building credit

steveflower

I have lived abroad for several years and only been abck in the UK for 1 year (lived there from 17-24).

i was succesful in getting a mortgage in feb which is great, and obtaining a lloyds current account which i was pleaed with havng no credit history.

i live ina new house and consequently matching the address can be a pain so experian shows me as not on voters roll, they are looking into this but said it could take months,

my experian shows a few months of A1 mortgage payments from gmac and same for current acont but no other borrowing. i earn £35k and applied for a capital one card and got offered £200 which i thought was a bit tight

anyone know of any otehr firms that under my circumstances may be more generous and give me a chance ?

:j

jonesMUFCforever

If you have an account with LTSB have you tried them?

steveflower

yeah tried them about 2 months ago they declined me, they did recently offer me 1000 overdraft but said that the system not offering me a credit card yet

wayoflife

hey steve

with regards to your limite e.t.c im afraid you will have to ride the waves with this one. pay off in full every month and dont do above your credit limit. This is what I had to do for 12 months before getting a 'high street' credit card.

You may get lucky with another card, but even if you do apply for other cards make sure you keep your account active. I know its not what you want now, but its better than nothing

steveflower

thanks for the advice. i was wondering whether it best to pay off in full each month or leave a balance, you seem to have answered that one for me!

wayoflife

well for your pocket it is best to pay off in full.

there are contrary arguments and it differs from lender to lender, but I would definately say that with your situation (getting back into credit therefore higher apr's) then you must not for god sake do anything less than clear it in full as you will pay alot of interest!

what cards have you got then? Just the Capital One?

steveflower

hi
yeah just cap one

so how long do these things take, for example, if i use capital one every month and pay off every month, how long will it tend to take to be more credit worthy?

wayoflife

it took me just over a year

that is... that is when I tried for another card.

usually the 'sheep' as I like to call them say its between 3-6 months but Ill prefer to advise more likt 9 months to a year. I find it very hard to believe that you could get another card and build a good credit rating in 3 months

trust me though it will come around sooner than you think, dont be tempted to keep applying.

If you want another card then go for a vanquis visa card. they range upwards of 19.9% apr- 39.9% apr...again be careful and always triple check everything...

steveflower

thanks for that, i will do exactly as u say, a big help!

wayoflife

its ok mate....

now im not sure if 2 cards are better than one, but it does sound sensible, if in 12 months time another lender looks at your file and sees 2 cards being mantained rather than one?

steveflower

yeah your probably right, i think ill wait a month or two then get the vanquis one, then leave it for 12 months!