Will The Electoral Roll Help Me Get A Credit Card?

justsayyes

I can't for the life of me get a credit card. I lived abroad for ages so my credit file is pretty thin. There's nothing negative on it. The problem is, there's virtually nothing on it at all. Only been back in the UK 6 months or so. I applied out of the blue for a current account with a bank I had no prior relationship with and got a £250 cheque guarantee card, £5500 overdraft limit etc. But declined for their credit card due to "low credit score." I even got declined for a Kays catalogue! I ordered copies of all my credit reports and there's nothing bad on there at all. The only negative is that I'm not on the Electoral Roll (although I do have a home phone landline registered to my name and address). I have now added myself to the Electoral Register and the Council have confirmed that I was added to the Register on 3rd March 2008. How long will it take before the credit reference agencies update and begin to report that I am now on the Electoral Register?
Thanks!

skyrider007

Get your self on it and try applying for a CC a couple of months later. Try CapitalOne.

justsayyes

skyrider007 wrote: »

Get your self on it and try applying for a CC a couple of months later. Try CapitalOne.

Hi, like I said in my message above, I am already on the Electoral Register, as of 3rd March. So you're saying it should take a couple of months before the credit agencies actually reflect the fact that I'm now on the Electoral Roll?

lisyloo

So you're saying it should take a couple of months before the credit agencies actually reflect the fact that I'm now on the Electoral Roll?

I am not sure exactly how long it takes but you are being far too optimistic about 3rd March.
Most lenders update the credit agencies monthly so I would say you would need to wait a minimum of one month.
Waiting 2 - 3 months (or checking our report first) will save lots of declined aplpication which in themselves look bad and contribute to a poor credit rating.
The worst thing you can do is keep applying before you know you are on it so it's better to be a bit patient.

Is there any particular reason you can't manage without a credit card for a short while?
I know they offer benefits but unless you are doing loads of travelling then you should be able to get by for a month or two.

viking30

I was in the same boat as you a couple of years ago. Having spent 20 years overseas. Only advise i can give you over what others have said is dont apply for too many accounts. I did and kept getting turned down. I still get turned down due to the number of searches on my credit file as everything else is fine. Capital one was the first to give me a credit card and even though the limit was only 200 pound they increased that to 500 after just 3 months. I now dont apply for anything just to give me a better credit score :rotfl:

PROLIANT

Try Capital one because they will help people out when others will turn them away, having your current account will help because most banks record monthly credit status on your experian/equifax files.

lisyloo

having your current account will help because most banks record monthly credit status on your experian/equifax files.

Is that true? or does it depend on the tyep of account.
My bank account has never appeared.
I didn't think they did because they aren't "credit" accounts.

What type of account have you seen appearing?
Was there a loan attached or some type of credit?

YorkshireBoy

lisyloo wrote: »

My bank account has never appeared.

It was probably opened pre-1998, when the 'rules' changed (latest re-vamp of the original DPA) and/or only has 'positive' (white data) account conduct?

I didn't think they did because they aren't "credit" accounts.

They're credit accounts in the respect that you can go overdrawn by...

• the provision of an overdraft facility
• the incurring of fees (even without an agreed overdraft facility)
• a book of 30 cheques is an 'unofficial' £3K overdraft facility, if accompanied by a cheque guarantee card

What type of account have you seen appearing?

All 6 of my current accounts opened since 1998 appear on my credit reports. Only my 29 year old account doesn't, but my bank reserves the right to report negative conduct...should there ever be any.

The reporting of current account status is detailed in provider privacy statements, and the format of such reporting is detailed in this useful booklet from Experian...

http://experian.metafaq.com/resources/experian/Downloads/creditFileExplainedJuly07 (page 11)

justsayyes

I spoke to the Council and they said that I'm on the Electoral Register already but that they won't send the confirmation of that to the CRAs until 1st April. They said that once they've sent the info to the CRAs the records should be updated immediately and that I should be showing as on the Electoral Roll at Experian, Equifax etc either on 1st April itself, or very soon after. Is this true in your experience?