To help increase your understanding of how you may have required a poor credit rating and how you can improve it.
We have added some helpful guides for the most common courses such as.

• Mortgage Arrears
• Bankruptcy
• County Court Judgments (CCJ's)
• Payment Defaults
• How can you repair your credit?

This describes the amount the borrower is behind in their mortgage repayments schedule. The amount is usually measured in months. If the arrears have occurred in the last 12 months this will decrease your chances of being successful in applying for a 'High Street' mortgage or loan.

The lenders we use are specialised in this market and therefore consider applications on an individual basis. We have helped many people with minor or even severe credit difficulties including pending repossessions, and enabled them a 'Fresh Start' with their finances.
When the arrears have occurred in the last 12 months, It is true, however, that the mortgage rate will generally be higher than it would be otherwise.

A individual who, via a court proceeding, is relieved from paying all debts once assets have been surrendered to an appointed third party designated by the court.
Whilst in bankruptcy you are not permitted to borrow money via conventional sources. Even when you have been discharged from bankruptcy it will still restrict your chances of obtaining finance, in some cases for many years.

We have lenders that consider bankrupts once they have been discharged. If there are cautions (I.a. ex-creditors interests) registered against the property it may be possible to clear these debts by way of a re-mortgage or a secured loan. This will depend on the amount of equity in the property and the amounts outstanding. Depending how long you have been discharged, the mortgage rate will generally be higher than it would be otherwise.

This is an adverse ruling by a County Court against a person, who has not settled their debt payments, with their creditors. Once the ruling has taken place, it will be recorded against the persons credit history and will appear every time a credit search is done until you have it removed. The CCJ will no longer show on the Credit File after a period of 6-years. Also paying the debt within 28 days of the ruling should automatically remove it from the file.

Failure of an individual to make payments on a credit facility at the correct time or to not complying with the lender's requirements. CCJ's & Payment Defaults will not stop you getting a Mortgage or Loan. It is generally accepted, that if a person has a Payment Default or County Court Judgement against them it will have to be satisfied before they can get a mortgage or loan. This is not strictly true, as there are some lenders that specialise in providing mortgages and loans to those with varying degrees of adverse credit, including CCJ's. It is true, however, that the mortgage rate will generally be higher than it would be otherwise.

Just as a poor credit rating can be developed through your actions, so can a good credit rating.
In fact, even if you were previously bankrupt or owed thousands of pounds you couldn't pay back there is still hope for you.

All you need to do is show that you have changed or that the behaviour that got you into trouble was not typical behaviour for you. And the way to do that is to rebuild your credit profile.

To start rebuilding your credit all you need to do is manage your bank account, mortgage, credit cards and loans perfectly. Never miss a payment, never be late.
That means don't take on more than you can manage in the first place.

Once you have done this for a year or so you will start to look like a more attractive borrower and may even be able to move back to a mainstream mortgage company to enjoy lower rates. If you keep it up then your credit rating will eventually become acceptable to lenders', but this can take up to 6 years.