How to survive the repossession process whilst keeping your credit score intact!

Repossessions can of course be very damaging to your credit history and your credit
score. If your history is poor (and the actual score is not as important as your
financial conduct) then this could hinder your future financial needs; for example, a
poor credit history can hinder or even prevent you from getting a loan or a mortgage.
It would be good to keep your credit history in the front of your thoughts. Do not be
afraid of keeping an eye on what lenders say about you!!

Keeping track of your reports can also help prevent fraudulent applications from
being taken out in your name. For example, someone tried to take a £30,000 loan
out in my name and because I very regularly monitor my two reports I noticed it and I
was able to involve the police to prevent a fraudulent loan from being taken out in my
name!! I now have a password attached to my accounts so that potential fraudsters
cannot attempt this again (eg, I need to give permission through the password before
an application can be made).

Specifically regarding mortgages (if lenders use both of the two main reports) they
tend to use Experian up to approve your mortgage in principle; then they switch to
look at Equifax just prior to releasing the funds.

To check your reports, go to Experian.co.uk and Equifax.co.uk. You can get a free
one-off report or do what I do; namely, I pay a fee to access my report anytime I
wish. You could if you want, sign up, give the agencies your email address, get your
reports for just under 30 days (free trial) then cancel without paying. I would
recommend keeping your subscriptions going so that you can regularly monitor your
reports.

In summary, be proactive and not afraid to keep an eye on your credit history. You
should do this even if you think there may be bad news in your reports. Once you are
proactively managing your credit history, I promise you, that you will feel better!!

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