Will cancelling my credit card account look bad on my credit report?

mrepole

Having been a little (lets say) unwise with my credit card in the past I managed to owe a small amount of money for a long time. Anyway things have improved and I have finally paid it off. I understand that a good way to improve my credit rating is to use a credit card but Halifax told me they would not issue another card to me.
I asked for the account to be closed down but the guy I spoke to told me that he couldn't tell me that it would not look good on my credit rating if I closed the account and that it would probably be best to leave the account dormant and apply for a card elsewhere.
Is this right?
I do not see the point of having the account if I have no card with it because it has no use.

Any advice would be greatful.

Thanks

td_007

mrepole wrote: »

Having been a little (lets say) unwise with my credit card in the past I managed to owe a small amount of money for a long time. Anyway things have improved and I have finally paid it off. I understand that a good way to improve my credit rating is to use a credit card but Halifax told me they would not issue another card to me.

Do mean Halifax will not renew the card or are you looking to get a new card? Till when is your present card valid?

mrepole wrote: »

I asked for the account to be closed down but the guy I spoke to told me that he couldn't tell me that it would not look good on my credit rating if I closed the account and that it would probably be best to leave the account dormant and apply for a card elsewhere.

You can continue using the card till it expires and if it is not renewed then the a/c will close automatically. As long as you use the card and make repayments on time you will continue to strengthen your credit record.

CannyJock

Agree. Once your balance is clear and you're no longer paying interest, just use it each month to buy something and clear in full.

Having no "current" credit can become a negative - much better to keep at least one card going and report a good payment history.

mrepole

Hi

At the moment I do not have a card and have not for some time now. When I spoke to them on the phone I was told that a new card would not be issued.
This is where it got a bit confusing as I was told that the account would remain open and if I wanted I could close it down, I chose to close it. I was than put through to some one else who spoke in riddles, this was because he could not give me financial advise as it could be seen as biased. I think I understood it that he was saying not to close the account for the reason mentioned above.
At the moment the account remains open.

CannyJock

mrepole wrote: »

Hi

At the moment I do not have a card and have not for some time now. When I spoke to them on the phone I was told that a new card would not be issued.
This is where it got a bit confusing as I was told that the account would remain open and if I wanted I could close it down, I chose to close it. I was than put through to some one else who spoke in riddles, this was because he could not give me financial advise as it could be seen as biased. I think I understood it that he was saying not to close the account for the reason mentioned above.
At the moment the account remains open.

Take a look at your credit report to see how the card is being reported there.

If there's nothing adverse there, I'd apply for another card with someone else then close this one.

Sounds to me like they're messing you about - if the account is "open" then you should have a card for it - by definition if they're not issuing another card then the account is "closed" and they should report it as closed.

mrepole

Ok, I will do that then.

Thanks