Aqua, Barclaycard Initial, Capital One Classic or Vanquis?

Lessbutbetter

haha! that is ridiculous. I do like banking with them, and have no horror stories, however they do like to charge alot for certain things, notably just holding a bank account!! My ultimate reward fee is going up next month to £15 pm.. ridiculous! never tried out any of their benefits yet but i flippin hope they are worth the money

You're maybe best not having one!

thanks

GooliesOfFire

KingElvis wrote: »

The Barclaycard would very likely come with a limit between 300 and 600 pounds, they do up your limit (if you behave) every six months so within a year, you have a 2k limit.

Hope that helps.

Close to what you say. My wife just got her first credit card - Barclaycard Initial with £800 limit. Not the card she wanted (she wants M&S) but she has to start somewhere. She is not even registered on the ER, but has a few joint accounts with me.

Lessbutbetter

Thanks for the info goolies of fire!

I just don't get it though with lenders. Apparently you need to be definitely registered on the electoral roll, however your wife got accepted and isn't on it. Weird isn't it?!

They clearly have different criteria for different people/histories. I may consider it but i'd prefer a straight up decent card with a substantial limit. My cap1 is essentially just to start a CC history on my report, so im not holding out any hope on them increasing my card to anywhere near that...ever!

credit is a funny thing

GooliesOfFire

Lessbutbetter wrote: »

Thanks for the info goolies of fire!

I just don't get it though with lenders. Apparently you need to be definitely registered on the electoral roll, however your wife got accepted and isn't on it. Weird isn't it?!

I think that being registered on the ER helps when you apply for a credit, but it's not essential.
In last 6-7 years she had no problems with opening current accounts with visa debit cards and overdraft (Alliance&Leicester-closed, LloydsTSB-closed, Smile-closed, Halifax-joint with me, Barclays-currently), car finance (Toyota), mortgage (Nationwide, joint application with me). She is a 2nd card holder (my Tesco credit card we use for shopping). I think only 1 bill is in her name - Council Tax. All other bills are in my name.

This is her first credit card though.

EDIT:
I must add that she applied online and got accepted straightaway.

hello2007

GooliesOfFire wrote: »

I think that being registered on the ER helps when you apply for a credit, but it's not essential.
In last 6-7 years she had no problems with opening current accounts with visa debit cards and overdraft (Alliance&Leicester-closed, LloydsTSB-closed, Smile-closed, Halifax-joint with me, Barclays-currently), car finance (Toyota), mortgage (Nationwide, joint application with me). She is a 2nd card holder (my Tesco credit card we use for shopping). I think only 1 bill is in her name - Council Tax. All other bills are in my name.

This is her first credit card though.

EDIT:
I must add that she applied online and got accepted straightaway.

It is essential to be register on the electrol roll to get credit and I do not believe that your wife got all that credit without being on the electrol roll.

I have a barclaycard Intial which is the hardest card to get out of the subprime cards and she would have to be on the electrol roll to get that card.

GooliesOfFire

Believe or not.. she's not on the ER, she's not even British (we need to get her nationality sorted this year).

But she has a current account with Barclays (with visa debit card and overdraft) and Barclaycard Initial (from this week).


Initial Credit Card
29.9% APR Representative (variable)

An Initial Credit Card could be right for you, if:

• You have limited credit history
• You earn more than £10,000 a year
• You're on the electrol roll at your current address

An Initial Credit Card will not be suitable for you, if:

• You are not yet 18
• You have been declared bankrupt
• You have had a CCJ or IVA register against you in the last 5 years
• You are already a Barclaycard customer

It's quite funny. Surely when they check her credit file they know she's not on the ER.

This is about my Barclaycard Simplicity...

Think about our Platinum Credit Card if you:

• Want some time out from paying interest on your balance transfer
• Have a good credit rating
• You have no history of bankruptcy
• You have not had any County Court Judgments (CCJs) or Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) registered against you in the past 5 years
• You have a history of managing credit commitments well i.e. have existing credit and at least 4 years of experience managing credit cards, loans, overdraft or mortgage
• You have always made payments on time
• Don't already have a Barclaycard
• Have had a permanent UK address for 3 months or more
• Have a regular income of more than £20,000 pa
• Excluding a mortgage, your debt on credit cards or store cards is less than 10% of your income
• Are aged 21 or over

It doesn't mention anything about being on the ER. So is it really a requirement or just a guideline before you commit your credit application? Surely here credit history/score must be strong even without the ER registration. She earns only £17k/pa, but that's more than enough for Barclaycard Initial.

GooliesOfFire

Or maybe foreigners don't need to be on the ER as they simply cannot.

izools

GooliesOfFire wrote: »

Believe or not.. she's not on the ER, she's not even British (we need to get her nationality sorted this year).

But she has a current account with Barclays (with visa debit card and overdraft) and Barclaycard Initial (from this week).

I believe you, I was approved for a Barclaycard Initial a couple of years ago as a Barclays Bank (then) customer, despite not being on the ER at the time.

The ER is primarily used as an ID check but if she already has financial products with the bank it's not so important as they've already verified her ID opening the bank account so go off the back of that instead