Freemans catalogue: Paying installments to improve credit history.

The_Offside_Rule

Good morning all,

I have heard that people with a bad credit history have bought things off a catalogue firm such as Freemans and paid off on a monthly to improve their credit standing.

I want to do this, but is it sufficient to buy a £10 product and finance it for 3 months, or does the time and value have to be greater to make a positive impact?

Thanks to all in advance! :money:

Tixy

Ideally its a good idea to maintain an ongoing payment history, not just for a few months.

Have you tried getting a subprime credit card?
The benefit to this over a catalogue is that you can just use the credit card for things you would purchase anyway each month not have to buy overpriced goods from a catalogue regularly.
With a credit card you can repay in full each month and keep resuing the card each month, and not pay any interest.

The value of the purchase is not as important as showing you are handling credit responsibly.

If you are unable to get a credit card at the moment but already have the catalogue account then you could still use this in the short term as you describe but then try to get a credit card in a few months time.

The_Offside_Rule

Thanks Tixy,

I have a pre-paid credit card at the moment which I don't use. This card has the 'Credit Builder' facility on it. This will start showing on my credit report from November 1st.

So should I not bother using the catalogue method?

Thanks again.

Tixy

If you plan to buy something from the catalogue anyway then paying over a few months might be a good idea (I assume its interest free).

If you don't want/need anything from the catalogue I'd probably wait and try to get a subprime credit card is a few months (if you cannot get one currently).