Shocked by lloyds...

mothersuperior

Thank you guys, for all your advice!! I have decided to draw up a plan spending ex amount on each one so i can pay all three off at the end of the month. if i have to use any of them for large credit the 11 % lloyds one can be used in an emergency.

I just want to build up a decent credit rating for the future should anything arise includng a low rate mortgage!!

CCJ's ive seen the letters and i know that county court stamp!

Many thanks guys

James

System

• I'd dump the Barclaycard Initial with the sky high interest rate, and the LTB Advance with no interest free period, if I was you.
• The Mint Card should be sufficient for emergencies etc.
• I also make sure you've got the Select Plus, and not just the Select.

Good Luck!

mothersuperior wrote: »

Hi guys,

I turned 18 in December whoopie yes into the real banking world.
I have a full time job at the moment before possibly going back into study.
I earn 25.000 pa basic for my job which i started about 3 months ago.

Anyway everyone was saying to me i have no credit rating, i mean my friends. Then could someone here explain why now i have:

A Select accout at lloyds with a 500 pound overdraft. Select account is for mobile cover.

A phone contract

A barclaycard inital Horrible APR

A Lloyds Advance mastercard 11 % APR

and a mint card.

See all i wanted was one credit card.
This is mainly for emergencys but also so i can go out and carry that and not my debit card, so i don't worry if i lose it. well worry less than the debit card.

Anyway i applyed for all three to see which one i would get.

The mint arrived on Saturday

The lloyds arrived today and i am still shocked they gave it to me

and the barclaycard came first, considering i applyed for it the day after my birthday.

Just some advice please guys, of course i am temped to spend spend spend.
But then again i hate debt. So thats not the priority.

Does anyone have any idea why i got these? I thought mint and lloyds would laugh at me.

Also whats the best way to cancel i am going to get rid of the barclaycard i think due to the high rate. nasty business.

So guys any idea how i got it and which one should i keep?

Cheers
James

UnlikelyButTrue

just be very careful- but you sound sensible to me... my best friend got lots of credit cards when he hit 18 (they threw them at him and he unfortunately was not as aware as you are- it seemed like free money- and now he's in more £thousands of debt than he has got years in his life. as long as you keep on top of the cards there is no problem but as soon as you miss/ can't make a payment it can get on top of you. from a personal point of view i would suggest cutting up 2 of them- less temptation!

mothersuperior

Thank you Heng leng!!! I poped in the bank today to upgrade to a Select plus account, i like the interest rate alot more now !!! So thank you.
I have decided to keep all three cards, for the moment. Spending ex amount on each one. Well I am limiting myself to 200 on the mint card 100 each on the others. Basiclly not all my salary a month just a smaller amount so i can keep on top of it.

When i did go to try cancel the barclaycard they gave me aload of grief and i decided just to leave it. With the mint card they were brilliant! Telling me my limit and giving me a run down on the rates charges e.t.c

I now understand now why alot of my older friends have trouble with Barclaycard, they were not too nice!

Many thanks everyone!!!

James

chuckley

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW 25k @ 18. AMAZING! makes me feel like trash! im due to start a new job( my first salary one ) earning waaaay less than that! but it is a trainee position...

hmm.. anyway if u dont want them why apply for them? if u only wanted 1 y do u have 2?

mothersuperior

I have three, Mint Barclaycard and lloyds. My job, i work in Media and got plucked from college / Headhunted and i got a good offer. Before i was on 5.52 hour in a clothes shop making money to enjoy myself whilst in study.

Oh no i wanted one but tried three to see if i would get a better card.

Cheers
James

Mum_of_3_3

I don't want to sound like a nag, but to make sure you pay off all you spend on each card, why don't you phone up each company and arrange for a direct debit to come out of your bank each month?

This way you know you will pay it off in full (and not get tempted not to) plus you won't miss a payment and therefore adversely affect your credit rating.

Also if your current accont starts getting in a mess because of the DD's you will know to spend less on the Credit Cards.

HTH

M_o_3

Zebedee69

Okay mate il give you some decent advice:

Barclaycard - Ditch this one its sub prime and your better than it!
Mint Card - Keep
Lloyds Card - Keep

If I was you id eventually like end up with what I have:

- Lloyds Debit Card (Visa) £1000 OD Limit
- Egg Money Card (Mastercard) £1000 OD Limit
- Lloyds Internet Saver £1000 Emergency Fund (Save any more money in an ISA)

- Egg Card (Visa) £1000 Limit
- Lloyds Credit Card (Mastercard) £1000 Limit
- American Express (Amex) £1000 Limit

I dont realy ever borrow money but my APR's are quite low so no worries there.

The 3 searches will have hampered your record for about 6 months. My first port of call would be sending back Barclaycard and getting an Egg Money in 6 months.

Cards are great, be careful with them though mate they can and do bite!