Recently moved to the UK and not eligible for credit cards & want to build the score up. Help?

amapofthepiano

Hi everyone, 
I would very much appreciate any advice.
I moved to the UK and started renting a place officially a couple of months ago. I own my own place in the country i came from and i hate the idea of renting so i'd like to get approved for a mortgage asap - i have some savings and will have a downpayment. Problem is, my credit score is "fair" 669 out of 1000 on checkmyfile or 828 on Experian - oddly, MSE shows my credit score as Poor (672)..anyway. I know the best way to build it up would be to get a credit card but MSE eligibility checker says i'm not eligible for any of them and i don't want to risk applying cause i know rejection damages your score. I registered with the Rental Exchange, i have a phone contract, a broadband and a Monzo card that all show on my files and seem to be okay. i got a proper UK bank debit card this month (Virgin) hoping it'll help me get approved for a credit card eventually...is there anything i can do to improve the situation or do i simply have to wait for the rest of my life for them to recognise me as a real person with legit money that happened to move to the uk recently?
Thank you very much.

[Deleted User]

Please understand first of all, as you haven't taken the time to read the very prominent sticky thread (What your credit score really means) that your score in the UK is a gimmick/novelty it has NOTHING to do with whether you get a mortgage. Your score goes up and down depending on which way the wind is blowing, it is NEVER seen by a lender, it is NEVER used for any judgement on whether you will get a card

All that matters is your credit history - showing you can pay bills on time (the mobile and broadband is good). Applying for 1-2 credit builder cards like Capital One or Vanquish won't do you any harm and you're more likely to get that if your bank won't give you one. Are you on the electoral roll, assuming you are allowed to register e.g. for general elections, be a qualifying Commonwealth citizen, citizen of RoI or for local elections which EU citizens can vote in provided they meet age and residency requirements 

That said, if you have only just moved here, I assume you have a job and are being paid regularly? You won't get a mortgage immediately without building up some sort of credit history and showing stability. You could try a local broker specialising in poor credit 

CKhalvashi

Firstly, welcome to the UK.

Secondly, the numbers in the scores are useless, more importantly is the data, as this will be what lenders look at.

If you're paying for this 'score', please stop. I have special offer this month where for just a beer when pubs reopen, I will randomly generate 3 digit number for you every month. This is how much use they are.

It may be worth looking at the credit cards for bad credit section on this website. My first card (many years ago) was a Capital One card, which I still have. The link to this is here.

If you're EU citizen, remember to register to vote using thie link here, as this shows you are living somewhere stable.

It's best not to apply until you have done both of these.

I'm not sure if Virgin are offering Credit Cards on the same platform as the account you have, but if you have both savings and income, it may actually in your case be worth to open account with a bank that offers CC and mortgages and have some of your savings, and your income paid into this account, so then a bank knows you. This will speed up the process for CC application as long as account is well managed.

To have no credit history can be worse than a bad history, so everything will take time, however within a year you should be sorted quite well.

Thrugelmir

Unfortunately obtaining a mortgage maybe some time away. A few credit file entries aren't sufficient. 

amapofthepiano

Thanks guys - unfortunately i'm not from EU so i can't register to vote. I know it's a big deal to be recognised by the system but i'm still 4 years away from getting my UK passport.
I am employed full time but my salary at the day job is rather small (more than a minimal but just about) and i earn separately in the music industry - still need to make this bit look a little bit more legit because for now it's just random payments to my account once a month. Not entirely sure how to go about this either - will registering as a sole trader do the job?
I did check the section about credit cards for bad credit here but i got scared off by the eligibility calculator giving me 0% chance of approval to literally every one of them apart from post office card which eligibility wasn't available?
So you're saying it makes sense to try and get Capitol One and if i get rejected it won't hurt the way i'm seen by the lenders? That's a very helpful bit of information, thank you.

PRAISETHESUN

I had similar issues when I first moved to the UK. It's a long slow road, and the first few years are usually the hardest but given a bit of time it's not impossible to build a decent credit file.

As above, ignore the scores and focus on building history. If your nationality excludes you from registering on the ER (EU/Commonwealth citizens can register, although they may not get to vote in everything) there isn't much you can do, so focus on what you can control. It took me ~12 months to get my first credit card, after having a basic current account and a few utility accounts. Use eligibility checkers where you can, and if you get rejected wait 3-6 months before trying again. You'll probably run into issues with not having 3 years residency, as some lenders will require it. Other don't strictly require it, but their application forms are not set up for it. I had luck with the Luma card by Capital One for what it's worth and I've also heard that if you've previously had a foreign Amex they can take your overseas history into account in the UK. Otherwise your best bet is probably going to be with whoever you currently bank with. More often than not talking to an actual person gets better results than automated application forms, so it might be worth giving someone a call.

Outside of all that it’s basically just a waiting game. Manage whatever little credit you can get responsibly, and you’ll start to build up good credit history. As has been mentioned you’re probably a long ways off from a mortgage or whatever, but you have to start somewhere.

[Deleted User]

How are you paying tax at the moment? That is how you prove your earnings - invoices or pay slips or whatever.
If you're paid cash in hand and not declaring it then no you won't be getting a mortgage based on that "income"

amapofthepiano

Deleted_User said:

How are you paying tax at the moment? That is how you prove your earnings - invoices or pay slips or whatever.
If you're paid cash in hand and not declaring it then no you won't be getting a mortgage based on that "income"

I haven't gotten that far cause i only moved here a few months ago officially (i got my monzo account two years ago but i only had a little amount on it so no taxes). I know they're looking at tax returns for anything that's not an official day job salary so i'll be working in that direction

amapofthepiano

CKhalvashi said:

It may be worth looking at the credit cards for bad credit section on this website. My first card (many years ago) was a Capital One card, which I still have. 

Do you think there's a chance they approve me for one with such short credit history, or is it worth waiting until i improve it by paying mobile/broadband/rent?

Jamesyb123

amapofthepiano said:

CKhalvashi said:

It may be worth looking at the credit cards for bad credit section on this website. My first card (many years ago) was a Capital One card, which I still have. 

Do you think there's a chance they approve me for one with such short credit history, or is it worth waiting until i improve it by paying mobile/broadband/rent?

There’s no harm in applyIng for one but if it declines leave it there and give it another 6 months before trying again

amapofthepiano

Okay well i sent an application for Capital One, fingers crossed! Thank you everyone for your advices, i'm totally financially uneducated cause i spent most of my life writing music so i really appreciate help of people that actually know useful stuff.