Credit card use post offer / pre-completion

bradles00

Hi, quick question. 

I had a full offer from NatWest 4 months ago now (6 month offer period as it’s a new build). My application was based on nil credit. I have used an existing credit card throughout the period of post offer but pre-completion to buy anything online (as I would do outside of a mortgage process). Rather than paying the statement once each month I’m paying each transition as it becomes available to pay (typically one day after - my credit card is with my current account bank).  

I have seen loads of threads about people taking on new credit cards or increasing their balance. I can’t find the answer to my question anywhere......will NatWest be concerned over my credit card use? Statement balance is always nil, transactions paid immediately, using existing card etc. I use the credit card for enhanced protection for online shopping only and repay it immediately so it never shows as a balance on my credit report but I notice the credit agencies report payment amounts as well as the balance (I show payments but nil balance). It doesn’t affect affordability as the transactions are modest (groceries / Amazon etc) but just wondered if I’ve strayed outside of the safe zone? My head tells me no but keen to get a view from others with a similar experience. 

Cheers. 

bradles00

Sorry, I should add my completion date is just a couple of weeks inside the offer period. Given COVID uncertainty etc there is a decent chance it will be put back so my question applies to both any final checks from NatWest at completion or for a mortgage offer extension situation. Cheers. 

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Stop believing these scores. I pay my card in full by DD each month. I never pay as items are bought. Done so for neigh on forty years!

MattMattMattUK

You can always ask your broker, but the general advice is to not use credit cards around completion time and not between exchange and completion, in doing so making sure that the data with the CRAs always shows as a zero balance, not just the balance on your view of the account.

bradles00

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth said:

Stop believing these scores. I pay my card in full by DD each month. I never pay as items are bought. Done so for neigh on forty years!

Thanks for trying to help, however I didn’t mention credit scores in my question? My credit score is excellent but that has no bearing on mortgage decisions as they use their underwriting methods not a ‘score’ I would see as a consumer. 

I also pay my credit card in full, each month, by DD but because I’m in the middle of a mortgage application I now pay it off by transaction to be certain my balance is kept as zero (as the agencies report at different times of the month). 

As you’ve been paying a credit card for nearly 40 nears I suspect it’s been a while since you went through the mortgage process but thanks anyway (I think?). 

bradles00

MattMattMattUK said:

You can always ask your broker, but the general advice is to not use credit cards around completion time and not between exchange and completion, in doing so making sure that the data with the CRAs always shows as a zero balance, not just the balance on your view of the account.

Thanks for that. To confirm my statement balance is always nil, save for one month where I had a credit balance due to a refund. The balance as shown on my report each month has also been nil....that’s why I’m paying it off by transaction so as to ensure that at any point the credit card company send the data to the agencies it always shows a nil balance. 

MattMattMattUK

You get some oddities sometimes, I have had it where my CC on Experience showed a balance even though my statement showed zero. It resolved itself the next month and was caused by it differences in processing times and banks reporting to CRAs. It did not matter as I was not completing a mortgage at the time, but I think the general view is that using CCs close to completion just is not worth the risk of complications. 

bradles00

MattMattMattUK said:

You get some oddities sometimes, I have had it where my CC on Experience showed a balance even though my statement showed zero. It resolved itself the next month and was caused by it differences in processing times and banks reporting to CRAs. It did not matter as I was not completing a mortgage at the time, but I think the general view is that using CCs close to completion just is not worth the risk of complications. 

Thanks mate, that’s a helpful action for me. I only use the card for online purchases for the protection (e.g. my actually purchased something a few months back where we made a claim using the CC protection)  but so close to completion I’ll just use my debit card for now to ensure nil balance and put off anything until we get the keys.