Timeframe on bad credit rating

[abbie]

My brother got a car loan with a financial co. (I won't name them) a few years ago. He eventually paid them off last August. He was always running late with payments every month and fell behind (the car was financed over 2 years). He is going to apply for his credit rating with the ICB, but would anyone know off-hand what timeframe he will be (blacklisted) for. He has been declined for a car loan from two companies so far. He is back on his feet now and got rid of his money grabbing girlfriend and would be well able to afford to make payments on a newish car, so I think it would be very unfair for him to be blacklisted for years. His current car is a bit of a banger and needs changing ASAP. Any advice appreciated.

 

[ClubMan]

He is going to apply for his credit rating with the ICB

Sorry to be pedantic but ICB do not store credit ratings. They store credit history records. Financial institutions draw their own conclusions from these records.

but would anyone know off-hand what timeframe he will be (blacklisted) for.

If there were missed loan repayments (other than credit card repayments as long as the minimum amount was paid) then these will appear on his records for five years after the issue was finally settled. Whether or not he would be "blacklisted" by credit providers depends on the view that they take of such credit history records.

He is back on his feet now and got rid of his money grabbing girlfriend and would be well able to afford to make payments on a newish car, so I think it would be very unfair for him to be blacklisted for years. His current car is a bit of a banger and needs changing ASAP. Any advice appreciated.

Unfortunately the ICB does not make any record of chucking one's money grabbing partner so that is irrelevant to them. He could always ask them to annote his records with this information if he wants. Otherwise all that matters is if there are missed payments etc. recorded.

 

[beachman]

yeah, there's no blacklist - that's a myth. the quickest and best way for him to rehabilitate his image among lenders is to build a steady history of meeting bills on time and having a healthy (well, as best he can) bank balance to show that he can manage his money. that's what lenders look at - so even in a year's time if he has kept his nose clean they might be quicker to give him some dosh

 

[ClubMan]

It's prudent to meet bills on time but I don't think that missed bill payments in general feature in the ICB records or are considered by lenders when assessing loan applications. Of course if you're missing bills habitually then you may end up borrowing and missing loan repayments etc. so it's a good idea not to let them accumulate all the same.