Rebuilding credit with new or old card?

kv11x

Hey guys I've just finished paying off my debt on credit cards. I could search and get new CC or could I use one that was in debt with payment plan with step change? This card never faulted but is same company as my mortgage. I was going to call the CC company and ask for new card but thought I'd asked here for some advice first. Thanks

MalMonroe

Hi, well done on clearing the debt.

Now, my advice would be to first of all check the information that's showing on your credit reports - Experian, Equifax and Transunion.

Although nobody else can see your credit scores, all lenders will have a look at your credit history before considering any application for more credit. Are you what they'd consider to be a 'low risk' customer?

I don't think I'd want to use the old card. And I think if you phoned the credit card company they'd just advise you to apply for a card in the normal way, which would result in a hard search on your credit reports. They don't care because they just want your money, basically.

You can do soft searches on all credit card sites to see whether or not you would be considered for credit and using credit card companies' own sites is better than, say, using one of the credit report agencies' sites to do a multi-check.

It might also be a good idea to start small/slow with an application for one of the credit building credit cards - there's some great information from this very site in the following link, updated earlier this month -

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/bad-credit-credit-cards/

If you are in any doubt at all, you can always go back to Stepchange for more advice. They helped me a great deal with my financial problems and queries in the past. 

Hope that's helpful. Obviously only my own opinion but I've been in debt and am now out of it. It does take a little while to repair damage caused by debt but it certainly can be done.

[Deleted User]

^ There is no reason at all not to use an existing card that has been open for a long time, applications for a new one may well be rejected anyway due to your debt history. Just spend on the card and pay off in full every month and try for something like a basic SIM only contract for the phone, again it will help establish credit history.

Don't rush to take out more credit when you're in the beginnings of recovery, the above advice is mostly incorrect

phillw

kv11x said:

Hey guys I've just finished paying off my debt on credit cards. I could search and get new CC or could I use one that was in debt with payment plan with step change? This card never faulted but is same company as my mortgage. I was going to call the CC company and ask for new card but thought I'd asked here for some advice first. Thanks

If you still have the card, just start using it again.
If you cut the card up, get a replacement.

Setup a direct debit to pay the full balance every month, you can usually request that the direct debit gets taken at a particular time of the month (I move mine to as close to the start of the month as possible).

I wouldn't apply for any new credit.