Rebuilding credit. Getting a credit card?

cuddlymarm

Hi

My OH was checking his Experian account the other day and looking whether he had made any progress now that he is discharged. He has written to all the creditors and all but one now say satisfied. Eventually we want to buy a house again so we need to rebuild the credit ratings as soon as possible.
Experian say in theory he can get a Vanquis credit card. So my question is are we better getting a card when we can and pay it off every month. Will this improve OHs credit score?
If we could live without credit ever again we would but realise that we have to have a decent credit score if we are ever going to be able to buy a house.

Cuddles:rotfl:

cuddlymarm

Bump

philnicandamy

when you say "eventually" it will be....credi file cleanups are only really damage limitation people BR 2yrs or more have found mortgages in the past but with a high deposit......the current financial climate it's difficult for anybody let alone a discharged bankrupt to find a mortgage provider

The vanquis card will show on files BUT IF you use it once a month make sure the balance is paid EVERYTIME otherwise the sky high APR will kill you TBH...sadly not a great deal you can do to improve a credit file until the BR drops off after 6yrs and one more thing of note my credit files were the same cleaned up & everything as it should be yet vanquis refused me a card...yet Natwest gave me a full account with O/D etc & that was after 2yrs....so not a guarantee vanquis will accept you

cuddlymarm

Hi

Thanks for the advice. We know its going to take time to rebuild everything. The major thing is knowing what to do for the best really. Whether applying and getting knocked back will do more harm than good. Whether regularly saving will make a difference. We're with the Co op and both still have Visa Electron cards at the moment. Hopefully they will soon allow OH to have a normal Visa card current account and an ISA.
I can't decide whether the Co op are very good with BRs and ex BRs but are quite conservative when it comes to trading up to a better account.

Has anyone had experience of this. Any advice will be most welcome
Cuddles:rotfl:

philnicandamy

Sadly I left the co-op they did say at first they would happily upgrade my account to a current one if I kept the account & didnt O/D etc....then they changed rules & said they'll consider NO account upgrade to any bankrupt until it drops off files in 6yrs......Natwest gave me a full current account no questions asked

sainsburys do an internet saver account....worth a shot? they will ask for proof of discharge though

a fair few undischarged/discharged BR's have opened YBS savings accounts without problem..you cant win though because if you keep applying for various places they record the searches on credit files so any potential lender will be nervous.....thought about a 30day rolling mobilw contract? they're another thing that will help improve files

cuddlymarm

Hi again

OH approached YBS but they needed a cheque to open the account to prove that he really was him and of course we haven't got a cheque book.
These are the stupid things (I know the banks don't think they are stupid) that annoy me. We're just saving in a big jar at the moment.

Cuddles:rotfl:

nomis21

I have read a few threads about newly discharged ex BR wanting to build up there credit file and apply for new bank accounts etc etc, iam newly discharge and have written to my creditors to clean up my CF.
But correct me if iam wrong, would it not better to wait until the last year before the BR drops of yr credit file to start applying for something like a vanquis card?
I dont know anyone who has applied or got one but there is also the cashplus prepay card which runs in conjuction with credit builder, as far as i can understand they loan you 50 pounds and you repay it back in instalments over a year and then they make a note on your CF to say the loan was paid satisfactory, maybe this would be a good start?
Personally i dont want to start applying for credit to early as it will probably be a 99.9% refusal anyway. Ive learned my lesson...!