Unsuccessful Application

hyposmurf

Im looking to move property with my partner.We both checked out our credit history on experian, mine came out as excellent nd my partners was 754 which is fair.We decided to boost her credit by her applying for a credit card.Think I may have caused a problem as I initially made the call asking which cards were interest free on purchases.My partner then carried on the call making the application, but made a few mistakes with her postcode and wsnt sure what the banks defined as resident in the uk.So application was unsuccessful.

Were looking to apply for a mortgage in the next 6 months.What do we do to bring my partners credit back up?

I've checked online and on this forum,but still feel confused.How long do we have to wait until she can apply for another credit card.

Some other points to note is that she is on a Easycash Visa Electron.Was her first card and she prefered this card as it was simple no charges etc.The application she made was with her own bank.Should she apply next time to a different bank or maybe apply for anothr current acccount card then apply for a credit card.Or should she apply for one of those easy credit cards mentioned on here, that they dont check your credit history but enable you to build up credit?Such as the Capital One Classic?

Gutting as neither of us have ever missed a payment, but thats just the way its worked out.

monalysa

hi
think you are mixing debit cards with credit cards, dont think there is any credit card you can apply for that wont have a credit search done , save one pre approved by your bank and even they will use data fed through from cra's or maybe prepaid credit builder cards?. Capital one cards cant be obtained without a credit search. BTW what is a current account card? and which payments havent you missed?

izools

Why is her credit score low? The score will tell you what information is holding it down.

Also, have you read the actual credit file data? This is far more important than the "Score".

Taking out a credit card just six months prior to applying for a mortgage might be a bad thing as six months old it will be classed as a "new" account and could actually put the mortgage company off lending to her as there won't be enough repayment history on the credit card account to prove she is capable of handling it responsibly as a long term obligation.

If she's never had credit in the past a) she won't get a mortgage and b) it will take a lot longer than six months to build up sufficient payment history to keep a mortgage underwriter happy and comfortable.

She needs a full bank account and a credit card. Preferably a mobile phone contract, too. These will need to be run flawlessly for 12 months plus before any prime lenders will touch her. Sorry you mightn't be able to live your dream of homeownership as soon as you'd hoped

chexum

A single search is unlikely to pull down the score (nor the chances). It might not even show up as a search if there were any mistakes during the application.

The cause of the low rating seems to be more likely the "thin file". As I understand, this is not necessarily a problem for mortgages, if the applicant otherwise has a few years of banking history that can be scrutinised by the human underwriter.

On the other hand, if they just arrived in the country just 1-2 years ago, I have no idea how banks would view that. Often, one main requirement for any credit is being resident in the UK, which they generally translate as having an address history of 3 years, but it's just a guideline (no time is required legally), and the requirement is not always enforced (though, again, I have no idea, how this relates to mortgages).

izools

chexum wrote: »

if the applicant otherwise has a few years of banking history

Unfortunately, OP's Mrs only has a Halifax Easycash account from what I read, which neither generates an account score with the bank, nor does it appear on her credit file

chexum

izools wrote: »

Unfortunately, OP's Mrs only has a Halifax Easycash account from what I read, which neither generates an account score with the bank, nor does it appear on her credit file

That's right, but as far as I understand, mortgages are less automated, and the bank is willing to trust the underwriter more. So they could be potentially willing to go through the statements manually to look for whatever they are looking for

izools

chexum wrote: »

That's right, but as far as I understand, mortgages are less automated, and the bank is willing to trust the underwriter more. So they could be potentially willing to go through the statements manually to look for whatever they are looking for

I suppose you could be right, but I wouldn't be holding out a great deal of hope personally

hyposmurf

monalysa wrote: »

hi
think you are mixing debit cards with credit cards, dont think there is any credit card you can apply for that wont have a credit search done , save one pre approved by your bank and even they will use data fed through from cra's or maybe prepaid credit builder cards?. Capital one cards cant be obtained without a credit search. BTW what is a current account card? and which payments havent you missed?

These are the cards I was talking about:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/bad-credit-credit-cards

She never missed a payment.Current accoun1 card, I was refering to her Easycash card.Those credit cards scare me a little though.Surely if a Mortgage lender sees those on her credit file then that would not do her any fvours when w go to apply for a mortgage?

izools wrote: »

Unfortunately, OP's Mrs only has a Halifax Easycash account from what I read, which neither generates an account score with the bank, nor does it appear on her credit file

Ok so what if she changed her cashcard with Halifax to one that has an overdraft facility etc?Would they need to do another credit search?Would this recent search for the credit card cause problems obtaining the new bank account card?

hyposmurf

izools wrote: »

Why is her credit score low? The score will tell you what information is holding it down.

Also, have you read the actual credit file data? This is far more important than the "Score".

Taking out a credit card just six months prior to applying for a mortgage might be a bad thing as six months old it will be classed as a "new" account and could actually put the mortgage company off lending to her as there won't be enough repayment history on the credit card account to prove she is capable of handling it responsibly as a long term obligation.

If she's never had credit in the past a) she won't get a mortgage and b) it will take a lot longer than six months to build up sufficient payment history to keep a mortgage underwriter happy and comfortable.

She needs a full bank account and a credit card. Preferably a mobile phone contract, too. These will need to be run flawlessly for 12 months plus before any prime lenders will touch her. Sorry you mightn't be able to live your dream of homeownership as soon as you'd hoped

Only thing on her credit file was some mail order catalogue that she took out and cancelled,said something like settled account.Is it really min 6 months between getting a credit card and mortgage that shell ned to wait as not to effect her application?Why does it need to be a prime lender?My credit file is very high and hers was fair.We looking at a LTV of 70-75% mortgage.Neither of us have ever missed a payment or have a CCJ.

izools

It doesn't need to be a prime lender.

Ignore the "score". Fair means nothing to any creditor. It's just Experian's own scoring system - every creditor uses their own and will come to a different conclusion.

Although she has a job, income, and can prove her identity all that shows a mortgage underwriter is that she isn't on the dole, and she does exist. Unfortunately it doesn't demonstrate that she is capable of being responsible enough with that money to be trusted with a six figure loan.

A history with the bank, i.e. a full current account run for a year or so, will indeed show how she handles her money and vastly improve the chances of getting a mortgage with her bank, and a credit card / mobile phone contract, etc run for a year or so will also show 3rd party lenders that she can be responsible with her money.

Having a bank / credit history under a year old only shows that the borrower has been briefly responsible. Anyone underwriting a 25+ year loan will want to see evidence that both applicants can be responsible long term.

At the moment there's no evidence of that as far as an underwriter would be concerned I'm afraid.

A "cash account" - i.e. a Halifax Easycash, Natwest Step, RBS Key, Lloyds TSB Cash Account, Co-Operative Cashminder, etc aren't full current accounts, and they don't generate a credit rating with the bank. I.e. she could run the account very well but it wouldn't affect her chance of getting a mortgage.

Only full current accounts; those that come with a full Debit card, chequebook, and the option of an Overdraft, generate a score with the bank so even if she were to get a full current account now there would still be a time to wait so that the bank can see her income and expenditure each month over a period of time before they can confidently say "Yes, this customer is responsible with money". A couple of months doesn't show this.

You can try, and you might be lucky, just make sure to have a fall back plan.

hyposmurf

izools wrote: »

It doesn't need to be a prime lender.


A history with the bank, i.e. a full current account run for a year or so, will indeed show how she handles her money and vastly improve the chances of getting a mortgage with her bank, and a credit card / mobile phone contract, etc run for a year or so will also show 3rd party lenders that she can be responsible with her money.

What Im looking to do is get the ball moving, but knowing when to apply or whats the easy way to start Im still finding a little confusing.Last thing I want to happen is for her to apply again and get refused.

Should she apply for a mobile phone contract?Shes been pay as you go for years.Ive heard Vodafone and 3 Mobile are easier to get accepted for.
http://www.squidoo.com/badcreditmobile

Should she apply for a credit card that has an easier criteria to fill for application, such as the Capital One card?wouldnt this card ring alarm bells with a mortgage lnder when they do a search?

How about the pre-pai credit card?From this site on the link I provided above:
If you've been rejected for the 'expensive' cards above, there is a further last resort option. The Cashplus Creditbuilder* is a prepaid card, meaning you have to load it with cash before spending, rather than having a credit facility, which costs £4.95. However, you cannot be rejected for it!
Wouldnt this again ring alarm bells with a mortgage lender?Im pretty new to this kind of card.Is it all its cracked to be?

How about just applying for a current account card with an overdraft etc with her current bank(same bank she made the unsuccessfull application with) and doing away with the Easycash account?

Which would seem like the less risky option and more likely to get accepted?How long would she have to wait since this last unsuccessful application before applying for any of the above?

Is it worth conecting her financially with me?Or would that be playing with fire and possibly screw up my good credit history?Is it worth adding her pervious addres which is abroad in the EU?
Thanks for all your relies so far.