UK Credit score mandated for Irish mortgage - how do I get one (I don't live in the UK)

charles.j.west

New Member
Messages
2
Hi
Hoping someone may be able to give me a steer on hoe to get a UK Credit Score - as an Irish resident- as the bank are insisting on it to provide a mortgage.

I'm applying for a trade up mortgage for a house in Dublin.
AIB and also others are saying that I must provide a UK Credit Check / Score to them to obtain mortgage approval.
I worked in the UK for about 2years in my first job - that was 20+ years ago!, I've been back in Ireland since then. I still have my UK current account since, in my Irish address grand total of 2k in it. These savings are not part of my deposit for the mortgage. I've never had any type of UK property, loan, mortgage or overdraft.

The UK Credit score websites and the few with call centres that I managed to speak to on the phone - all say they cannot provide me with a credit score unless I can provide a UK address where I lived in recent years (at most 6 years ago). I haven't lived in the UK this century so they can't! [seams logical to me]

I have noted this to AIB but they say that it is mandatory that I provide a UK Credit Score, that the UK has a very mature Credit scoring industry and that I cannot get a mortgage because their records show I have a UK account and that I can get a UK Credit score without having any UK address at all.
I note that it was AIB who identified that I have a UK account with savings, I hadn't included it in my application, I don't plan to use the small amount of money there as part of my deposit. Sadly 2k is immaterial in the Dublin property market, that UK account has always been useful to avoid currency charges for small purchases from amazon, etc.).

AIB said that are not willing to budge unless I can provide a written document addressed to myself, from 3 separate UK credit agencies stating that they will not be able to provide a UK credit score. The UK credit agencies have no interest in going to such effort - I expect they think I'm daft. A person living in another country expecting them to provide me with a UK Credit score....

Having a legacy fairly trivial UK account, from time spent working there years ago, can't be too unusual as people my era when we all went looking for work elsewhere - and UK was the first port of call. So wondering if anyone else has come across this and is there a way to solve it and enable the bank to "tick the box"?

I fear that it I closed my UK account now that it will make zero difference (also I'd rather keep it!).... I say this because it was AIB who sourced the info that I had a UK current account in their own process, I hadn't counted it as part of my savings. Guessing its noted somehow on the central credit register or the like... although since it only has savings I'm not sure why.

Any advice is welcome.
 
@charles.j.west I encountered similar nonsense when switching to AIB – although in my case I only had a UK bank account and had never lived there. Have a look at my advice in this thread and see if you get anywhere by following it. See also this thread.

Consider posting your mortgage details in the switcher thread (for your new mortgage amount) so that you can learn which lenders are the best value for your case.
 
Last edited:
Well drop AIB and go to a different mortgage provider.
What a strange behaviour.
EBS have issued a similar condition (and again I hadn't counted my UK account savings as part of my deposit in that application either) so I guess this must be coming to them from another source when they search items (e.g. central credit register?) and hence I could expect to arise across others too.
 
I think I used some crowd called Experian. I had to because I lived in the North as a child. I should have just not told AIB this. You pay per month. I ended up paying for 3. My friend reckons he got it for free tho.
 
Well drop AIB and go to a different mortgage provider.
What a strange behaviour.
Absolutely. Its a bizarre setup and should have no impact on your application. Just go a different lender, there are a few of them out there.
 
Back
Top