can opening savings account affect my credit rating?

hydee..

hi

i am currently banking with LLoyds, and i want to open a savings account. i was thing the Easy Saver, as it looks like the easiest one to transfer however much you like and you can withdraw without penalties (please correct me if i am wrong).

i dont have the best credit rating as i have unpaid credit card (who i have now called and made a payment, and will continue to do so every month till its paid, it was for £1000).

but when i was about to apply for the Easy Saver; it said that it can check your CRAs and i am now worried that i will be rejected a savings account or have my credit rating worse.....

"We may also share your personal information with credit reference agencies (CRAs) and fraud prevention agencies. We do this to assess creditworthiness and product suitability, check your identity, manage your account, trace and recover debts and prevent criminal activity including fraud and money-laundering. If fraud is detected, you could be refused certain services, finance or employment".

i just want to have 2 different account with Lloyds so i can split what i want to save and what to live on, and if i need to transfer the money quickly, like on a mobile app, then its no hassle.

can someone please help? is it better to apply for a savings account in branch? or does it not make a difference?

thank you

also... what does ISA mean? Instant savings account... but whats the difference between them all?

surreysaver

Is it not cheaper to pay your credit card off before you start saving?
But in answer to your question, no, having a savings account will not affect your credit rating (unless it has a facility to allow you to borrow money on it)

eskbanker

hydee.. wrote: »

i dont have the best credit rating as i have unpaid credit card (who i have now called and made a payment, and will continue to do so every month till its paid, it was for £1000)

This implies to me that you had stopped (or not started) making payments - is that the case? If so, as recommended by the previous poster, concentrate on paying it off (at least the minimum and a bit extra every month) in order to start to rebuild your credit files, as a priority over saving. What's the interest rate on the credit card?

hydee.. wrote: »

but when i was about to apply for the Easy Saver; it said that it can check your CRAs and i am now worried that i will be rejected a savings account or have my credit rating worse.....

[...]

can someone please help? is it better to apply for a savings account in branch? or does it not make a difference?

The boilerplate text you quoted is generic wording that gives Lloyds the right to share data where deemed necessary, but they wouldn't do a credit check for a savings account.

hydee.. wrote: »

also... what does ISA mean? Instant savings account... but whats the difference between them all?

ISA is Individual Savings Account, and refers to the government scheme to exempt certain products from taxation. Further details at https://www.gov.uk/individual-savings-accounts and https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/ISA-guide-savings-without-tax/

If you don't know your way around savings accounts (ISA or other), read the various articles at https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/ for an overview.