Given the huge impact that the state of a person’s credit score can have on their life – and certainly their ability to get approved for credit, such as a loan, on favourable terms – it is very understandable why the aforementioned question is often asked.
The short answer to this question is one you might not wish to hear: as long as certain entries on your credit record are legitimate ones that genuinely reflect your financial history, you can’t realistically expect to be able to remove them. So, “wiping clean” your credit file – whatever you interpret this to mean – could be very difficult to accomplish.
After all, it is important to remind ourselves what a credit file’s purpose actually is. Your credit report is supposed to be a document of your history in managing debt, showing how you have behaved over the months and years in repaying what you owe, as well as how much available credit you presently have.
These factors will be crucial for prospective lenders to know about when you apply for a loan from them. By carrying out a check of your credit record, a lender will be able to assess your creditworthiness, and make a decision on whether to offer you a loan (and if so, what terms to present to you for such a loan).
Bear in mind, too, that credit reports exist partly for your own protection, as they help to ensure you do not take on more debt than you can realistically handle.
So, it is not necessarily in your own long-term (or even short-term) interest to have a credit file that doesn’t accurately reflect how you have actually handled credit over time.
Applying for multiple loans in a short period can affect your credit score. Consider your financial situation and seek independent advice if necessary.
Is it, then, possible to remove negative entries from a credit report?
Moving away from the question of whether you can completely “wipe clean” your credit report (the answer being that it would be very difficult to do so, if not impossible), it is worth noting that it isn’t necessarily impossible to amend certain details on your credit report.
Even this, however, can be a tricky task. One circumstance in which this can be done, is if there is information on your credit report that is in some way inaccurate or unjust.
If, for example, you are checking your credit report from a particular credit reference agency (CRA), and you see information that you know to be wrong, you have the option of raising a complaint with the given CRA. Doing so will enable the CRA to investigate, and if it is satisfied that a mistake has indeed been made, it will amend your credit file accordingly.
In the event that you do wish to take the above route of having an error on your credit report amended, you should make sure you gather evidence to support your claim. This could take the form of a receipt or correspondence with a creditor, showing that a particular debt has been paid.
There are some other circumstances in which you might be able to have your credit file amended. It is possible, for example, to have a county court judgement (CCJ) completely removed from your credit file if you pay off the entire amount within one month of the judgement.
Something else to bear in mind is that if you are a loyal customer of a particular lender, with a history of timely repayments, in the event of a single missed payment, the lender might be prepared to consider removing that one-off occurrence from your credit file. To find out more about this, ask your lender for a “goodwill adjustment”, which would entail the missed or late payment being erased from the record.
We encourage you to carefully consider your ability to repay any loan, particularly if you have a history of credit challenges. Responsible borrowing is key to maintaining and improving your credit score
Alternatively, you could simply wait for negative markers to disappear from your report
The good news is that, even in the event of you being unable to remove certain undesirable markers from your credit file, there is also the option of simply waiting for those markers to come off your credit report with time.
In the case of most entries, the standard length of time for this to happen is six years – and if that seems like an intolerable wait, it is worth bearing in mind that a negative entry tends to have its greatest impact when it first appears on your report. After this, provided that you handle your credit well, you can expect your credit score to gradually improve, even before certain negative markers disappear from your credit file altogether.
As for if you believe you will need to make an application for credit before your credit file has “recovered” to the extent to which you would like, we would like to remind you that dedicated bad credit loans exist. These are loans that are specifically designed to cater to the requirements of those whose credit histories may be less than perfect – people who might not always have the luxury of waiting.
To begin exploring what your options could be from lenders that make available bad-credit loans, why not fill in and submit our no-obligation quote request form here at CashCompare? We don’t charge any fees for you to use this service, so it could be something worth thinking about as you consider whether applying for such a loan could be the most suitable course of action for you.
As a credit broker, CashCompare connects you with lenders offering bad-credit loans, tailored to your situation, without conducting hard credit checks ourselves.
This blog is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as financial or legal advice. We recommend conducting your own research and for personalized advice on managing your credit or deciding on the best borrowing options for you, consider consulting with a financial advisor.
"Warning: Late repayment can cause you serious money problems. Always consider if borrowing is the right option for you and ensure you can repay your loan." For help, go to moneyhelper.org.uk.