getting a UK credit card when living in Spain

HT81

My in-laws live in Spain follwing their retirement, they have lived there for approximately 10 years, they have used our address to obtain new credit cards to get 0% APR, they aren't strictly UK residents so I question if this is legal and also if it would affect our ability to get credit?
Thanks for your help
HT81

Hazzinho

It won't affect you unless they get found out and you are implicated with a cifas flag. You could be getting credit in their name as far as a bank knows.

chanz4

all cards do say uk resident

Curr946

I agree with Hazzinho. Not an issue for YOU, unless THEY stop paying. In which case you become the banks target as, they have not been UK residents for a while...

Chanz4 is right, you MUST be a uk resident to open credit cards, so they in a way committing fraud.

[Deleted User]

definately fraud

Fiddlestick

Why don't they get Spanish cards since they have lived there for ten years?

Ben8282

HT81 wrote: »

My in-laws live in Spain follwing their retirement, they have lived there for approximately 10 years, they have used our address to obtain new credit cards to get 0% APR, they aren't strictly UK residents so I question if this is legal and also if it would affect our ability to get credit?
Thanks for your help
HT81

I don't think you are explaining all the facts here.

Are your in-laws habitually using your address as their UK correspondence/contact address for other purposes, for example as an address for their UK driving licences, their UK bank accounts, credit cards etc?

I am saying this because I don't see how they can have obtained new 0% cards at your address without a good UK credit history associated with your address, especially as they are presumably not on the electoral roll at your address. Also, in order to have obtained such cards, they must be maintaining a UK bank account and presumably have a UK income (their pension income??).

I don't think that having your in-laws living with you (as far as credit card companies know) would have any impact on your own credit files unless you are financially associated with your in-laws (joint bank account or joint mortgage account normally).

It is very difficult to define exactly what the credit card companies mean by 'UK Resident'. Do they mean physical presence in the UK? Tax residency in the UK? Posession of a UK income and an active UK credit file? Ability to provide an address in the UK? I think this condition is more intended to stop foriegn tourists visiting the UK from obtaining cards rather than something to be used to take UK credit away from retired pepole with a UK income who have gone to live abroad.

Ben8282

Fiddlestick wrote: »

Why don't they get Spanish cards since they have lived there for ten years?

Probably because their income is UK derived and they don't want Euro billed cards. Or they have a sterling balance to transfer at 0% and don't want to convert their balance to Euros. Or Spanish cards don't offer 0% deals.

Nuclear_Themes

As someone who lives in Spain I can clear up why they don't want a spanish card... They're a pile of junk.

Firstly very few banks offer Credit Cards by UK standards. There are typically two types. One you need a mortgage for, and the other only lets you spend what you have in a deposit so is pretty much a debit card that lets you stay in hotels and hire cars.

Credit just isn't a big thing like it is in the UK.

chanz4

Nuclear_Themes wrote: »

As someone who lives in Spain I can clear up why they don't want a spanish card... They're a pile of junk.

Firstly very few banks offer Credit Cards by UK standards. There are typically two types. One you need a mortgage for, and the other only lets you spend what you have in a deposit so is pretty much a debit card that lets you stay in hotels and hire cars.

Credit just isn't a big thing like it is in the UK.

sounds a very good system, as to not get you into debt