Credit adivce

[Doore]

Hi people

I applied for a Tesco Credit Card today online - was declined.

Never had a credit card before.  25 years old.  Never missed any payments on rent, bills, taxes etc.  Had a couple of overdraft issues (going over the limit) six or seven years ago.  Payed off a 2,000 overdraft in the last two years.  Earn a reasonable salary.

Any advice on why I may have been declined?  I have moved house every year for the past three years, I wonder if this has anything to do with it.

I also want to buy a new car under the scrappage scheme - a bit worried about being approved the credit for this as well, even though I know I can afford the repayments.

Any advice would be gratefully recieved.

Cheers.

[wiggy]

Call your local council and check you are on the Voters Roll. Not being registered to vote is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to getting credit. It only takes about 6 weeks to get registered if you are not already.

After that, you can register with one of the Experian websites, such as CreditExpert, which will tell you your curent rating and what you can do to improve it.

[leefer]

Hi Doore,not an expert but my guess is if you havnt had much credit before you havnt a credit record for them to check..catch 22 really...as for the car you will have no problems,car finance is alot easier to get,especially if you have a deposit(or car) to put down..but be warned car finance an have very high interest rates,so hopefully someone on the TEF can help you abit more.

[@MacPhlea]

There are various things that will affect your credit rating and moving house regularly will be one on them, along with never having a credit card before.

I had a similar problem about 20 years ago - screwed up in the last property crash CCJ's, repossession, all sorts - thought I'd never get credit again, then out of the blue American Express sent me a letter saying I had been pre-approved for a card... I just laughed and thought fuck you, i'll sign it and send it back... sure enough within 7 days I had my gold amex...  It turns out that AMEX are easy to get but, because they are repaid in full each month, they are also a huge plus point on you credit score - within 3 months I was being cards and loans from every man and his dog - never took them up but it was good to know that I had them there if needed

The best thing you can do is run a credit check on yourself to see what your credit score is... http://www.experian.co.uk/  doing this will help you understand where you are being marked down - apply for an AMEX and give it a month or two then apply for a credit card - the post office are doing good rates at the moment

[Doore]

Thanks mate - much appreciated advice.

[yeo]

amex,capital 1 or a littlewoods club book account will kick start your credit rating.

[STFC_Gazza]

I used to assess credit at Vodafone. So as mentioned by most others really.apply to see your credit report. It's well worth it. Plus even though it should not matter these days, when looking at your credit report, make sure your name, address etc is not being linked to someone previously at the propery (within the last 6 years), if you moved into your property say 2 years ago and there was a dodgy person there before it may go against you, although it really shouldn't. Personally I would say it was down to lack of credit. In my old job say,if you had no credit previously we would offer contracts but request they pay a 100.00 deposit which was held on the account until 6 clear direct debits went through to sort of cover ourselves as well as get you started having credit.

[Luci]

I applied for a loan to pay off my car finance a few years back but when I was doing it, there were loads of cheap deals about so applied for a few.  I didn't actually realise that applying for lots puts a dent in your credit rating but now, I havent a problem and actually have a Tesco credit card myself (bargain for balance transfers but not for spending!).

I don't know if you've applied for any loans or done anything similar but thats what had an effect on mine a while ago.

[Jamiesfuturewife]

I have a Tesco credit card too!! soapy tit wank! did anyone else watch that show on ITV recently - think it might have been tonight with Trevor Mcdonald where there looked at 3 peoples credit history? then repaired it with really easy stuff like correct address's etc - very interesting

[Phil_S]

Lenders do whats known as a credit score which includes a credit check, but also other info too. (It's different with every lender) A lot of the reasons are as above, but most lenders have tightened up on their criteria because there is not so much money to lend.
Things that affect credit scoring is as follows:
No prevoius credit. (No way of telling what risk you are), Not on voters roll (do you really live there ?); numerous addresses in the last 3 years; Poor credit history in  the past, (like a CCJ, but even late payments in the last year can have a big effect; Multiple applications for credit (Most lenders would expect a few, but too many indicates desparation to them).

As has been suggested get a copy of your credit report from Experian or Equifax. At first sight it would appear that with yourself the main thing is a lack of credit, (Your overdraft may not show up but if it does it would IMPROVE your credit score if you didn't exceed it (Most bills & Council tax aren't included on credit files)), & change of address.
The suggestion of who to approach is a good one, just to establish a record of taking out credit, but also the point about finance for cars being easier to obtain is correct altough rates are higher. If your credit record is half decent try your bank. They should be able to help

[Dazzza]

I had a nightmare with Orange a few years back who had incorrectly recorded me down as a later payer on my credit report so I harangued them and continually challenged it until on one occasion they failed to respond within the time frame and it was removed.

[SwindonTartanArmy]

My Credit rating is crap due to being a bit of a muppet while a student. Older and wiser now, and it is still shot. No idea how to go about repairign the damage apart from waiting, and keeping my mobile bills paid and not going over drawn. Ho hum.

[Fred Elliot]

My Credit rating is crap due to being a bit of a muppet while a student. Older and wiser now, and it is still shot. No idea how to go about repairign the damage apart from waiting, and keeping my mobile bills paid and not going over drawn. Ho hum.

What he said !

4 years of unblemished payments history and a quite healthy bank balance and its still shot to fuck

[Phil_S]

After 6 years it drops off the records anyway.
Most lenders only check the last 3 years addresses.

Credit ratings as such do not exist as each company credit scores are different. Some will give credit where others won't.

this is a good site to go to

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score

[repa]

My Credit rating is crap due to being a bit of a muppet while a student. Older and wiser now, and it is still shot. No idea how to go about repairign the damage apart from waiting, and keeping my mobile bills paid and not going over drawn. Ho hum.

You can actually with some simple steps improve your credit score in a relatively short period. Just to name a few things like apply to a secured credit card or send a dispute letter etc.