Credit Score at 18

DCFC79

Dylanm2002 said:

bazzyb said:

Dylanm2002 said:

D3xt3r5L4b said:

Dylanm2002 said:

cymruchris said:

D3xt3r5L4b said:

Don’t use Loqbox

I knew you’d say that. 

I looked it up, it's not great, but it's a start. My only option right now are to get an arranged overdraft (With i've done) and a credit building product. (Loqbox) Which i've done. I've only done £20 a month so it's not really money i'll miss, it's worth a shot. If it doesn't increase my credit rating by much then at least I get my money back -£30 if I return it to my bank account.

You won’t know if it “increases your credit rating” unless you have insider knowledge on each lenders (commercially sensitive) lending criteria?

Also to get your money back from them you have to open one of their “selected” accounts - but again it begs the question whether you’ll be eligible to open said account dependant on a lenders views of you at the time. And the £30 “fee” is daylight robbery. 

Also with the overdraft, arranged or not, don’t ever dip into it.

What? It's a credit building product. Yes it will increase my credit rating. If not then they're wrongfully advertising?

Well, you said you didn’t have a rating at all as the CRAs couldn’t identify you, as you had no credit history for them to rate you on. So that shows that their advertising is not quite as it seems as how can you identify if your rating has increased or not if it didn’t exist to begin with?

Anyway, the point being made is that there are far better ways to get your history built up than using LoqBox - at your age it is expected that your credit file will be pretty thin, so it’s not a negative thing in itself as far as underwriters are concerned. You would be far better off just working to ensure you have a current account and phone bill showing, as well as being on the electoral roll. This is just adding something completely unnecessary for your circumstances. It’s an additional cost for pretty much no real benefit, and they hold your money to ransom until you’re forced to open an account of their choosing which, of course, they will receive a commission for you setting up. 

The main thing isn't it improving my credit rating, I know for a fact that it will help as it shows I have stuck to an agreement and paid on time. The main thing this will help with will be so the CRA's can verify my identity, so I can apply for some sort of credit. 

So you've tried to sign up for reporting agencies and they cant find you.
So your bank account is registered for your current address and a pay monthly sim for the same address.

Have I got that right ?

Did I see you say you were using an overdraft ?
Are you using Loqbox ?

I never used Loqbox but when I was your age, I kept my bank account in the positive. Got a credit card a few years later.

Needs time/patience.

cymruchris

DCFC79 said:

Needs time/patience.

This is very, very true. I know people seem to think that they can fix everything in a matter of months - when in reality it takes years either to build a good credit history from scratch, or to repair a previously blemished credit history. 

Each of the little steps taken will contribute to that journey though - so keep up the good work, and don't miss any payments on anything, and when you do get a credit card, pay it off in full, and don't incur interest.