oh and experian say that a credit score in January may be unrepresentative of your credit score in may, so best to keep an eye your score every now and again

Defaults seem to be a major factor in your credit score, but not the sole factor, number credit checks, any court judgements etc will also influence your score. Basically every time you apply for a credit card company or a credit check it made by say a mobile phone operator it has an impact on your score. Defaults can only be on record for six years so once the date is over you should see an increase in your credit score but this depends on the above and number of defaults I think. P