Clearscore advise to take out Credit Card - Genuine?
Mahsroh
Forumite 769 Posts
My wife currently doesn't have a credit card and generally speaking her credit history is now all positive. She did have a (settled) default which has just dropped off her report after the usual 6 years, that combined with the fact we've just bought a house and she's now on the mortgage (previous property "we" owned was in my name only as I bought before we met). Because of these two things her "score" (I know lenders don't look at the score, as such, hence I use the term loosely) has improved dramatically over the last few months....
BUT, in Clearscores "insights", the one thing that keeps coming up is that she could improve her "score" by taking out a Credit Card.... is this genuine (provided usage was low, paid off each month etc.) or is this just Clearscores way of getting use to use their services so they earn their fee / commission? Do potential lenders genuinely look at someone more favourably if they have a CC with low, sensible usage, compared with someone who doesn't have a CC at all?
Not sure if i'm being cynical in thinking it probably makes zero difference, but Clearscore are just trying to earn their commission.
BUT, in Clearscores "insights", the one thing that keeps coming up is that she could improve her "score" by taking out a Credit Card.... is this genuine (provided usage was low, paid off each month etc.) or is this just Clearscores way of getting use to use their services so they earn their fee / commission? Do potential lenders genuinely look at someone more favourably if they have a CC with low, sensible usage, compared with someone who doesn't have a CC at all?
Not sure if i'm being cynical in thinking it probably makes zero difference, but Clearscore are just trying to earn their commission.
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It sounds as if she currently has zero history apart from the new mortgage, so it would definitely help her. But she doesn't need to keep her usage low as she'll be clearing in full each month. Keeping her spend low will count against her when lenders assess her, as she'll be less profitable.
If your wife has no credit in her name, then she will have a thin credit file which will cause issues getting credit in future (eg. mortgages, current accounts, credit cards with higher limits, etc). Having credit card is actually a good way to build history, so in this case the recommendation is actually a good one. Apply for a sub-prime card (go direct to the lender rather than using the eligibility checkers provided by Clearscore), use it to make purchases you'd make anyway (eg. fuel, groceries, etc) and pay it off IN FULL each month. Over time this will demonstrate to lenders that you can be trusted and will improve her ability to get better credit in future.