Accepted for a vanquis card

downnotout

Hello all, I am just after a bit of wisdom/advise. A little background if I may, in 2008 I had a business that went to the wall, 16k of debt, unemployed and a newly single dad of two (with custody). Fast forward to today, I have a loan and credit card tha are due to "drop off" the radar soon, leaving a silly default from 2009 (catalogue ) and two ccj's, one now satisfied and the other 'active' due to fall off December 2014.
These days my circumstances are much different from back then, I have a wonderful OH, a new baby and I'm in my 3rd year of a nursing degree. Credit wise I have stayed away from most forms of credit due to my poor rating however over that last 12 months I have started to apply (and get) various types of credit. As it stands I have:
Vodafone contract phone - this was a whim and I deeply regret.
Littlewoods account - used for white goods and presents (presents usually use the rewards) - not really all that bothered about this account, it works out dear but then that's the price you pay for being sub prime.
Car finance - offered and accepted by fowlers finance, however looking through the paper work I ran a mile, 15% interest monthly, !!!!!! Turpin had the decency to wear a mask, these guys made me realise that a newer car was a luxury that I didn't need.
Finally I have been accepted for a cc from vanquis.
Now I am at my peak of credit wanting, I will be winding down the Littlewoods account at leisure, only a small balance, but what I need to know is how do I manage these credit accounts effectively to ensure that when the ccj's fall off, tha my credit worthiness is as good as it can be?
The reason of course is that in 2/3 years time I would like get get on the property ladder. I realise that I am in the toxic lending bracket at the moment, but I feel that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I know my limits on what I can afford to pay out each month and I'm not silly enough to think I've got a £500 credit card to finance Xmas with. Any thoughts are appreciated.

LadyV2508

Hi there!

My advice would be to keep doing what you are doing and work on getting the debts paid off bit by bit, month by month.

Throw whatever you can at the debts that you are paying highest interest on - these are the ones to focus on getting rid of as quickly as possible.

Once Littlewoods is paid off i would recommend staying away from catalogues - as you said, theyre much more expensive and the credit cycle continues. The same to be said about the car - getting a car on finance is unneccessary and there are plenty of cheap second hand cars out there - we paid £250 for our little fiesta and a year later its still going strong!

With the vanquis card only use this if you absoluely have to, and if you do use it pay it off in full every month. Make sure you are on the electoral register and registered at the correct address with any credit account that you have (mobile phone provider etc). Have a look over your credit report (you can get a copy of £2.00 from Equifax) and make sure all of the details are correct, and if not contact them straight away to rectify any mistakes.

Just be patient and your credit score will improve, just keep going with it

downnotout

Thank you for your reply, I was thinking of ditching the Littlewoods account early next year, I didn't go for the car finance in the end and the vanquis card I was thinking of paying the council tax or petrol only clearing the balance each month. The phone contract ends in June. Was thinking of cancelling and going on a sim only deal using the iPhone that I have.

LadyV2508

Yes there are some great deals out there, i always found 02 to be very good. Good luck with it all :beer:

UsetheFORCE

I would keep your littlewoods account running albeit with a low balance as if this is your longest running active account then it will be of benefit to keep it clocking up 000000's

regards

downnotout

Does that make a lot of difference? What about the limit? It's near 2k available.

UsetheFORCE

Age of oldest account and average age of accounts come into the equation.

I was also conscious you may have a high limit as it is a SDG catalogue, they seem quite liberal with the limits. This helps with ratios plus is a different form of credit account.

I would definitely keep it open if I was in your position, even if you only maintain a low balance on it, say £50.

Regards