Natwest gave me a credit card...

andy2004

Natwest dont just give you a credit card you have to apply for one. If you didnt apply for the card, I would be worried, someone else must have applied for one in your name, as your a student I'm guessing you live with other students in a house / flat, Maybe one of them did it, then waiting for the card to show up so they could go out spend to the max and then leave you with a nice big bill. After all it was YOUR NAME on the card, banks never just send out credit cards, none of them.

never-in-doubt

mab2000 wrote: »

I do doubt however natwest just gave you the card, you must have applied for it because i am with natwest but when i got my first card, i was pre approved for a card but i had to actually apply for it to get it.

We have to assume the OP regards the term 'gave' as in the context 'they allowed me to have one'....... not necessarily 'gave' as in they just sent it to me! :beer:

for instance my mate gave me £100 til payday - doesn't mean he's literally given it to me for keeps.... lol. It refers to my context as meaning i asked and he said ok.

davethorp

nick74 wrote: »

Experian recently gave me a credit score of 999 out of 999.

Which as Experian merely generate a random number doesn't really mean a lot

never-in-doubt

davethorp wrote: »

Which as Experian merely generate a random number doesn't really mean a lot

agreed - have you still got your number generator mate? lol, that was funny being able to post that to shut these people up that whinged about experian [STRIKE]number generator[/STRIKE] score!

slig

When I turned 18 (7 years ago) my bank sent me a credit card (barclaycard). I certainly didn't request it or fill in anything to get it. I upgraded my bank account at the same time so they could possibly have tricked me into signing something then, but I'm fairly sure they just sent it to me without me asking for it.

Is it 100% impossible for a bank to send out a credit card without the person agreeing to it?

never-in-doubt

slig wrote: »

When I turned 18 (7 years ago) my bank sent me a credit card (barclaycard). I certainly didn't request it or fill in anything to get it. I upgraded my bank account at the same time so they could possibly have tricked me into signing something then, but I'm fairly sure they just sent it to me without me asking for it.

Is it 100% impossible for a bank to send out a credit card without the person agreeing to it?

7 years ago things were different...... could have happened but won't now. Unenforceability!

Moggles_2

nick74 wrote: »

I've never known a lender show an account as dormant simply because the full balance is cleared every month. I have 5 cards I've cleared in full by DD every month for a number of years ...

Neither would the balance be shown as zero. Your most recent transactions, those posted to your account(s) after your statement was printed, would appear on your credit reports. This is known as a rolling balance.

In summary, if you always settle your balance in full, you'll build an excellent credit history and avoid all interest charges

Neato

I got the credit card when I opened the student account. I just assumed it was something you got with it so I guess I must have signed for it while filling in all the forms. Seeing how people have said they are addictive is putting me off quite a lot. I might see how long I can keep it while just spending <£50 (or nothing if I haven't cleared the balance) on it each month and paying it off. If I can't I'll just snap it.

Thanks for all your help guys:beer:

Ritchie74

never-in-doubt wrote: »

Ok, so the lender you use may not report like this but the majority do! What I mean is each month on the Credit file it will show balance £0 - prev balance £0 etc etc which gives the impression of dormancy to prospective lenders. Having a balance is proven to be a bigger sales pitch when considering credit, the lenders know you're good for it. Paying in full each month won't do you any favours really, apart from save you some interest.

Forget the experian score, i've just changed it so now you're only 768 but you know what? My guess is probably more accurate than theirs! lol - they mean nothing in the real world...... trust me :rolleyes:

Dormancy is defined as no spend, refunds, interest or payments in last x months (in my experience usually 12 months).
If a customer is spending and making full payment each month they are certainly classed as active. However they are not classed as profitable. This will not effect credit score as credit score has to be based on risk and not profitability. Lenders may not cross sell other products or raise limits due to this however, as you are costing the bank to have your CC but not making it money.
I have never paid interest on any CC and have excellent credit score and never been refused a financial product.

Ritchie74

Moggles wrote: »

Neither would the balance be shown as zero. Your most recent transactions, those posted to your account(s) after your statement was printed, would appear on your credit reports. This is known as a rolling balance.

In summary, if you always settle your balance in full, you'll build an excellent credit history and avoid all interest charges

Agreed! Your balance at cycle day is shown at the bureaus, not balance after payment is made. Will show the balance as per your statement.
And credit score is not random BTW!!!
I have 12 years experience in credit risk at 3 different banks and beleive me they all work in much the same way (however credit products do differ somewhat)