Is 40% APR good?

jas72 said:
That doesn't make sense.

You have a poor/no credit rating so they give you a card which could quickly get you into problems due to its high APR.

:rolleyes:
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I don't think you've really thought that through

they give you a card with a very low limit and place you in the pool of people they deem high risk - the high APR is due to having to cover this risk but given the low limits they can reduce the people going into silly amounts of debt.

I doubt they really care too much about it tbh.. for banks it is more of a product that is there so as to not lose customers rather than a big money earner.
 
I meant to get one a while ago, might do one now and see what they say about me.

I think the Equifax one is much more comprehensive, whereas the £2 version is just a summary IIRC. A friend did them both after he was refused credit, turned out his dad's CCJs were reflecting upon him.
 
gumbald said:
I meant to get one a while ago, might do one now and see what they say about me.

I think the Equifax one is much more comprehensive, whereas the £2 version is just a summary IIRC. A friend did them both after he was refused credit, turned out his dad's CCJs were reflecting upon him.
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The cheap one tells you all you need to know it's just harder to read and contains less fluff that you pay the extra for.
 
I just signed a contract this morning on a capital one card at 29.9% apr.

Going to use it a bit and pay it off in full on payday.

Have such a bad credit rating I need somethine to get back on the ladder.
 
I dread to think of my credit rating, my mum made some pretty stupid decisions and I've moved house about 5 or 6 times in the last 3 years.

bye bye credit!
 
Do these reports from experian / equifax give you a rating out of say 100? or do they just list creditors and amout owed, with any defaults CCJs ETC im interested in getting one

Thanks
 
My credit used to be terrible - 99% through no fault of my own. I was young, unemployed due to ill health (kidney disease, regular surgery), and hadn't had credit before. Nobody would touch me for even small purchases even though my disability was a guaranteed income. Even my bank (who'd known my income for years) wouldn't give me so much as a normal DEBIT card and a £5 overdraft LOL

I got a Capital One credit card at 32% APR, and a £250 limit. Put all my bills on it every month for three months, and paid the balance outright the day after. After a while they increased the limit to £500, my bank upgraded me to a gold account, gave me a cheque book, Maestro card, £1,600 overdraft, the works.

It takes time but used properly cards like this can be very useful TOOLS. I emphasise tools as they're not something you should consider "real" credit - you'd get quickly bent over LOL
 
I can't see anything wrong with high interest loans like provident etc.

They're meant to be short term and collected at the door, with the people they loan to likely to default their over heads soon stack up.

Whats the point in them offering £300 at 6% APR to be paid back in a few months?
 
Theres, no wonder people have bad credit history with companies like this offering credit to anyone.

I dont have any credit cards myself, waiting till the time is right to use one. Hopefully will be on my car insurance if I can get a credit card with 0% on purcashes within the first 6 months...
 
Bennah said:
Theres, no wonder people have bad credit history with companies like this offering credit to anyone.
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This company and many like them are high APR because of people with bad credit history, they aren't the ones causing the initial bad credit history in most cases. If you've got options then you wouldn't normally think that going to someone offering 40% APR was a good option when other companies will give you 20%.
 
semi-pro waster said:
This company and many like them are high APR because of people with bad credit history, they aren't the ones causing the initial bad credit history in most cases. If you've got options then you wouldn't normally think that going to someone offering 40% APR was a good option when other companies will give you 20%.
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Surely giving someone who can't keep their finances in order the means to get massively in debt enables them to get even worse credit ratings though?
 
Monkey Puzzle said:
Surely giving someone who can't keep their finances in order the means to get massively in debt enables them to get even worse credit ratings though?
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It can do but then again there are people who have got themselves in a mess and that is the shock necessary to lead to responsible use of credit - a card like that used sensibly can help rebuild their credit rating. I'm not going to guess how many people do so but there is obviously enough money to be made in it for companies to find it profitable.

There is also the option of personal bankruptcy/sequestration when you are so far in the surface looks like a mere blip on the horizon. I haven't checked recently but the minimum period was mooted to be reduced to one year which is barely any time at all to write off what can be a pretty hefty amount, in Scotland you don't even get your possessions seized for non-payment generally.
 
Dolph said:
Paying off your card in full doesn't do as much good for your credit history as keeping a balance on the card, as you're only using the card like it's a debit card.

Keep the balance at £5 and paying off anything over that would be a better approach if you're purely after building your credit history, but it will cost you slightly more.
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What?!

It makes absolutely no difference at all - the card company reports your outstanding balance (even if you pay it off in full that'll still be your statement balance), your credit limit and that you've paid on time (or not) to the credit reference agencies. They don't report if you've paid it off in full or not!

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That's an extract from my credit report and is exactly what other lenders will see - that card gets paid off in full every month (DD set up to clear the full balance) yet still shows a 'balance'. Amazing how out of date that is though, the credit limit is wrong :)
 
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