student credit score question

cocostafford

hi guys.
I've got a query about how being a student will affect my credit score.
I start university in September to do a diploma that is being funded by the nhs - in that not only are there no course fees but I'm being paid a salary each month to be a student as the qualification im studying for is one the nhs is short of. I'll be earning about 14500 a year. (i realise i'm really lucky)
I'm 32 years old with a joint mortgage and a credit card that is currently on a barclaycard 0% until November with a balance of £6000. I want to take out a student account for the benefits however i'm concerned that lenders will see i'm a student, ignore the fact i'm still earning a salary and paying my mobile phone and mortgage etc on time and I will struggle to get another 0% offer in November.
What should I do?

phona

I don't really understand your question.

Are you trying to hide the fact you're a student? Lenders know you're a student because when you're filling in the application form you put "student" when it asks your employment status. There's no reason to imagine they'll ignore the other details on the form (ie your income) or what they find from the credit search (ie your mortgage/phone payments) and be overwhelmed by the fact you're a student. Their algorithm is much more complex than that!

AFAIK a student current account doesn't get reported any differently from a standard current account so lenders wouldn't be able to tell you're a student from that.
If the benefits of a student account work for you, then there's no reason not to go for it.

You may well find getting another 0% CC offer is held back more by your income than being a student. You already have a limit of at least £6k, and to BT that you'd be looking for another £6k. That total of £12k is a large percentage of your annual income - keep in mind the new CC provider can't be sure you'll pay off the old one so has to imagine you'll max both out. You should make a plan to pay off as much of the debt as you can before the current 0% offer runs out.

SeduLOUs

phona wrote: »

Lenders know you're a student because when you're filling in the application form you put "student" when it asks your employment status.

Not sure about this. Selecting 'student' ordinarily means dependant/not earning, when in fact the OP is employed and has a salary well above a minimum wage full time job.

I would have thought the correct answers on a credit card application form would be 'employed' in 'health care - NHS' with a salary of £14,500. I doubt the CC companies care that you spend your working work in a classroom instead of a consultation room. You could always call and check with them if you aren't sure.

Re the student account, I would open it for the perks and not worry about the rest. I don't believe it will show that level of detail on your file anyway and should just appear as a current account (perhaps someone else with a student account can clarify), and even if it did the CC companies don't care what type of account you have - they care about your income, outgoings and whether you've missed any payments already.

cocostafford

Basically I'm going to be employed by the NHS to be a student so I would put my employment status down as being employed full time.
I think what I'm asking is if the student account shows on a credit file as being a student account or just a current account. I'm planning on having the overdraft but not touching it unless its an absolute emergency.
Also my credit card debt was £9000 at the start of the year and I've got it down to £6000 to this date by paying off £300 a month by direct debit and then paying off a few lump sums of £500 a time when I've been able to so by November when the 0% runs out realistically i'm hoping it will be about £5000.

SeduLOUs

I suspect it will just appear as a current account. It's just a bank account with an interest free overdraft and some other perks.

Might be better asking on the StudentRoom forums or somewhere to get some definite answers of how it appears, or perhaps the bank you are applying to would be able to tell you?

Even if it did show as a student account, I don't think it would have a detrimental effect on your file anyway in itself, only if you use the overdraft as that would then be classed as a debt.

cocostafford

ok great. thanks for your help guys