALL for years until it was gone.

That's because a CCJ is on your credit file which is a totally different thing to some kind of number based universal score

That's why credit agencies exist, to collate all the relevant information to allow lenders to make their own decisions and it won't necessarily by the same decision for each lender

So, forgive my ignorance, why are they there if of no use (genuine question, not being sarcastic.)

I am no expert, but I assume the answer is to make money.

@hugoagogo

I am no expert, but I assume the answer is to make money.

This

@newlabelwriter

So, forgive my ignorance, why are they there if of no use (genuine question, not being sarcastic.)

They are a fictitious score that each credit website dreams up using their own methods.

There is to be blunt in official terms no such thing as a credit score.

A lender will look at your credit report, they may give you a score using their own criteria but this is an internal thing that we’ll never know the detail of.

Totally money etc exist to sell you things they are a barometer and a guide but the number is totally meaningless

Different companies “update” your balance on your credit file at different dates throughout the month. Some at the start, some at the end.
Give it a couple of weeks and it’ll bounce back don’t worry. I had the same experience a couple of months a go

@JuniperBeer

Different companies “update” your balance on your credit file at different dates throughout the month. Some at the start, some at the end. Give it a couple of weeks and it’ll bounce back don’t worry. I had the same experience a couple of months a go

It doesn’t matter whether it bounces back or not, the score means nothing

Thanks all - I honestly had no idea this was a thing. Anyway, feeling slightly better about things now as was really annoyed yesterday.

@newlabelwriter

Thanks all - I honestly had no idea this was a thing. Anyway, feeling slightly better about things now as was really annoyed yesterday.

That's because some companies have used large advertising budgets to convince people it's a thing

You haveto admire them for how successful they've been really

Have a look at this OP - Martin Lewis explains it very well.

Thanks all - incredibly enlightening!

[quote DomingoinLittleOakley]Have a look at this OP - Martin Lewis explains it very well.

[/quote] Also coincidentally Martin Lewis's email this week is on this very subject. - credit scores aren't real

It is true that lenders don't just look at your credit score because they do more than that. They look into your credit history and assess your ability to manage debt based on your existing credit accounts. However, it doesn't mean that your credit score is 'just a number' and that it's useless information. Your credit score is, by the name of it, a 'score' that gives you an idea of your likelihood to get accepted for credit. Whenever something good happens to your credit history, your score goes up and vice versa. This is why when you have a CCJ, your score could decrease by up to 250 points over several years, which corresponds to the decrease in your 'creditworthiness'.

Although a high credit score doesn't guarantee a lender's approval, it is a reflection of good payment behaviour as you can only get a high score if you have been consistently responsible with your repayments. This is how credit building companies like Portify etc manage to increase your credit score as they open a credit account for you and report your payment behaviour to Credit Reference Agencies, which then supplements your other on-time payments to other creditors.

Why is it showing that you owe £30k when you've completely paid off the balance? I'm thinking it could be because your creditor hasn't reported it as completely paid yet - sometimes there's a delay in reporting and updating this information on your credit report so I would give it a month or so. If it doesn't resolve, maybe it's best to reach out to your creditors and find out why the balance is not being reported as paid.

Thank you. It seems to be sorting itself out though as it's gone back up to good even though it's still not an accurate reflection of how much is on my CC.

@LizHill

It is true that lenders don't just look at your credit score because they do more than that. They look into your credit history and assess your ability to manage debt based on your existing credit accounts. However, it doesn't mean that your credit score is 'just a number' and that it's useless information. Your credit score is, by the name of it, a 'score' that gives you an idea of your likelihood to get accepted for credit. Whenever something good happens to your credit history, your score goes up and vice versa. This is why when you have a CCJ, your score could decrease by up to 250 points over several years, which corresponds to the decrease in your 'creditworthiness'.

Although a high credit score doesn't guarantee a lender's approval, it is a reflection of good payment behaviour as you can only get a high score if you have been consistently responsible with your repayments. This is how credit building companies like Portify etc manage to increase your credit score as they open a credit account for you and report your payment behaviour to Credit Reference Agencies, which then supplements your other on-time payments to other creditors.

Why is it showing that you owe £30k when you've completely paid off the balance? I'm thinking it could be because your creditor hasn't reported it as completely paid yet - sometimes there's a delay in reporting and updating this information on your credit report so I would give it a month or so. If it doesn't resolve, maybe it's best to reach out to your creditors and find out why the balance is not being reported as paid.

I cast iron guarantee you ti is just a number

It is totally meaningless to all lenders