Damaged my credit score through tarting

allanwhyte77 · 8 December 2006 at 8:28PM

Can anyone offer me some advise. Over the last five years I've been a real tart! Every six or nine months (depending on the length of the introductory offer) I have applied and been accepted for new cards which I've moved my balance from. It's been great because in that time I haven't payed a penny in intrest and I've had thousands OF pounds in free credit.

Now thought I think I've shot myself in the foot! I currently only have about £200 debt on any of my cards (this being the lowest amount of debt I've had in the last five years and is on my egg card which I transfered from my M&S on my egg anniversary. I always use my M&S card to get the free vouchers then transfer it) I have tried to appy for four cards over the last six months and been rejected for all of them!

I have just recieved my credit file from experian and equifax and there are no obvious problems, other than its 6 pages long with all the credit applications.I have years of 000000000 saying I've never defaulted or been late with a payment, I have thousands in available credit and I have closed the card accounts of most of my cards, when I've stopped using them. I now only have about four (egg. M&S, Argos which I don't use and co operative). I have been with my present employer for 10 years and lived at the same address for 8 years and on the electoral register.

I hope in the next year to move my mortgage or may even move house so will these rejections from the credit card applications affect my ability to get a new mortgage ( I've tarted my mortgage twice and never had a late payment) Can anyone offer me any advise other than I'm too smart for my own good lol?

P.S. My credit file also shows entries for my mortgage lenders x3 2 bank loans (now paid) and my mobile company.

tom188 · 8 December 2006 at 8:32PM

CC applications stay on your file for 12-24 months depending on the CRA. certainly this many applications will have damaged your rating and i would suggest you do not need make any more for a while, particularly if you want to remortgage. lots of applications causes alarm bells to CC companies because it sugggests you are trying to expose yourself to too much credit.

nearlyrich · 8 December 2006 at 8:38PM

I wouldn't worry too much about this just lay off applying for a while and it should be OK. I speak from experience as I had a phase when I couldn't get a new card for stoozing but it all worked out in the end.

a&akay · 8 December 2006 at 9:13PM

Same background. Stoozed since the beginning, though it was called 'good sense' then not stoozing. I took YB's advice about 2 year's ago and cancelled all my unused CCs, then totalling about £80k in unused credit. I'm tapping in to my wife's credit status at the moment but as a non-earner she only gets about £3k on average. I'm getting by on an M&S card as a slow stooz to £8k and a Halifax charity card to its full limit of £8.8k, but I've also just been accepted for a Smart card at £9.5k so it's still worth it, especially if you can get 5.45% tax free interest in ICESAVE as she does.

allanwhyte77 · 8 December 2006 at 10:50PM

Thanks for the advise folks! I didn't realize that what I've been doing is stoozing (don't know what that stands for). I have another question, do different types of lenders look at things differently? what I mean is would a mortgage lender view me differently from a credit card company because as a credit card customer I'm the worst kind, other than those that default of course. But to a mortgage lender would I not be viewed in a possitive light having a clean record as far as my payment history is concerned, my ability to pay, and the fact that I'm not in debt

Thanks again for your advise!

tom188 · 8 December 2006 at 10:58PM

It is really only your perceived attempt to get over exposed to credit that is not acting in your favour - credit card and mortgage providers will look at this. however your clean record and presumable ability to deal with large amounts of credit will be important too. of course they will probably take particular notice of how youve coped with your existing mortgage.

by the way...
stoozing refers to taking money off 0% credit cards and putting it into a bank account to earn interest, then paying it back when the introductory period ends. You are never truly in net debt as the money can be paid back at any time.
rate tarting refers to juggling debt on 0% cards to prevent paying any interest being charged on a balance held on a credit card - here you may be in a lot of debt and are just using the 0% offers to reduce it.
if you like stoozers are a small subset of rate tarts.

mayb_2 · 9 December 2006 at 12:03AM

Is it best to cancel the unused cards that you have finished with when tarting. I have just left mine open and get loads of offers for better rates - which I haven't taken up. I have my debts on a fixed for the life of the loan with M & S and use the Tesco credit card for my everyday purchases to get the vouchers and pay it off each month. Should I cancel to improve my credit rating or is it best to leave them open as they still want to tempt me back so must rate my credit?

mayb_2 · 9 December 2006 at 12:09AM

Thanks Al Mac - what is the best way to do that? I think I have cut up some of the cards so can't send them back and others I have never activated when they have sent a new card through. Is it enough to write or phone to say you don't want the account anymore?

tom188 · 9 December 2006 at 12:17AM

mayb wrote:

Thanks Al Mac - what is the best way to do that? I think I have cut up some of the cards so can't send them back and others I have never activated when they have sent a new card through. Is it enough to write or phone to say you don't want the account anymore?

yes phone them up and ask them to close the account, and provide written confirmation if you like, although this is not really necessary.

tom188 · 9 December 2006 at 12:18AM

Al_Mac wrote:

tom188, don't forget slow stoozing, 0% purchase credit cards, use for spending and put the money somewhere safe until pay up, at the end of the 0% period.

I wasnt forgetting, just didnt want to make the explanation too complicated.

Phantom_Flan_Flinger · 9 December 2006 at 12:57AM

I do exactly the same as you allan. I move my balances around every six/nine months and have been doing so for numerous years now.

It doesn't seem to have affected my rating as I took an 11K loan from Northern Rock (at their best rate) in October and remortgaged last month when I moved house.

Damaged my credit score through tarting

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