Student seeks advice

MrJazz302

Hello everyone,

I'm a young student and am trying to get my credit score as good as I can. When I went to my bank before going to uni to switch to a student account I was advised not to as I'm very likely to get rejected because I've been in overdraft quite a bit and I don't have one.

I don't know how long it'll take for HSBC to "get over" this and actually let me have a student account. What should I do? Should I look at going to another bank? I feel that my credit score may be affected if I switch banks because I'd be closing an account that I've had for about 33 months now. It's the only decent thing on my credit report besides my phone contract

My plan was to eventually apply for the Halifax Student credit card (which you don't need an account with them for) so I could slowly build my score up but really don't know what to do about the situation with my bank now.

Thank you for your time

Dobbibill

You would not need to switch banks - you can just apply for a student account, there is no reason you cannot keep your HSBC account as well. In fact it may help you with budgeting throughout Uni - one for bills, one for spending money etc.

You may get rejected though as they credit score you against their criteria. Check this out http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/Student-bank-account

Also please don't assume you'll automatically get given an overdraft with a student account. They may accept you for the account but not allow the overdraft. It's always subject to approval.

All the best with your studies.

MrJazz302

I was advised by the person at HSBC I had a meeting with to not bother applying because of my account history. He hinted at going to another bank and they might be more likely to give me one as they won't see the account history with HSBC but will use my credit score.

What I want to know is if closing my HSBC account, and opening an account with Halifax would affect my score.

My credit score is OK. Nothing bad on it, and I've had a phone contract for 6 months that I've paid on time every month.

MrJazz302

I was advised by the person at HSBC I had a meeting with to not bother applying because of my account history. He hinted at going to another bank and they might be more likely to give me one as they won't see the account history with HSBC but will use my credit score.

What I want to know is if closing my HSBC account, and opening an account with Halifax would affect my score.

My credit score is OK. Nothing bad on it, and I've had a phone contract for 6 months that I've paid on time every month.

[Deleted User]

No one sees your credit score. No one uses your score. Your credit score is not OK because it doesn't exist.

Try another bank.

Dobbibill

Unfortunately no-one can predict and/or guarantee you will/won't be accepted. The only way to know this for sure is to apply.

When you apply for an account, you are scored against their criteria. Your credit score with the 3 CRA's is irrelevant as only you and the CRA's see this. This is their interpretation of the information they hold on you, nothing more, nothing less. Do not worry about your score.

What I would say is IF you are unsuccessful then don't just apply to several other places willy-nilly. One application, every few months won't do any harm, several in a short space of time make you look desperate. For this reason I would check out the link in my pp and make sure you are applying for the right account for the right reasons/benefits and your personal situation, not just for the OD.

Please come back and let us know how you got on.

DB

user1168934

Try another bank leave HSBC account alone. If you can afford a minimal fees then it might be an idea to open a current account which has some fees, it would be easier to get such an account. After paying the fees for a couple of months you can simply switch to one of their classic no fee accounts. Several of my friends used this trick years ago when we were all studying and nobody wanted to offer us current accounts.

Also try to get a sub prime credit card like Aqua, Vanquis and use it responsibly, this will help rebuild your credit history very quickly. Hope this helps.

MrJazz302

Thank you guys for your helpful replies. I will definitely try applying to Halifax soon. I do have a slight problem though.

I am on the electroral roll, but in my old name. I changed my name with deed poll last year and I spoke to my council and I won't get the new one till December because that's how it works (seems really stupid!!)

Do you think I can apply now and explain it to them at the appointment or should I wait till December?