Declined Credit Card - Advice Please

polly30

I currently have two credit cards both of which have now reached the end of their 0% BT deal. I applied for a Santander card and unfortunately been declined.

I have spent the past 6 months trying to get my credit report sorted out and to date have never missed a payment on any of my cards. I have only just been added to the electoral role at my current address having lived there for 9 months, changed jos in May this year and opened my current bank account 9 months ago. On top of that I have had 4 searches on my account in 3 months however these are for remortgaging. Im guessing that this combination has made me unattractive to prospective lenders.

Is it best to now leave my account to settle for say 6 months and then re-apply or should i try again straight away?

I am keen to clear my debt ASAP and not sure whether I should try for a bank loan to consolidate or just pay as much as i can to the cards until my credit file is looking a bit better?

only trouble is i am moving house again this month!!!!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Current Debt:

Virgin £4100
Barclays £2,500

Moggles_2

I have only just been added to the electoral roll at my current address having lived there for 9 months ... only trouble is i am moving house again this month.

That's a pity. In that case, you need to enrol at your new address ASAP and before you submit a further cc application. It's free after all and everyone's credit history improves no end once registered. I'd make this your number one priority.

Your name cannot be added to the ER retrospectively. Had you enrolled in August, your details would have appeared on 1 September. If you register between now and mid-November, public records will show that you've lived at your new address since at least 1 December 2009. (The delay is due to the annual, borough-wide audit that's carried out at this time of year.)

On 1 December, you may want to contact the electoral services department of your local council to ask when the credit reference agencies are next updated, as frequency varies between boroughs. Then check your electoral status is correctly recorded on credit files at your new address before you apply for a new credit card

izools

Also since you have just moved jobs & bank as well this will make for a lower score with most lenders.

To be approved for a high street card with 0% deal I'd expect you to have been with your bank / job / address for atleast a year, some lenders look for two or three years, as it shows stability.

I'd wait at least six months before reapplying to anyone, and if unsuccessful the MBNA Classic card as a somewhat more lax approach to credit scoring, but they still offer a balance transfer deal. It's 1.9% rather than 0% but would serve as a good stop gap if you can't get a 0% card in six months.

Oh wait, you have £4,100 with virgin - so an MBNA Classic would be useless as Virgin are MBNA, too.

Moggles or N-I-D know of a balance transfer creditor that isn't so strict on time with bank / job / address?