This may come across as a little harsh, but I can’t tell you how often we hear this when it comes to a client’s credit score being ‘low’ when we are doing a credit report in the process of arranging a mortgage for them. Here is how it usually plays out; we do a credit check and there is a ‘mystery’ collection or an account that was written-off (rated R9) with a creditor; we ask what the reasoning was and get ‘well I told them I was moving and gave the new address, but the statement must have gone to the wrong address so I never saw it.’
Guess what, that won’t cut it. Part of having credit is being responsible for it, no matter what, so if you have a credit card or loan and you change addresses, it is still your responsibility to get the payments made ON TIME and as agreed. If the creditor makes a mistake and doesn’t update your address when you call to change it, the fact remains that you are the one who took on the debt and therefore you are the one who has to ensure it is paid on time.
It is nearly impossible to get this kind of an ‘oversight’ reversed so that your credit score can correct itself quickly, so the next time you are moving and have advised your creditors of your new address, make sure you set a reminder for yourself of when the statement would normally come in, and then make that payment regardless of whether or not you receive the bill. In the end, YOU must protect that credit score you worked to build, so don’t let a move and someone else’s error cause you a world of grief because they forgot to press the button!
