Building up a credit history in the UK

pinoygirl

Me and my husband are planning on buying our first house next year, however I am worried that my lack of credit history in the UK will affect our chances of applying for a joint mortgage.

I moved to the UK in June 2015. I have a joint bank account with my husband with the Halifax and this includes a £250 overdraft which we have never used. We opened our joint reward current account on 25 Jan 2016. I have been working full time since October 2015 and earn £10,000 per annum.

I am not on the electoral role as being a Filipino national I am not eligible to vote. I do not have any credit history from the Philippines and have never owned a credit card. I have tried to research my credit score with Noodle and Clearscore but I have been unsuccessful due to only living in the UK for 10 months. They both require at least 3 years of residence history in the UK.

Reading through this site Martin Lewis suggests that I should send all 3 credit reference agencies proof of residency. What documents should I provide? Would bank statements and a copy of my visa be sufficient?

Also what is the most effective way to build up a credit history in the UK? I have not applied for any credit cards as I am scared of being rejected. Would a better alternative be looking to purchase a mobile phone contract or a store card as an easy way to build up credit history? I am very tempted to apply for the Aqua reward credit card but feel my chances of being successful are very slim.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

HappyMJ

pinoygirl wrote: »

Me and my husband are planning on buying our first house next year, however I am worried that my lack of credit history in the UK will affect our chances of applying for a joint mortgage.

I moved to the UK in June 2015. I have a joint bank account with my husband with the Halifax and this includes a £250 overdraft which we have never used. We opened our joint bank on 25 Jan 2016. I have been working full time since October 2015 and earn £10,000 per annum.

I am not on the electoral role as being a Filipino national I am not eligible to vote. I do not have any credit history from the Philippines and have never owned a credit card. I have tried to research my credit score with Noodle and Clearscore but I have been unsuccessful due to only living in the UK for 10 months. They both require at least 3 years of residence history in the UK.

Reading through this site Martin Lewis suggests that I should send all 3 credit reference agencies proof of residency. What documents should I provide? Would bank statements and a copy of my visa be sufficient?

Also what is the most effective way to build up a credit history in the UK? I have not applied for any credit cards as I am scared of being rejected. Would a better alternative be looking to purchase a mobile phone contract or a store card as an easy way to build up credit history? I am very tempted to apply for the Aqua reward credit card but feel my chances of being successful are very slim.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

When I first came here to the UK I applied for a store card. One of the worst interest rates ever at 49.9% APR. If you pay it off in full you will not be charged interest.

Every 3 months I apply for a new card. I've been here now for 15 years and have had well over 60 credit card accounts in that time moving from one 0% deal to another. Most get closed down. I've got 8 currently showing as Active on my credit report.

You can get your credit history but you will have to pay for it instead of using the free options.

If your husband is a British National then your residency, credit or whatever doesn't matter as much as they'll go on his income and his credit history. You don't need to be earning anything at all to get a mortgage.

I wouldn't worry about it.

pinoygirl

HappyMJ wrote: »

When I first came here to the UK I applied for a store card. One of the worst interest rates ever at 49.9% APR. If you pay it off in full you will not be charged interest.

Every 3 months I apply for a new card. I've been here now for 15 years and have had well over 60 credit card accounts in that time moving from one 0% deal to another. Most get closed down. I've got 8 currently showing as Active on my credit report.

You can get your credit history but you will have to pay for it instead of using the free options.

If your husband is a British National then your residency, credit or whatever doesn't matter as much as they'll go on his income and his credit history. You don't need to be earning anything at all to get a mortgage.

I wouldn't worry about it.

Thanks for your quick reply HappyMJ. My husband is a British National and earns around £20k a year. To get the house we really want we will apply together through a joint mortgage so I hope my lack of credit history doesn't affect this. I will look into store cards although I wish Primark offered store cards!

darkidoe

pinoygirl wrote: »

Also what is the most effective way to build up a credit history in the UK? I have not applied for any credit cards as I am scared of being rejected. Would a better alternative be looking to purchase a mobile phone contract or a store card as an easy way to build up credit history? I am very tempted to apply for the Aqua reward credit card but feel my chances of being successful are very slim.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Have you tried using the credit card eligilibility calculatior to check your chances of getting 'Poor Credit history' cards? You don't have to purchase a mobile phone contract. Just sign up for a simple Sim Only monthly contract, paying with direct debit would start registering payments with the Credit Reference agencies. Have you got your own bank account? Opening bank accounts that has overdrafts also build up account history on credit reports.