So i have a Credit Card but I'm still 'Poor'

callum9999

Paddy_H wrote: »

Thanks for all this help, i just want to do it all correctly and want to build a good history correctly and as fast as i can.

I'd imagine you should be able to get another card from either your bank or somewhere like Vanquis so it could be worthwhile to do that yes (but don't go applying to loads of places if you get rejections).

You can't build a history as fast as you can - that's why it's called "history"! For a good credit history you need to handle credit well for years! Just be patient.

And as I said before yet you still seem to think it holds any weight, IGNORE EXPERIAN. Those are just generic things that usually have a negative quality - it doesn't mean that your credit report is twice as negative as it is positive because you've got 5 bad and 2 good points! (EDIT: Though I see you posted that in response to someone asking so maybe you don't still have faith in it! Though they asked about your credit file - which that isn't. I.e. what addresses are showing on the file, is it showing you're on the electoral roll, are your credit accounts being reported as being paid on time etc.)

cats2012

As other have said I think there are three key issues here

- Things take time - 2 months is nothing

- Where are you on the electoral roll for? Where you live or the CC address? Why are they different?

- I think the biggest one is likely to be your payment stuff. You need to get a statement, of say £100 balance, and then pay the £100 off before the due date whenever that might be. If you pay the £100 off before the statement date so that on the statement the balance is £0 it will not show as anything on your file. Equally if the due date is say 30th and you're paying on the 2nd you'll be getting late payments which are bad marks.

H2H

Gromitt

Tixy wrote: »

Statement dates are not the same every month, you need to ensure you are checking the statement (and therefore the due date for your payment) every month.

With at least Aqua it seems to be static. When I activated the card I was told "Your statement date will be x, and your due date will be y.". I setup a DD, and every month so far, the DD has occured on the same date, and the statement has always been available on the same date.

Tixy

Gromitt wrote: »

With at least Aqua it seems to be static. When I activated the card I was told "Your statement date will be x, and your due date will be y.". I setup a DD, and every month so far, the DD has occured on the same date, and the statement has always been available on the same date.

I don't have experiance of an Aqua card, but most will vary their statement dates for weekends/bank holidays etc. Perhaps Aqua still date their statements on that date even if they fall at the weekend?

Even if OPs due date does remain the same, the date he actually needs to make a payment is likely to vary to account for weekends and bank holidays (obviously not an issue for yourself as the DD date would change if it fell on a weekend).

UsetheFORCE

cats2012 wrote: »

- I think the biggest one is likely to be your payment stuff. You need to get a statement, of say £100 balance, and then pay the £100 off before the due date whenever that might be. If you pay the £100 off before the statement date so that on the statement the balance is £0 it will not show as anything on your file. Equally if the due date is say 30th and you're paying on the 2nd you'll be getting late payments which are bad marks.

H2H

Doesn't further spending on the card in that month mean a balance will register? If so, would be better to ensure that they pay off the balance and make no transactions prior to the next statement date?

cats2012

UsetheFORCE wrote: »

Doesn't further spending on the card in that month mean a balance will register? If so, would be better to ensure that they pay off the balance and make no transactions prior to the next statement date?

Yes sorry I didn't explain very well. What I meant was if someone spends an amount but pays it all off before it registers on a statement it won't look as good as if a statement balance is generated and then paid off. e.g. statement date is 20th, today is 10th,balance currently £0, i spend £50 today but then pay it off on Thursday so on 20th balance is still £0.

Not sure that's any better actually sorry

PHARR

Again thanks to all who replied, For those wondering why i don't live at where I'm enrolled on the electoral roll is because I'm in HM Armed Forces and use that address as its my mothers. She just stores my letters etc and i pick them up every couple of month.


I will stop looking at experian and carry on how I'm going, also now after all this advice i will ring up Aqua and ask for the statement date and due date and place a DB between those dates. Does this sound sensible?

Also does it matter on how much i spend on my CC?

Thanks

Tixy

Paddy_H wrote: »

Also does it matter on how much i spend on my CC?

Not massively. Often recommended not to spend more than 50% of the limit.
If its only for credit building then just a couple of small transactions a month is as good as anything.

As an aside - do keep an eye on your statements, make sure you read them all - even if its only every couple of months when you collect them. Always worth reading your statements in case fraudulent transactions occur or in case for some reason your payment is not correctly allocated to your account. Also the statements often contain any changes in T&Cs which you'd need to know about.

You might also want to consider setting up a DD for the account to repay the balance in full - that way you'll know for certain its getting paid on time (assuming you have enough funds in your bank account).

CLAPTON

forgot to ask

what is a DB?

anon_ymous

Paddy_H wrote: »

Because Aqua was voted or spoken about as the best to build up my credit history. I just went from there. Is there a way to spend on the credit card and pay back to make my credit rating better?

Im with LLoyds TSB. They are great help but i never thought of asking them for a card.

Im with Lloyds as well. I have a lower "income" than you do, but I do transfer at least £1300 in/out every month. I got the Lloyds platinum card, despite not having the required income of £15,000 and they gave me a £3000 limit.

Applied to Aqua and they only gave me a £250 limit. I've been with Lloyds for almost two years