Do credit checks check your income?

IamwhoIam_3

Hi,

I need to apply for another 0% credit card to transfer a balance, however I have just got a job and start in 5 weeks time. I have to put my income in when I apply for the card so my question is....
For my income can I include the salary I will be earning when I start work or do I need to wait until I have actually been paid a salary?
When companies do a credit rating do they look at your payment history and also your income?

Voltaire7

Why don't you work on an SOA and reduce your debt rather than just passing it to different cards?

Sounds like you're living beyond your means

IamwhoIam_3

Thanks but I am working to a budget plan. I have a lump sum that could pay off my credit cards but I want to use it to pay the bulk of my mortgage in August after my fixed term has finished. That way I will save thousands of pound in interest BUT it will still leave me with a 0% balance that I will need to transfer.

happy_bunny_2

As far as I know, salary is not recorded.

They may ask for proof of salary, particularly if you have not been in the job long. You wont be able to provide that.

I wouldn't fill out any false information, that can end up with a fraud marker on your file.

chanz4

happy_bunny wrote: »

As far as I know, salary is not recorded.

They may ask for proof of salary, particularly if you have not been in the job long. You wont be able to provide that.

I wouldn't fill out any false information, that can end up with a fraud marker on your file.

Unless the application is run past hunter

solentsusie

Some credit card applications do ask if you expect your income to increase/decrease within the next year.

You could always wait until you start the new job if you think your new income is going to impact positively on your application. Although only being in the job a very short time could also have an effect. Who knows, it depends on how the company does its credit scoring.

Good luck.

YorkshireBoy

IamwhoIam wrote: »

...I have just got a job and start in 5 weeks time. I have to put my income in when I apply for the card so my question is....
For my income can I include the salary I will be earning when I start work or do I need to wait until I have actually been paid a salary?

In addition to income, you will almost certainly asked for your:

- Employers name
- Employment type (ie full or part time)
- Quite possibly job title
- Time with employer (could ask for either years/months, or a specific start date)

Of course all these are at the time of applying...not at some point down the line (in your case, 5 weeks).

If you fabricate your answer to current income, you'll have to fabricate answers to the other questions above.

And at some point down the line you'll make another application for credit (this time telling the truth!) and there will be a mismatch on the FPA database, quite possibly resulting in a "material falsehood: facility denied" CIFAS marker.

Does that help?

GingerBob_3

IamwhoIam,

In answer to your question - no, credit checks don't check your income. This information is not held on the CRA's files about you. Just put down your expected future income. They do look at your payment history on all credit accounts you've got, and going back for six years.

Details you put on your application form may be posted to a secretive database called National Hunter (run by one of the CRAs) and may be held indefinitely. Future applications may be compared with your current one on this database. Any large discrepancy in income over a short time may be flagged up as potentially "fraudulent". People's income does, of course, vary from time to time, so the blunt instrument of Hunter is troublesome and lacks adequate regulation (lots of "maybes" here, because few people really know the details about National Hunter, and they won't tell you).

Although credit card companies often ask for irrelevant information about your employer, they don't contact him, so nothing to worry about there.

Put down your approximate income this time; if in doubt about things like bonuses just include them. Over the years I've applied for very many credit cards, always successfully, and each time I've just made a guess at my income.

If they ask you for proof of income (they probably won't) tell 'em to sod off and apply elsewhere. Be aware about mortgage applications, which are much more rigorous, and designed to catch you out.

Finally, if they insist on a landline phone number. Make one up if you're not happy about this, or use your works number instead of your private one.

YorkshireBoy

GingerBob wrote: »

Put down your approximate income this time...

It doesn't sound like the OP has an income at the moment. They're asking if they should include on an application now the income they will be earning once they start their job in 5 weeks time.

GingerBob_3

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

It doesn't sound like the OP has an income at the moment. They're asking if they should include on an application now the income they will be earning once they start their job in 5 weeks time.

I would say that should be near enough. They don't check that you are actually employed and have received an income. One thing though - current account turnover, another secretive data set - something might get picked up if they analyse it. The OP might be best to leave the application 'till his first income has been credited.

IamwhoIam_3

Thanks that is extremely helpful.