Closing Credit Cards

cakeforbrains

Morning!

Does anyone know if shutting down credit cards has an adverse effect on a credit file for the purposes of obtaining a mortgage?

Both me and my husband are left with a lot of empty cards after paying off debt. Between us we have over £40k of available revolving credit, which I am concerned looks excessive. I'd like to shut down several cards leaving about half of that, but I'm worried about making any changes to the credit files!

Also, for bonus points, does anyone know if shutting an unused current account will have a good or bad effect?

[Deleted User]

It would be sensible to close some of them.

d70cw6

i would close credit cards until you have something more reasonable (like a £10k limit).

Also dont close current accounts, switch them for free moneyz.

Experian_company_representative

Hi Cakeforbrains!

It can be a bit of a balancing act, as having too much credit can be a concern for some lenders, as can having very little credit. Having a couple of well run accounts will help your report.

Our Ask James page goes over the pro's and con's of closing unused accounts here.

Kind regards
Neil

Thrugelmir

There's no harm in performing housekeeping. Particularly if the you had sizable debts previously. As these balances will remain visible for 6 years. Lenders no nothing about you so anything you do to paint a better picture can only be positive.