Rebuilding credit while still in default

Superscrooge

Trying to rebuild your credit history whilst not repaying your debts is like trying to fill a bath without putting the plug in.

If you are serious about improving your credit history you need to sort out your debts first.

Would you lend to someone if you knew they didn't pay the money back last time?

TheDebtinator

and your point is duly noted. I have no qualms about paying the money back, however the advice given to me is that I may not have to, so I am exploring all avenues. That however does not stop me from wanting to know if I can rebuild my credit history while I am in default, whether I choose to pay up or not, especially given the short time the defaults will still be on my record, as once they drop off; they will no longer affect me regardless of what I do.

really?

I am in a very similar situation to the original poster in this thread, however I have 4 (£4K total value) that are due to fall off in December of this year. Like many things credit related I have relied on hearsay (not the band) for most of my credit related ‘education’ and was of the opinion that I would not get one penny of credit before my defaults dropped off, this is not true and it seems that many other factors also play factor in obtaining credit. So I decided to apply for a credit card with Aqua in June last year to which I received an approval of £250. I didn't really give it much more thought assuming that the limit would stay at that level until my defaults dropped off -then I could apply for a higher limit main stream credit card- and consequently didn't use it very much if at all for the first two months only upping my spending recently to a couple of small purchases a month paying all off in full by direct debit or manual payment (after the statement date) every month, so I was pleasantly surprised that my limit was increased to £600 in Feb (with the offer coming in Jan).

I’ve read on here that people receive limit increases every three to 6 months on average with Aqua, but this obviously depends multiple factors, like spend, salary etc with many limits going up to about £2k within 18months.

If you have defaults/ little credit history and are motivated to repair/ build it then it really is a no brainer to go down the Aqua Card/ Vanquis route, then when your prior defaults cross the 6 year threshold your credit report will make excellent reading.

I’d also advise any credit seekers to use the soft search tools available in order avoid having multiple credit applications on their report.

Thrugelmir

really? wrote: »

If you have defaults/ little credit history and are motivated to repair/ build it then it really is a no brainer to go down the Aqua Card/ Vanquis route, then when your prior defaults cross the 6 year threshold your credit report will make excellent reading.

Don't you think your choice of credit card provider gives the game away.

WorkingTowardsDebtFree

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Don't you think your choice of credit card provider gives the game away.

Erm, not really. Whilst readers of this board may know the credit card provider, people searching a credit record don't get to know the company names on credit files.

Likewise someone may take out a credit card from the names mentioned in this thread as a first credit card, pay it off regularly, be happy with it and never see the need to swap it for what others consider a "prime" credit card.

An ignorance and snootiness that someone might have around a credit card company as a supplier to themselves or someone else is a learned behaviour based on ones prejudices, and not really relevant to every case, and certainly not any lender searching a record.

chuckley

as the defaults are 'so old' the fact you've been granted a builder card is a forward step. they wouldn't have given it to you had the defaults been recent. yes your report will improve and since the defaults fall of soon anyway, leave them and use your new lines of credit as best as possible.