Car hire purchase credit check/eligibility for people who don't usually borrow!

RainbowsInTheSpray

OH and I, mortgages apart (which we paid off several years ago) cannot remember the last time we bought anything on credit. We don't have credit cards and we simply like to buy outright.

Just now we're considering the possibility of getting a 'new' (i.e. new to us!) car on HP but disturbing tales are reaching us of people in our situation being declined credit on the basis that they have little or no borrowing history.

Can anyone offer thoughts/experience on this?

DullGreyGuy

Do you have unused overdrafts on your current accounts?
Mobile phones on contract? 

Lack of history can certainly cause lenders concerns, possibly slightly less on a car given the finance is secured on it but its not as secure as a mortgage etc.

Alternatively get a credit card, ideally a reward one, use it and pay it off in full each month that way you get history and you are getting rewards for doing something you're already doing. Will take a while for there to be substantial enough history for it to make a material difference.

born_again

RainbowsInTheSpray said:

OH and I, mortgages apart (which we paid off several years ago) cannot remember the last time we bought anything on credit. We don't have credit cards and we simply like to buy outright.

Just now we're considering the possibility of getting a 'new' (i.e. new to us!) car on HP but disturbing tales are reaching us of people in our situation being declined credit on the basis that they have little or no borrowing history.

Can anyone offer thoughts/experience on this?

How do you pay for your utilities on the house, DD?

If you do you have credit history.

Most of the horror stories on declined credit have more to do with having a poor history, rather than non.

RainbowsInTheSpray

Ah, thank you both on that. Yes, we set up an overdraft situation years ago which we've never had to use. Also we do pay utilities by DD.