Credit card after just 10 months in the UK?

PlatinumChaos

After having lived abroad for many years, I returned to the UK last December. I'm self-employed and have a decent income. Will I be able to get a credit card after just 10 months in the UK, or do all lenders insist on at least three years of residency here? Has anybody managed to get a credit card after less than three years, and if so, who with? I'm trying to build up my credit history and I thought spending small, regular amounts on a credit card would help that. I seem to be drawing a blank with even the "specialist lenders" like Aqua and Marbles who say their products are aimed at those with little credit history. For an Amazon credit card, it says you need to be over 18 and a UK resident for at least a year, so at the moment, that looks like my best bet. Thanks.

[Deleted User]

Whoever you bank with may be your best bet.

NottinghamKnight

If you have a uk bank account then applying with your bank might work.

bhjm

I came from abroad too. To qualify for a CC you usually need 6 months of credit history. Which means, a credit agency needs data about you from Direct debits from i.e. Council tax, Utility bills, telecom provider etc. As soon this is given, you usually should be able to get a CC. Data is also taken if you are on the electoral roll etc. If unsure, you can check your credit "score" (which remember is just a made up number from the agency) for free or use the MSE CC eligibility checker
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/eligibility/credit-cards/

dr_adidas01

bhjm said: 

I came from abroad too. To qualify for a CC you usually need 6 months of credit history. Which means, a credit agency needs data about you from Direct debits from i.e. Council tax, Utility bills, telecom provider etc. As soon this is given, you usually should be able to get a CC. Data is also taken if you are on the electoral roll etc. If unsure, you can check your credit "score" (which remember is just a made up number from the agency) for free or use the MSE CC eligibility checker
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/eligibility/credit-cards/

Credit Agencies don’t get information about your direct debits or any information about council tax as councils don’t report council tax payments to the CRA’s  and not all utility providers report to the CRA’s so ignore this as it’s simply not correct. 

Your best bet will be to see if whom you bank with can offer you a credit card. 

bhjm

dr_adidas01 said:

bhjm said: 

I came from abroad too. To qualify for a CC you usually need 6 months of credit history. Which means, a credit agency needs data about you from Direct debits from i.e. Council tax, Utility bills, telecom provider etc. As soon this is given, you usually should be able to get a CC. Data is also taken if you are on the electoral roll etc. If unsure, you can check your credit "score" (which remember is just a made up number from the agency) for free or use the MSE CC eligibility checker
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/eligibility/credit-cards/

Credit Agencies don’t get information about your direct debits or any information about council tax as councils don’t report council tax payments to the CRA’s  and not all utility providers report to the CRA’s so ignore this as it’s simply not correct. 

Your best bet will be to see if whom you bank with can offer you a credit card. 

My Apology that I was incorrect about the Council tax, and also I am very sorry that I did not wrote down an exhaustive list of suppliers of telecom and other utilities who report to the agencies......

PlatinumChaos

Thanks very much for the feedback so far. I bank with Starling, which has actually been a fantastic bank for me, but unfortunately, they don't (yet) have a credit card. (I keep suggesting it to them though, so hopefully they'll take it on board... )

yksi

I got a card way before three years of residency. I earn less than minimum wage but was able to get more than one and with decent limits. However, that doesn't necessarily mean you will be able to, because lenders' criteria change constantly and we're not in a good economic state right now. Have a look at MSE's Credit Club, it has tips for building your appeal to lenders - chief of which are things like being on the electoral roll, having a steady address, and any credit agreements you have which allow monthly payments such as mobile phone plans and car insurance (note that not all companies report these unfortunately - EE definitely does if that helps). Have you done a lot of applications recently? Hard searches will ding your chances of success, so leave them alone until you're seeing high percentages on the eligibilty checkers.

yksi

Most banks also report the existance of your current accounts, which while it won't show payment history, does show pieces of evidence that you are who you say you are, which is also helpful to your history. Starling may not, so if that's your only "bank" you might be short-changing yourself.

PlatinumChaos

You make some interesting points, yksi. May I ask who issued your card within three years? As soon as I landed back in the UK, I got myself onto the electoral roll, I've moved back in with my mum for the time being so that I've got a steady address, and I've got one of the utility bills in my name. I bought a car, but paid it off in one go. I've got a couple of fairly small direct debits. For my mobile phone, I chose a monthly SIM-only with Lebara as they said they didn't carry out a credit check. That possibly helped me initially, but now I'm wondering whether they don't report back to any CRAs either, which would be a drawback. Maybe I should try to get a 12-month contract (with direct debit) with EE (thanks for the tip) and just hope that my limited credit history is acceptable for them.
I haven't made any actual CC applications yet, only done a few eligibility checks (with soft search), but I've always come unstuck at the "three years of addresses" question as they just won't recognise a German address.
Good point about Starling maybe not reporting back to CRAs as well. I'm now wondering whether I should maybe apply for a Barclays account (in a branch so that I can answer any awkward questions in person), which would hopefully enable me to get a Forward CC, which is supposed to be good for credit building. Any thoughts?

PRAISETHESUN

Some lenders are adamant that you require 3 years of address history full stop, whilst I've come across a few that say they will accept those with less than 3 years but when you actually try to apply for the card, their website breaks as you can't proceed without inputting 3 years of address history. Giving them a call and talking through an application over the phone might solve that issue, but probably won't help with the eligibility checks.

In case it helps, I got the LUMA card by Capital One (https://www.luma.co.uk/) after living in the country for about 12 months. I was registered on the electoral roll and had a current account and that was it (none of my other bills at the time reported to the CRAs).