credit cards

mygeorgie

My son has an aqua credit card which has an APR of nearly 30% he has been paying more than the minimum amount required for several months and now has the o/s balance down to around £300. Is it worth writing to them and asking them to consider reducing the APR and if si are they likely to do this?
Also, he has now paid off his remaining credit / store cards, we want to try and improve his credit rateing. Any advice hints or tips greatly appreciated.

JustJewels

Hi mygeorgie

It never hurts to ask if they can offer you a better deal - the worst that can happen is they say no.

A person's credit rating is made up of many things, including time at addresses, time with employers, being on the electoral roll, and managing existing credit appropriately. How long has he had his aqua card? Now that your son has paid off his other credit commitments, can he now pay more than the minimum payment on the aqua card and get that balance reduced quick smart?

JJ

mygeorgie

Hi,
he has had the aqua card for about 18 months, until 2-3 months ago it was maxed out @ £550 but now it is down to about £300 by paying the minimum amount each month by direct debit then making additional payments during the month as and when he can afford to. He has been with his employer for 13 months but moved address in September and is renting at the moment.
We want to do all we can to improve his credit rating. When all his other credit/store cards were fully paid up he wrote to each provider requesting that they close his accountm hoping this will help improve his credit score.
Phew!

JustJewels

Well, it sounds like he's making all the right moves, so to speak. Is he a young 'un who needs to build up his credit rating from scratch, or has he some credit problems to overcome? Some things like time at address etc just take time to build up his credit rating.

Just one thing to watch out for - tell your son to make sure that those clear credit card/store cards are indeed closed, preferably by written statements from the relevant companies confirming zero balance and account closed. It's amazing how many letters go 'missing' in the post - to lenders advantage!

Also it wouldn't hurt for him to get a copy of credit report from each of the three agencies, make sure everything is ok, and to check his reports once a year after .

JJ

mygeorgie

Thanx 4 that I will make sure that he does get final closed statements letters etc and then get his credit details to check all is well. Yes he is young and got sucked into all the free credit? around and has had to learn the hard way that this money has to be paid back.