Impact of failing credit check on rental contract?

returningxpat

Hi everyone. Newbie here.

I'm a British xpat who will be returning to the U.K. later this month after living and working for 25 years abroad (essentially all my working life so far!)

Initially renting a property.

Have a contract etc, however, the agency required me to have a credit check before they accepted me. I told them that as I was a self employed management consultant who had no financial record in the U.K. and as I am also self employed, I would almost certainly fail any credit check. I offered to pay 6 months rent up front which they accepted and I have done. However they still insisted on the credit check. So I went ahead and applied for it, and naturally, as I expected, I failed.

My question is, how (if at all) will this fail be recorded against me, and is it a problem to start my new life in the U.K. with a failed credit check against my name?

I'm thinking about things like opening a bank account, getting insurance, opening utility and phone accounts for me and my partner and the house etc. etc.

Thanks.

Candyapple

It won't mean anything as it will just go down as a search.

Before you open a bank account etc. get yourself on the electoral roll. Beware that it can take months to update across all 3 credit reference agencies so you need to be patient. Most declines you will get is because you aren't on the electoral roll so it's very important.

With regards to a bank account, Barclays are known to be welcoming to ex-pats etc.

Credit Reference Agencies:
Call Credit (https://www.noddle.co.uk) Free to check
Equifax (https://www.clearscore.co.uk) Free to check
Experian (just pay the £2 for your credit report, don't fall for their £14.99 trap)

Oh and credit scores over here mean nothing. They are a marketing gimmick so don't ever pay for one.

returningxpat

Candyapple, thanks for your prompt reply.

It of course raises another question, which I should perhaps ask elsewhere, but I assume that getting on the electoral roll just means registering to vote? (which I think I can do on-line at the gov.uk site) Is there anything else I need to do?

bengal-stripe

returningxpat wrote: »

will be returning to the U.K. later this month after living and working for 25 years abroad......However they still insisted on the credit check. So I went ahead and applied for it, and naturally, as I expected, I failed.

You presumably 'failed' because you couldn't be found on any of the Credit Reference Agencies (records go back six years), not because of adverse entries about you on the agency's file.

Once you have established your presence in the UK and have a file with agencies, it is pretty unlikely that the previous search will even appear on your file.

returningxpat

bengal-stripe, "You presumably 'failed' because you couldn't be found on any of the Credit Reference Agencies"

Yes I assume that's the case, and I essentially knew that before I applied, what I was worried about was that the credit check itself would have established a credit "record" of some sort, and that it would have been a fail. So anyone now looking for me (utility companies, banks, phone companies etc.) would have found a failed credit check.

However it seems that's not the case.

Thanks for your reply.

WorkingTowardsDebtFree

I wouldn't wait to be on the electoral roll before getting a bank account - that could prove costly to have to transfer funds to a bank account and currency that you have abroad, then take money out in £'s via cashpoints, paying on card, paying bills etc.

It may take a good few months to get on the electoral roll - now we're not in annual canvas you have to fill out the forms, allow the local Electoral Office to add you to the register, and then wait for that information to flow to the Credit Reference Agencies.

Look at basic bank accounts, you should be able to get one with the correct identification. This will likely need to wait until you're into a property and have proof of address ID (Council Tax statement, driving license, etc) along with a passport - each bank's website should tell you the criteria needed. Although you will need those proofs of address, it will still work out faster (and cheaper) than waiting until you on the electoral roll.

Given that even once you're on the electoral roll you may only get a basic bank account anyway - it doesn't seem daft to just get one with proof of ID. After 6 - 12 months and with markers being added to your credit files, you should be able to ask your bank to upgrade your bank account to a full current account (or apply elsewhere if they say no).

pvt

returningxpat wrote: »

So anyone now looking for me (utility companies, banks, phone companies etc.) would have found a failed credit check.

There is no such thing. Any other potential lender checking your CRA file would just see that there had been a credit check done - there is no record of whether that credit check was successful or otherwise.

[Deleted User]

There won't even be a search on your credit file as agencies aren't allowed to run them. It will have been a public records check which aren't recorded anywhere.

DCFC79

If you don't have any luck with a bank account there is a pre paid card you can get which has its own sort code etc so you can have salary paid into, might be able to have direct debits too.