How long does bad credit last UK
Do you know what’s on your credit record? Keeping an eye on your credit file, even if you think you know what’s on there is vital if you’re looking to get credit of any sort.
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Making a few financial mistakes or finding yourself in a position where you’re not able to make regular payments to your creditors on time can lead to lenders putting a negative mark against your credit record. But it’s not all bad news.
There are set legal time frames in the UK that credit reference agencies must uphold. There’s really nothing you can do about speeding it up, but it’s always good to know what those time frames are and when you might be in a better position to apply for credit.
β How long does bad credit last?
- County court judgement (CCJ’s) – from the date these are entered onto your credit file, they’ll remain there for 6 years *
- Bankruptcy – this lasts for 6 years, or until you’re discharged, whichever lakes longer
- Late payments – late payments will be on your file for 6 years
- Defaults – these stay for 6 years
- Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA’s) – 6 years from the date they’re recorded on your file
- Credit searches – when you apply for credit, lenders record the fact they’ve made the search. These last for a year
β Do you know what’s on your credit record?
Knowing exactly what’s on your credit record is vital when you’re applying for credit. Too many rejected applications can have a negative impact in themselves.
It’s easy to see your credit report from all three main credit reference agencies, and you don’t need to pay a single penny to do so.
β How long do county court judgements last?
CCJ’s last for 6 years, and during that time it can be very hard to get credit. Having a county court judgement against your credit file tells lenders the issuing company needed to go to court to attempt to get their money back…making you a not very attractive prospect to a new lender.
β Can I get a County Court Judgement removed?
The only legal way to get a CCJ removed from your credit file it to pay the judgement within one month of the CCJ being issued. If you can do this, you can then apply to have the judgement removed from your file. However, most people who receive CCJs are not in a position to pay the full amount, leading to the CCJ being recorded for 6 years.
β How to pay a CCJ
Details of who you need to pay will be on the judgement sent to you. You can negotiate with the courts if you’re unable to pay the amount requested. On the initial CCJ form, you can tell the courts your circumstances, and this helps them decide on the repayment amount.
β How long do late payments stay on a credit report?
Late payments stay on your credit file for 6 years. Depending on how late the payment is, you might see a 1, 2 or 3 next to the lender on your credit report. This is the amount of months you’re late paying by.
One, even two months late might not be too serious if you’ve got otherwise good credit. Being 3 months late to make a payment though is moving towards a default for some lenders though.
Many lenders will overlook one or two late payments missed over a year old, although they’ll be visible for the full six years.
β How long do defaults stay on credit score
As with late payments, defaults will stay on your credit file for 6 years. They’re more serious than a late payment though, so will cause more issues with getting new credit than a late payment would. A default is what a lender will issue after you’ve gone past the three month mark and not made an agreed payment.
β How long does bankruptcy stay on my credit record?
Bankruptcy is as serious as it gets on your credit file, although this still doesn’t mean there’s no road back. The bankruptcy will show on your credit record for 6 years, or until you’ve been discharged, whichever is the longer.
During this time you’re unlikely to be able to get any regular credit from mainstream lenders, although there are specialist companies that offer lending to bankrupts. If you do find a lender to lend to you, they’re highly likely to charge a very high rate of interest because of the risk they’re taking in lending to you.
β How long do IVA’s stay on your credit record?
An Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is an agreement between you and your creditors that you’ll pay an agreed amount of money to them each month for a set period of time, in exchange for them wiping out some of your debt.
At the end of an IVA, if you’ve not paid the full amount of the debt, you won’t owe any further money to your creditors.
An IVA stays on your credit record for 6 years, even if you finish the IVA agreement sooner than this. You can have the agreement marked on your credit file as ‘paid’ and this tells other lenders you’ve upheld your end of the deal and paid what you agreed, but you cannot have the IVA removed entirely from your credit file for 6 years.
β How long do searches show on your credit record?
Every time you apply for credit, the lender makes a note that they’ve searched your credit file, regardless of whether you were accepted for credit or not. These records of searches stay on your credit file for a year.
More recently in the last couple of years, soft searches have become popular. These soft searches give you an idea of whether a lender will accept you for the credit you’re looking to apply for before you make a full application.
These searches do not show on your credit file. Use this free tool here to soft search credit products if you’re looking for a loan, credit card or other finance.