Credit Limit

DaisyWells

Hi,

I am trying to improve my credit score. I have followed the information on the site and closed all of my unused credit cards.

I now only have one credit card left which they have upped my credit limit to £10k! I only wanted about 2k but they said that this will prevent them from having to do a credit check in the future if I ever need to increase it.

I know I can control myself and not use the extra credit on the account but for my credit score am I best to have a high creit limit, or lower it.

Thanks for any help.

ollyshaw

It might be worth lowering your available credit. If you think 2k is all you need ring them and demand they reduce it. They may moan but stand your ground.

Olly

JollyNolly

DaisyWells wrote:

Hi,

I am trying to improve my credit score. I have followed the information on the site and closed all of my unused credit cards.

I now only have one credit card left which they have upped my credit limit to £10k! I only wanted about 2k but they said that this will prevent them from having to do a credit check in the future if I ever need to increase it.

I know I can control myself and not use the extra credit on the account but for my credit score am I best to have a high creit limit, or lower it.

Thanks for any help.

Which card is this that's so keen to let you have lots of credit? Are you on a 0% deal?

Moggles_2

... am I best to have a high credit limit, or lower it?

Whilst it can be a good idea to close unused credit cards, lowering the limit on a card you do use will seldom improve your credit score and sometimes has the opposite effect!

Closing a card leaves a record on your credit file which persists for 6 years and contributes to your credit score.

In contrast, a request for a lower credit limit, leaves no record of the higher one. Consequently, those searching your file, see a user who has borrowed the maximum allowed on a low-limit card!

To see how this works, you may like to try the credit score calculator at:

http://www.moneyforums.co.uk/credit_...calculator.php

JollyNolly

Do you have any idea how accurate the calculator is? (I tried it, then made some major changes to my figures to see what the effect would be, and found there was very little in some cases).

arnie&caseysma!

i cant get the calculator - page not found

JollyNolly

Try this http://www.moneyforums.co.uk/credit_score_calculator.php

Llyllyll

Same error here...

markmc999

seems the URL is being "cut short".

Try opening in a new window (right click over link and select new window) if that doesnt work replace the ... with score_

so after the / you should have /credit_score_calculator.php

JollyNolly

Or easier still just click the link I gave above!!!

Moggles_2

Do you have any idea how accurate the calculator is?

The calculator is a useful indicator, but it's intended as a guide only.

That's all it can be, because scoring systems vary and lenders score applicants slightly differently.