Confused about credit score

Ilovecupcakes

After burying my head in the sand for years about my lack of credit rating l have finally decided to tackle it.
I applied for my credit report from equifax and my score came back as 526 which according to them is excellent but from some online research l believe it's not that great?

Now l only have a current acount (previously a student then a graduate account) and a mobile phone account. No defaults on either of them although until quite recently l was living out of my overdraft. I know l need to get a credit card and use it regulary to improve my score but i'm not really sure where to start. Do l go for one of the 'bad credit' cards that Martin recommends or am l likely to get accepted for a better one? I realise that it's probably not a good idea to go for a credit card with my current account holder due to my overdraft.

Any advice would be very gratefully appreciated, and sorry for the long post!:)

[Deleted User]

Aqua's a good place to start, particularly with their new range of products. Otherwise Vanquis, Cap One, Barclaycard Initial.

Spend and pay off in full each month, and you should see benefits.

Ilovecupcakes

Ok so l'm definitely best applying for one of the 'bad credit' cards first then?

I have one more question which l realise is going to sound very stupid but as a credit card virgin l'm struggling to get my head round it all :huh: When it says pay it of in full every month will l be given a date every month when it has to be paid by? I would intend just logging into my current account internet banking and paying the credit card of weekly, l assume this is ok? Thanks!

the-mango

Just to add my experience, I am currently a student so a bit financially before you, but I also had no credit history and I applied to a 'bad' credit card (Aqua) and was declined. After this I went to my bank, Santander, where I have a student overdraft which is fully maxed out and was accepted for one of their normal cards. It's worth maybe just having a quick chat with your bank to see if they'll give you any indication of whether they'd be likely to give you a card.

lisyloo

When it says pay it of in full every month will l be given a date every month when it has to be paid by?

The best sure-fire way to do it is to set up a direct debit for the full amount, then you just need to make sure you have the money available.
The only caveat is be careful the first month as they can take a while to set up.

Ilovecupcakes

the-mango wrote: »

Just to add my experience, I am currently a student so a bit financially before you, but I also had no credit history and I applied to a 'bad' credit card (Aqua) and was declined. After this I went to my bank, Santander, where I have a student overdraft which is fully maxed out and was accepted for one of their normal cards. It's worth maybe just having a quick chat with your bank to see if they'll give you any indication of whether they'd be likely to give you a card.

Thanks l had heard that banks are happy to give credit cards to students with accounts with them so l'm kicking myself for not applying for one at the time. I have had a reasonably well paid job for a number of years now but lived out of my overdraft for no other reason than l was to lazy to pay it of! I'm still in two minds as to whether l should wait a few more months to demonstrate to my bank that l can handle my finances (eg. not living of my overdraft) and then try and apply for their credit card.
I guess l am just a but scared of applying for the wrong one, being declined and it showing up in my credit report :undecided

the-mango

Ilovecupcakes wrote: »

Thanks l had heard that banks are happy to give credit cards to students with accounts with them so l'm kicking myself for not applying for one at the time. I have had a reasonably well paid job for a number of years now but lived out of my overdraft for no other reason than l was to lazy to pay it of! I'm still in two minds as to whether l should wait a few more months to demonstrate to my bank that l can handle my finances (eg. not living of my overdraft) and then try and apply for their credit card.
I guess l am just a but scared of applying for the wrong one, being declined and it showing up in my credit report :undecided

I was worried about that too, but before I actually applied formally to Santander I spoke to one of the advisors there and they gave me a pretty clear indication that I'd get one, it might be worth having a short chat with someone at your bank first just to see what they might be able to do?