Opening a new account without hurting my credit score?

shrub100

Just wondering if any of you guys could offer me some advice.

Last year my long term girlfriend and I switched from our Barclays current accounts which were both over 10yrs old to A&L premier accounts (we got drawn in by introductory offers!!). We also opened a joint account. Having used A&L for over a year I have realised that I dont actually like the service that I am recieving and would prefer to be with a mainstream bank with more branches and I am therefore contemplating a move to NatWest.

My question is, will this move hurt my credit rating as I will most likley be looking to buy a house in the next 1-1.5 years. If so, can I simply downgrade my A&L premier accounts, close the joint account and move my banking to NatWest whilst keeping our non-joint A&L accounts open for the credit score. Could I also then say that my main account has been open for 18months or over when answering credit check questions - or would we have to still have our wages going into that account and then transfer it out every month?

What would you guys recommend we do?

ShelfStacker_3

Unless you leave the A&L account in an overdrawn state, and it defaults, it won't affect your credit score. So make sure the balance is 0.

FWIW, it's best to do the Direct Debit and SO switching yourself; don't use NatWest's (or whoever you eventually go with) switcher service to do it, as there have been numerous horror stories about these switching services.

MrsTinks

Ah but you don't always qualify for the "bonus" for moving if there is one should you not use their transfer service...
I moved to First Direct from A&L earlier this year and let them do it for me - however I am a control freak and have kept a sharp eye on all my DDs - the only one that have "vanished" into thin air is my water bill from Thames Water. The rest are in one account or the other - they notifed me of which had not replied to the change on DD details notification from them and I'm moving those manually (although I already knew because I kept a very close eye on them!).
So long as you keep the other bank account in credit maybe do an occasional transaction on it by transfering money to it and paying on your card it will just tick over and your account has been open etc for however long
I did a credit search the other day and it came back with 989 out of 1000 so guessing that moving banks hasn't damaged it much

shrub100

I_Used_To_Lurk wrote: »

I find it sad that credit bureaux and banks have got us over a barrel to a point where somebody would even ask these questions. If you are paying your bills on time and maintaining your accounts properly, you really shouldn't have to worry.

I completely agree. I hate the fact that there are no clear guidlines as to what does and doesnt affect your rating and by how much. I also think that it is wrong that if you change current accounts your credit rating gets killed as you have not had your main account open for more than 12-18 months.

Surely if I am taking enough interest to change it on a regualar basis I am managing my money well as I am maximising my return? Why cant bank accounts work like addresses...ie when you apply for credit you tell them all your main accounts for the last three years or whatever they need?

Paul_Herring

Assuming you haven't been going on a credit hunting spree which has otherwise affected your 'score'....

1) Opening a new current account is highly unlikely to adversely affect your 'credit score.'

2) Opening a new account may (slightly) affect your credit score if they perform a credit search (as opposed to just an identity search,) for the purposes of judging your suitability for an overdraft. Look at the small print if you don't want an overdraft, and don't want them performing a credit search for these purposes. If they still insist on performing a credit search ask for a reason.

3) Closing your old account soon after opening your new account (without another old current account in place,) may affect your score, since 'time with bank' appears to have some weighting on most credit scoring algorithms. (With longer being better.)