Credit Builder Card Query

Snookums · 23 Jun 2018 at 17:45

My other half is trying to get a credit builder card as she has never had anything expect bills and rent. She has now been paying these for a year. Around 6 months ago Vanquis rejected her for a card for an unknown reason.

She decided to leave it a while after having a hard search done to avoid further damage.

The bit we are most confused about now is Money Supermarket does a soft check to show eligibility, the two the come back as guaranteed now are Vanquis and Aqua (never heard of them). Both being a 10/10 guarantee money supermarket state no further credit check is needed just fraud checks etc.

So my main question is would you apply to vanquis again having been told its guranteed, are the gurantees legit?

If no to that I've never heard of Aqua so will need to look them up and check they arent a PITA etc.

Also the other popular builder card (Aquis) is only a 9.5/10 chance

Sorry if this is in the wrong place mods, move if needed.

MichaelAwkward · 23 Jun 2018 at 17:52

Check her credit report first.

https://www.noddle.co.uk/

https://www.clearscore.com/

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/creditclub

There could be something on there that's preventing her getting credit and making any further applications that get declined will only make it more difficult.

HungryHippos · 23 Jun 2018 at 17:55

Yep agreed a good place to start.

It's also the reason that I normally tell people to get a credit card even if they treat it like a debit card, people like to see a credit history when offering you credit for future purchases.

Does require some self control though, as a credit card is a temptation for some to spend money they don't have and struggle to pay back.

robfosters · 23 Jun 2018 at 17:55

I would advise your wife to have a look at the Tesco Foundation card. It’s got a very low APR for a credit builder and you even get 6 months interest free on it. I’ve had one for ages and found it very good indeed. I had a terrible credit record when I got one, including a default for a Vanquis card I had a few years back. If you manage it right and your wife’s credit file improves over time, they are able to move you onto a more prime card in their range. Their app is nice and easy to use too. Minimum payments though are always a minimum of £25 or the entire balance, whichever is lower. However, you are advised to clear the balances every month anyway on sub prime card.

Snookums · 23 Jun 2018 at 17:59

MichaelAwkward said:
Check her credit report first.

https://www.noddle.co.uk/

https://www.clearscore.com/

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/creditclub

There could be something on there that's preventing her getting credit and making any further applications that get declined will only make it more difficult.

Credit checks have been done however for some reason it changes month to month on ClearScore but states no changes so that has been ignored but Experian shows it as fine.

robfosters · 23 Jun 2018 at 18:05

All the guaranteed acceptances on soft checks I’ve done have been correct.

paradigm · 23 Jun 2018 at 18:36

FWIW, until Vanquis had begun advertising hard in the last 12 months I was already aware of Aqua.

Not saying I'd go with either, but I'd not shun Aqua over Vanquis just because of having never heard of them.

robfosters · 23 Jun 2018 at 18:52

Aqua and Marbles are both products of a credit company called New Day. If you get turned down for one, you’ll probably be turned down for the other too.

subbytna · 23 Jun 2018 at 20:52

Use Clearscore, it's free credit report based on Experian. Useful to have clearscore account as it'll track your credit rating from the time you open it. You get a monthly report free to view. Any score over 400 is usually good enough for some sort of credit card. Over 500 for the better offers and over 600 for the best offers. Clearscore ranks are a total out of 700 IIRC.

koooowweeee · 23 Jun 2018 at 21:16

With being self employed for 10 years I never got any credit. But when I needed it I kept getting g knocked back because I didn't have a history.

So what I did was, get a 1 month rolling mobile phone contract and then after that I got a marbles card.

Been using both for 2years now and my score is going up nearly every month.

ultralaser · 23 Jun 2018 at 22:01

robfosters said:
....including a default for a Vanquis card I had a few years back...

No judgement at all intended, but how did you default on a Vanquis card?

koooowweeee · 23 Jun 2018 at 22:06

ultralaser said:
No judgement at all intended, but how did you default on a Vanquis card?

Pretty obvious, he didn't pay...

ultralaser · 23 Jun 2018 at 22:09

koooowweeee said:
Pretty obvious, he didn't pay...

Thanks captain obvious, I was wondering given their market if they did any specific debt management techniques / differ from the mainline banks on how they deal with non-payments.

DampCat · 23 Jun 2018 at 22:22

Money Saving Expert do their own Credit Report called Credit Club. It uses Experian, plus ties in to their card offers etc so when you do apply it's all right there for you. Useful for starters and people who switch cards/loans a lot.

robfosters · 23 Jun 2018 at 22:36

ultralaser said:
Thanks captain obvious, I was wondering given their market if they did any specific debt management techniques / differ from the mainline banks on how they deal with non-payments.

I had a stroke and was out of it for ages when it came to financial affairs. My memory of the whole incident is hazy, but I do remember that they was pretty unsympathetic to say the least and I ended up defaulting. I didn’t care at the time as I had other things to worry about. If I’d tried a bit harder I could have probably avoided the default but I was just in such a mess I lost track of everything and really didn’t care.

Semple · 23 Jun 2018 at 22:38

Just signed the FIL upto an Aqua card to start building some credit history. It comes with an insanely high APR, but he knows to clear the balance each month to not incur any interest.

I've told him to use it for 6 months and then check his score again. If he's better rated, then he can apply for a card with a more well known company / lower APR etc.

HungryHippos · 23 Jun 2018 at 22:55

Semple said:
Just signed the FIL upto an Aqua card to start building some credit history. It comes with an insanely high APR, but he knows to clear the balance each month to not incur any interest.

I've told him to use it for 6 months and then check his score again. If he's better rated, then he can apply for a card with a more well known company / lower APR etc.

Setup the direct debit for maximum payment then you don't even need to remember to clear it just need more funds than the statement balance.

BDEE · 24 Jun 2018 at 01:56

subbytna said:
Use Clearscore, it's free credit report based on Experian. Useful to have clearscore account as it'll track your credit rating from the time you open it. You get a monthly report free to view. Any score over 400 is usually good enough for some sort of credit card. Over 500 for the better offers and over 600 for the best offers. Clearscore ranks are a total out of 700 IIRC.

Should take this with a pinch of salt. Credit reference agencies "scores" mean absolutely nothing other than their own opinion of your credit history against their own set scoring method. In reality a lender applies their own methodology to assess ("score") you, none of which uses the fake "scores" which the agencies use as a well of selling their products.

D3K · 24 Jun 2018 at 02:42

Wouldnt touch Vanquis with a barge pole now tbh. I did something similar years ago, and then applied to Vanquis. Felt gutted I'd just dented all the good work I'd been doing. Bank told me they had no idea why they would refuse me.

paradigm · 24 Jun 2018 at 07:35

subbytna said:
Use Clearscore, it's free credit report based on Experian. Useful to have clearscore account as it'll track your credit rating from the time you open it. You get a monthly report free to view. Any score over 400 is usually good enough for some sort of credit card. Over 500 for the better offers and over 600 for the best offers. Clearscore ranks are a total out of 700 IIRC.

ClearScore are equifax IIRC, not Experian.