Cancelling old credit cards

Sonofa

I'm sorry if this has been asked before.

I'm pretty lazy when it comes to tying up loose ends. Over the past few years I've been moving the credit card debt onto the next interest free balance transfer.

The problem is I'm not so good at remembering to cancel the old accounts afterwards.

Two questions really;

• is there someway I can track down where I might still have dormant accounts? Credit check? Experian?
• Do these dormant accounts hurt my credit score? I'm thinking they might.

I know I have HSBC and Bank of Scotland. The other day I got a statement for a Marbles card I haven't used for years. I think I might still have a Barclaycard!

Cheers,

Dan

Mozette

I found that Call Credit was the most comprehensive when it came to listing old cards, so for this purpose you might want to try them.

If you kept up your payments you should be okay, other than the 'amount of available credit' which can affect whether you will be offered a new card; though having a decent amount of credit available to credit used seems to be a good idea.

So best check, and then compare with your own circumstances.

oscar52

Really, you need to get all three credit reports, Experian, Equifax and Call Credit. The first two you can get a paper copy for two quid, not too sure about the last. The reason for this is some report on two or all, other companies only report to one.

Open credit cards (or other facilities) can affect your future ability to get credit. If you have a CC for 5K, even if you no longer have the card, other companies dont know this, only that you have access to that amount if you wish. If you dont want it or need it, close them down.