Uneven split on mortgage payments in credit card application

DevManEd

Hi all! Who has experience of declaring that you pay less than 50% of your household mortgage payments in a credit card application? (i.e. your partner pays more). Does it cause any problems? Is it totally normal?

I've in recent months been making use of my existing credit limit for the first time after many years banking (yes, I've been fortunate), I have been just this week really trying to learn how the card companies judge applications, and completed my first new application (which was rejected!). So newbie, trying to learn fast.

One of the first questions they ask you is how much you contribute to your mortgage payments, and it's clear on the credit file how much we pay per month. Is it totally normal to declare that you only pay, say, 30%? 

Thanks for any feedback!

MyRealNameToo

DevManEd said:

Hi all! Who has experience of declaring that you pay less than 50% of your household mortgage payments in a credit card application? (i.e. your partner pays more). Does it cause any problems? Is it totally normal?

I've in recent months been making use of my existing credit limit for the first time after many years banking (yes, I've been fortunate), I have been just this week really trying to learn how the card companies judge applications, and completed my first new application (which was rejected!). So newbie, trying to learn fast.

One of the first questions they ask you is how much you contribute to your mortgage payments, and it's clear on the credit file how much we pay per month. Is it totally normal to declare that you only pay, say, 30%? 

Thanks for any feedback!

Wife declares that she pays £0, I declare that I pay 100%. Neither of us have ever been questioned on it and it's never been a problem for getting credit and reflects the reality as whilst the mortgage is in joint names it's paid from my personal bank account. 

Plenty of people here state they split their bills proportional to their relative incomes so you won't be the only one declaring a number that isnt exactly half

Emmia

I just declare what I put into the mortgage along with my income and other commitments - whether that's 100% of the mortgage or 10% of the mortgage is a bit irrelevant - it's the amount of money you have left over to pay the card off that matters.

Mark_d

DevManEd said:

Hi all! Who has experience of declaring that you pay less than 50% of your household mortgage payments in a credit card application? (i.e. your partner pays more). Does it cause any problems? Is it totally normal?

I've in recent months been making use of my existing credit limit for the first time after many years banking (yes, I've been fortunate), I have been just this week really trying to learn how the card companies judge applications, and completed my first new application (which was rejected!). So newbie, trying to learn fast.

One of the first questions they ask you is how much you contribute to your mortgage payments, and it's clear on the credit file how much we pay per month. Is it totally normal to declare that you only pay, say, 30%? 

Thanks for any feedback!

The credit card application normally asks for you share of the bill and not the amount you actually pay.  But I doubt it would make much difference whatever you put.

I read that ideally you only use a tiny proportion of your credit limit.  I try to keep it below 5%

Jami74

Mark_d said:

I read that ideally you only use a tiny proportion of your credit limit. I try to keep it below 5%

What's the point in having credit cards if you barely use them? 

I use as much as I need on credit cards. It hasn't stopped me getting new credit or bigger limits. Regular spending credit cards get paid in full each month, those on promotion get paid at least the minimum each month.

Jami74

DevManEd said:

Hi all! Who has experience of declaring that you pay less than 50% of your household mortgage payments in a credit card application? (i.e. your partner pays more). Does it cause any problems? Is it totally normal?

OP don't over think it. If you contribute £100 or £2000 a month, put that. Whatever you pay, that's what you put. I honestly don't think that someone goes through your credit file to try and match up any mortgage borrowing with credit card applications.

ZeroSum

If the mortgage is in joint names then just put the 50%. If its just in your name put the full 100%, and if in partners name, put nowt.

SuperAllyB

ZeroSum said:

If the mortgage is in joint names then just put the 50%. If its just in your name put the full 100%, and if in partners name, put nowt.

Why not just put the truth as others have advised?  As well as the fact it would make OPs disposable income look less, anything else would be fraud!

CliveOfIndia

Mark_d said:

I read that ideally you only use a tiny proportion of your credit limit.  I try to keep it below 5%

Where did you read that - on one of the CRA advice pages?

The CRAs do tend to get in a bit of a tizzy if you use a large percentage of your available credit - but since they're not the ones lending you money, it matters not one jot what they think.  As long as you always repay in full every month then it doesn't matter how much of your available credit you use.

There's even an argument to say that the lenders like you to use the card a lot - that way, they make a decent chunk of money from the fees they charge the retailer every time you make a purchase, even if you yourself never pay any fees or interest.

And if you only ever use a tiny proportion of your available credit, there's a fair chance you'll find your credit limit reduced.  Since a bank only has a finite amount of credit available to dish out to its customers, if you're not using it (and therefore making money for them), they'll give it to someone else who will use it.

ZeroSum

SuperAllyB said:

ZeroSum said:

If the mortgage is in joint names then just put the 50%. If its just in your name put the full 100%, and if in partners name, put nowt.

Why not just put the truth as others have advised?  As well as the fact it would make OPs disposable income look less, anything else would be fraud!

Where have i suggested otherwise? What is have suggested is the absolute truth in terms of debt liability 

SuperAllyB

ZeroSum said:

SuperAllyB said:

ZeroSum said:

If the mortgage is in joint names then just put the 50%. If its just in your name put the full 100%, and if in partners name, put nowt.

Why not just put the truth as others have advised?  As well as the fact it would make OPs disposable income look less, anything else would be fraud!

Where have i suggested otherwise? What is have suggested is the absolute truth in terms of debt liability 

That may be true but any cards I've ever applied for the question has always been about monthly payments and not debt liability!  And indeed monthly payments are what the OP was asking about ...