Building credit from scratch

Callumrayb

I got a 2 month sim only contract through carphone warehouse.

Like I said my mother pays the electric and gas and it's a prepaid system.
Any way around this?

Candyapple

Stop applying for things! You need to wait at least another 6 months if not a year now that you've made numerous applications.

It can take 2-3 months for you being on the electoral roll to update and show on your credit files.

You sound desperate for credit. Why?

Given that you have only just turned 18, it will be a few years yet before you will likely be able to get mainstream credit so you'll have to stick to subprime lenders for now as lenders like to see a history of you being responsible with credit and paying it back on time.

Also something else to bear in mind, a lot of credit card companies will consider you as 'unemployed' due to your income being benefits so make sure you look at their criteria before applying to save unnecessary hard searches.

Callumrayb

I have only made 3 searches I believe. Not too many I guess?

It's due to me wanting a car. I need to build credit to get myself a loan through my bank so I can afford a car.

I also think I could utilize a credit card for fuel and food.

Candyapple

Callumrayb wrote: »

It's due to me wanting a car. I need to build credit to get myself a loan through my bank so I can afford a car.

Yea that's not going to happen so you may as well forget about it, unless you want to be paying 20%+ APR assuming they will even give you a loan in the first place as you are not employed.

Start saving your money if you want a car. Or have you looked at the Motability scheme? To lease a car from Motability, you must receive one of the following allowances: Higher Rate Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance or Enhanced Rate of the Mobility Component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Yes 3 searches is too many. You look desperate to lenders and this will count against you the more applications you make. Like I said, you have just turned 18, you are an unknown to lenders. It takes years to build credit history, not months.

All you needed to do was register on the electoral roll and if you had a bank account, make sure that the bank account was being reported on your files. Once those 2 things were both showing on your files then you should have applied for a cheap SIM only deal in your name and waited a further 6 months before applying for a subprime card. You have gone about things the wrong way to your detriment.

Ebe_Scrooge

Callumrayb wrote: »

It's due to me wanting a car. I need to build credit to get myself a loan through my bank so I can afford a car.

From what you've said so far, it's going to be a while before you're able to get a loan at anything approaching a sensible APR. Your best bet is to start saving now. If you can put away a couple of hundred quid a month, after a year you'll have enough for quite a reasonable little runabout. And I would hazard a guess it's going to be at least a year before you can entertain the idea of getting a sensibly-priced loan.

Don't forget, if you're only 18 then the insurance is likely going to cost more than the car anyway - something you need to bear in mind.

Callumrayb

I have has a motability car before.
It got taken away after family problems,

Insurance costs around £1500 a year at the moment from what I have seen.

Ebe_Scrooge

Callumrayb wrote: »

Insurance costs around £1500 a year at the moment from what I have seen.

The cost of insurance will vary enormously depending on the car. A Ferrari will cost rather more than a Mini. Or being more realistic, you'll find big differences between, say, a 10 year old 1 litre Toyota Yaris and a 2 year old 1.8 litre Ford of some description. Seriously, if and when you're in the position to buy a car, spend some time time running some dummy quotes through one of the price comparison sites before you buy, to get a rough idea of what you can expect to be paying. Without wishing to go off topic too much - this has been discussed ad nauseum elsewhere - a small car with a small engine doesn't always equal lower premiums, there are dozens of factors that are taken into account.

[Deleted User]

Callumrayb wrote: »

I have only made 3 searches I believe. Not too many I guess?

In a week?

Guess again.

[Deleted User]

You're not aiming to build on your score or ratings (read - fictitious numbers) but build a credit history.

Loqbox are a ripoff and not worth the paper written on in my opinion.

Callumrayb

3 searches in a week is bad? what if you used a broker and it automatically searched for EE, O2, and Vodaphone?

it can't be that bad..