U vs 0 on credit report

ForumUser7

Hi,
 
I recently opened an account (last month) that now shows on my Equifax report.

I have never used credit, and as such all my accounts say 0 in the payment history field - I believe this to be good.

This account however shows U in the first month payment history - I have not used credit on it either.

The Credit Agreement Explanatory descriptions suggest 0 means up to date with payments and U means no payment due yet or unclassified.

I therefore believe this U is not a problem, and would not affect my file or concern any lenders etc.

Is my understanding of this right please? I'm new to all this, so just wanted to get a second opinion.

Thank you

MorningcoffeeIV

Neither are a problem, but equally both are not doing you any good.

It just means that there's no evidence of you using credit, so means lenders will generally assess you to be higher risk, as there's nothing to tell them otherwise.

If you're looking to build a decent credit history, start making free use of some credit.

ForumUser7

MorningcoffeeIV said:

Neither are a problem, but equally both are not doing you any good.

It just means that there's no evidence of you using credit, so means lenders will generally assess you to be higher risk, as there's nothing to tell them otherwise.

If you're looking to build a decent credit history, start making free use of some credit.

Thanks @MorningcoffeeIV

Apart from Savings interest (which most providers don't appear to accept in the income calculations), I have a very limited regular income of less than £75 per month. This means most credit eligibility checkers (capital one, amex, Tesco, and comparison sites) cannot find anything I'd be eligible for (understandably), even credit builder credit cards. I had a look on here, and some said the financial provider you have the longest history with, but they won't offer me a card based on income anyway. I looked at a few others I have had long-ish history with too, and they also said no due to the income. Also, I'm currently in full time education going into university later this year - hopefully I'll be accepted by HSBC Student Credit Card, which will help build a good history.

I saw mentioned a site called loqbox, but previous posts on here suggest that doesn't really create a decent credit history, but may improve the score (which is pointless anyway by the sounds of things).

Have you got any ideas for how to gain access to credit or build a decent credit history in the meantime please? The annoying thing is I know I would be able to pay off in full each month, as I hardly spend anything (much less than my monthly income) as fortunately due to being in education I still live at home and everything is covered. And on the offchance I spent more than I had coming in, I have savings that would cover it.

Hopefully after university once I have my first job, it should be much easier to gain access to a credit card - even the minimum offered limit

Bridlington1

I would agree that a U is nothing to worry about. I've found a lot of my accounts show this for the first month of opening. Each account I have ever had with Natwest, RBS, Ulster, Santander, Co-op, HSBC and Tesco bank all show as no data/U in the first month on my credit reports followed by ok in the rest of the months. 

Other than getting a part time job for a few months before starting uni, which may be worth doing to get some work experience, there's little you can do to increase your income. Some credit card providers accept student maintenance loan as income so once you've that sorted then it should become much easier to get access to credit. I don't know exactly when you'll be able to start factoring that into your income but I imagine you'll certainly be able to do this once you've got your place confirmed at uni on a-level results day so I'd be tempted just not to worry too much about credit cards until August.

All I can really suggest is to keep checking the eligibility checkers in case something comes up that you are eligible for. I would be very surprised if you are unable to get access to at least one card in the next year so. 

I doubt there's any need to bother with loqbox or anything since it will become pointless as soon as you are able to get your first credit card. I found that once I could get one credit card I suddenly became eligible for a few others.