18 year old requiring a bit of advice.

[Deleted User]

What do you want this high credit rating for?

dannodw

As a previous poster said,

Its impossible to go through life without some form of credit.

I therefore want the best available rating, not just in credit but every aspect of my life.

Dan.

ShelfStacker_3

I was in the same boat, with the same motivation.

So long as you remember, at the back of your mind, that the money MUST be paid back, and make sure you make stringent plans to ensure that the money WILL be paid back, you won't run into any trouble.

The trouble starts when people forget that the money has to be repaid and don't plan well for it!

gt94sss2

Martinslovechild wrote: »

By the way, it would be worth your while requesting a copy of your credit report from one of the 3 agencies who compile this data, Experian, Equifax & CallCredit.

For an 18 year old this is pointless - the reports will be virtually empty..

Regards
Sunil

tinkerbell84

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

I wonder if your parents have credit card debts and loans etc as I cannot believe any sane person would advise their kids to do what was posted on post #1.

my mother is guarantor on my sister's mortgage.

why? because when she applied, despite earning more than enough money, she had no credit history. she had to get a credit card 3 months before buying to get her credit score up to get the mortgage.

jonesMUFCforever

marshall2k wrote: »

@jonesMUFCforever

What is wrong with someone using a credit card and paying it off in full every month?

Absolutely nothing.
However the OP was advised to get a card just to improve their credit rating - was there a need for a card - we don't know - could OP afford to pay off in full any payments - we don't know?

I will certainly be advising my kids that credit should be used as a last resort and pointing out what it means in terms of what it will cost per £100 to borrow.
Hopefully then they won't need to come on sites like this - I can only live in hope!

jonesMUFCforever

tinkerbell84 wrote: »

my mother is guarantor on my sister's mortgage.

why? because when she applied, despite earning more than enough money, she had no credit history. she had to get a credit card 3 months before buying to get her credit score up to get the mortgage.

Sorry but as Victor Meldrew once said I don't believe it!
There must have been other reasons other than the one stated for a mortgage lender to want a guarantee - after all they own the house until it is paid off - I wonder was the mortgage for 100% (or more?)?

tinkerbell84

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

Sorry but as Victor Meldrew once said I don't believe it!
There must have been other reasons other than the one stated for a mortgage lender to want a guarantee - after all they own the house until it is paid off - I wonder was the mortgage for 100% (or more?)?

cross my heart - it's 100% true.

it was for less than 70%. my sis spent about 5 years saving more than a grand a month for her deposit. the mortgage cost was less than the rent she was paying.

she went direct for a mortgage, but the building society weren't happy that she'd never had credit before. so they insisted on the guarantor.

she got a fab rate though, so i guess it's not turned out too bad.

Toastie

To be honest i'm in the same boat.

I want a credit score because i hopefully won't have stupidly high APR rates when i'm older and have no money.

My problem is that my last job ended, my contract because of no available work. So i just have 3k in a low interest account (it's moving to Icesave to get a bit of extra money).

marshall2k

@jonesMUFCforever

OP states:

i would of course pay off my balance in full, avoiding that interest rate.

The cost of the OP borrowing £100 and paying it off at the next statement is 0.

Credit cards are a very easy way to pay for things and give you additional protection as a consumer. They could help maximise interest from any savings as you can simply move money when the credit card bill is due. Finally, there maybe cashback or other perks. If you pay in full, it's free (unless there is an annual fee of course).

[edit] What i'm trying to say is credit card use is good, credit card debt (that attracts interest) is bad.