Credit Score

We have put together some information to try and de-mystify one of the most complex areas within the eligibility criteria for a mortgage – Credit Score. Whilst most people understand credit score to be a reflection of how good you have been at maintaining credit commitments, unfortunately this is not all that is covered under the definition of “Credit Score” for many lenders. This is also the reason why you might not meet a particular lenders credit scoring criteria but are accepted by another lender for the same mortgage. Here are some questions that we often get asked about credit score.

About Us

Cubic Financial Services is dedicated to providing clients with expert advice on Mortgages (Residential & Buy to Let) & Protection (Life Insurance, Income Protection, Accident Sickness & Unemployment insurance). We are also able to assist you if you have any Commercial, Bridging & Development Finance requirements. We are committed to putting clients at the heart of everything we do and to developing long-term relationships with our clients. This is achieved by ensuring that we understand the individual needs of each client.

Whilst we pride ourselves on the friendly and approachable nature of our advisers and on being an integral part of the local community in Slough and surrounding areas, we at Cubic Financial Services are keen to help clients nationwide, to ensure that you have access to the right advice regardless where you live.

Credit Score Frequently Asked Questions

Isn’t my credit score seen to be the same by all the lenders & credit providers?

No. Most lenders will have their own credit scoring systems & models. This is also the reason why when you access your credit reports from the different credit reference agencies the score that is displayed is different from one agency to another.

I have checked my credit file on Experian, Equifax etc. and my credit score is not very good, can I still get a mortgage?

Yes, it is still possible for you to get a mortgage. The score in the credit file that you access provides a good indicator of your credit health, however, the credit risk models used by lenders will often use different variable or factors to arrive at a credit score to determine whether you are creditworthy based on their lending standards.

I’m thinking about getting a mortgage, should I therefore conduct all my day to day expenditure on my credit card so that it boosts my credit score?

Spending on your credit card and paying it off quickly may help you to build up a good credit score but sometimes this may not be the right approach. An example of a situation where this could have a negative affect on your mortgage application is where you have only recently cleared your credit card, but this has not been reflected on your credit file that the lender has access to. When running a Decision in Principle (DIP), we have seen situations where the DIP is returned at a lower amount than we would expect because the lender is picking up the credit commitment and adjusting the mortgage amount accordingly.

I moved address some time ago, I haven’t gotten around to updating my address with my bank, credit provider or on the electoral roll, will this have implications?

We would strongly advise that before you apply for a mortgage, your address is correctly updated with all financial institutions that you have a relationship with, here are some reasons as to why:

Synchronisation: Sometimes a financial account may not appear on your credit file as the address is out of sync with the address on the credit file.
Verification: A bank statement is a document that is often used for Address Verification, having an address on your bank statement that is different to the address that you provide on the application (where you currently reside) can therefore raise questions by the lender.
Credit Check: The electoral roll is also a database that is often queried when a lender runs an address or credit check, so it is a good idea to update your details on the electoral roll register to reflect where you currently reside.

I have CCJ’s, Defaults, missed payments, can I still get a mortgage?

Yes, it is still possible to get a mortgage. We have several lenders on our panel that will be willing to consider applicants with the above credit issues.

How can I improve my credit score?

Whilst this list is not exhaustive, here are some things that might help and worth bearing in mind:

Register onto the electoral roll at your address
Avoid using all your credit limit
Avoid any late or missed payments
Avoid opening too many credit accounts in a short space of time
When applying for a decision in principle some lenders will leave a hard footprint on your credit file & too many hard credit searches on your file in a short time space can also impact your credit score.

My credit score is poor; however, I cannot understand why just by looking through the accounts in my credit report… What am I missing?

There could be several reasons for this, one common reason that we have seen is that the address on the account that is causing the score to be poor is incorrect. We would recommend that you update your address with all credit providers that you have credit commitments with.

Is my address blacklisted solely due to a previous occupier at the address having had a poor credit history?

No, your credit record is personal to you and not your address.

I live (or have lived) with somebody that has a poor credit history, will I be affected?

You could be affected if you have (or have had) a joint commitment with that individual. Living with somebody on its own should not impact your creditworthiness

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