Welcome to the forum JLB.

Anything that goes on your credit file stays there for six years. There may be credit file entries that are holding you back from years ago.

I'd suggest reviewing what is on your credit file. If there are mistakes, or entries haven't been properly updated after your discharge, you should contact the relevant lenders to ensure they correct this.

It's also important to make positive use of credit to build up a recent record that appeals to new potential lenders. Avoid payday loans though, there's growing evidence these can do more harm than good even if they're repaid on time.

It's also worth remembering that it isn't just based on your credit history. For example, are you on the electoral register, JLB? I believe that can make a big difference.

I've always thought that credit scores are a bit of a bit and miss.

In an ideal world the information drops off your credit file after year 6, however the posts on the forum seem to show that this is not the case and even more frustrating is that you then need to try & tidy up a credit file which should have been cleaned up automatically.

Mark

Hi guys, thanks so much for your replies.

Is the discharge date the date on which my last payment was made?

On my credit file, there are accounts which show as settled back in 2008 - should these be removed from my file, and if so, how do I get these removed?

Many thanks in advance,

Joanne

Hi JLB.

Your discharge date is the date that your trustee discharged you rather than the date of your last payment. There's no fixed period of time that this would have taken.

As anything that goes on your file stays there for six years of imagine debts settled in 2008 will start to drop off when they hit that point during this year.