'Dear Monzo, I’m finally debt-free but my credit score has never been so bad!'

This month, Laura wades into the murky waters of credit scores

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3. Register to vote at the right address

Make sure you’re registered to vote at the same address you’re using to apply for a loan, as this is the information a lender will use to check you are who you say you are.

Not everybody is eligible to do this.

Can you elaborate please? :slight_smile:

As a non-EU commonwealth citizen studying here (and now working), but being here for less than three years, I’m not able to register to vote, at least not for a few months more. Also my girlfriend who is a non-EU, non-commonwealth citizen studying here (and working after) who won’t be able to register to vote for another 7/8 years.

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Ahhh ok, I never knew that. Thanks for taking the time to explain :slight_smile:

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Ahhhh, another blog about CRA’s that skips the part where it says that Monzo only report to 1 CRA, so checking your Experian or Equifax report will show different results to your TransUnion report…

Also it seems to be universally accepted that having a long standing relationship with a bank is a positive sign for CRA’s.

So, keep old legacy bank of 10 years (even if it’s empty), and opening a new Monzo account = Average age of 5 years… This is good :+1:

CASS’ing old legacy bank to Monzo = Average age of accounts… 0 years… Bad :-1:

Monzo seem to be in a tricky place here (IMO). I actually think a lot of these blogs and Q & A’s will give a lot of people information they didn’t know, and make them think a little bit harder about their financial state. In a word, they are great.

But, by cherry picking information, or leaving key important information out of these blogs, which will ultimately harm Monzo (they don’t want to be saying “Hey, don’t CASS to us as it’ll potential harm your credit score”), ends up looking bad IMO…

I’m probably in the very small minority who read them, and potentially know the information that has been left out, so I imagine the vast majority simply won’t care… :joy:

Just thought it was worth pointing out for anyone who stumbles upon this…

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Actually really helpful info, thanks!

Have just cleared the OD from my NatWest account (opened circa 1995) that I CASS’d but didn’t/couldn’t close at the time. Will look to leave it there if account “maturity” has impact.

wasn’t aware of a 3-year residency requirement for commonwealth citizens. do you have a source for this?

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Only source I’m aware of is the registration form not letting you press submit unless you have 3 years of UK addresses put down.

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I’d speak to your local electoral office as there are no requirements for commonwealth citizens who live in the U.K. to be here for a period of time before being eligible to vote.

Edit : https://www.yourvotematters.co.uk/can-i-vote/who-can-register-to-vote

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Im a commonwealth citizen and was able to register to vote and I had only been living here for a couple of months. As long as you have a valid visa with leave to enter as linked by @walderston.