Vanquis Credit Card

[jimbobsimmonds]

Hi all...

Right, essentially I am 20 yr's old and essentially due to my dad's attitude towards credit companies in the past it seems that short of a mobile phone contract nobody will touch me when it comes to credit...

anyhow, Vanquis sent me through a letter saying i had been pre-selected (whatever that means...) to get a card.. the interest rates are horrific but the plan is to buy my month's petrol or something with the card then paying it off in full each month to try and build myself a bit of credit history...

does anyone here have any experience with vanquis and any advice for me...

[bigandclever]

There's nothing 'wrong' with Vanquis, except I suppose for the relatively high APR, but since they deal with those with poor credit records (like you - no credit record is worse than a bad credit record for a lot of lenders) they can charge whatever they like.

If I were you, I'd be approaching my bank direct and get a low credit limit account from them instead. Regular use and regular repayment (NO missed payments) will build up a positive profile quickly, that in turn will open up further avenues of more easily available credit.

There should be an entirely separate discussion around: "What do you want credit for?"

[gamefreaks]

Yes, they are 'legit' and if you've never had any credit before (assuming you are in work) you should consider getting one.

Try your own bank, though chances are, they'll say no if you have no credit history, so sub-prime cards are a lot of people's first card.

Try Barclaycard Initial or Capital1 before Aqua or Vanquis first though.

Interest rates are high, but you pay no interest if you pay it off in full every month.

[jimbobsimmonds]

bigandclever said:

There's nothing 'wrong' with Vanquis, except I suppose for the relatively high APR, but since they deal with those with poor credit records (like you - no credit record is worse than a bad credit record for a lot of lenders) they can charge whatever they like.

If I were you, I'd be approaching my bank direct and get a low credit limit account from them instead. Regular use and regular repayment (NO missed payments) will build up a positive profile quickly, that in turn will open up further avenues of more easily available credit.

There should be an entirely separate discussion around: "What do you want credit for?"

I am with the nationwide, and despite me having (as a proportion of my salary) exceptionally good savings etc etc they will not touch me with a barge pole... like i said, i personally have done nothing wrong but my dad's attitude has been sketchy to say the least...

[bigandclever]

jimbobsimmonds said:

I am with the nationwide, and despite me having (as a proportion of my salary) exceptionally good savings etc etc they will not touch me with a barge pole... like i said, i personally have done nothing wrong but my dad's attitude has been sketchy to say the least...

Your dad's credit rating has as much to do with you as my credit rating does.

[shakotan]

bigandclever said:

jimbobsimmonds said:

I am with the nationwide, and despite me having (as a proportion of my salary) exceptionally good savings etc etc they will not touch me with a barge pole... like i said, i personally have done nothing wrong but my dad's attitude has been sketchy to say the least...

Your dad's credit rating has as much to do with you as my credit rating does.

This is probably the dumbest thing I've ever said, but doesn't the address have some kind of factor into your credit score?

[bigandclever]

shakotan said:

This is probably the dumbest thing I've ever said, but doesn't the address have some kind of factor into your credit score?

Not really. There's no such thing as an address blacklist, for want of a better expression. The only way the OP will be affected by his dad's credit score is if they are financially linked (for example a joint loan). Obviously address is important if what's on the electoral roll doesn't match the address the OP is using for the application.

It's possible, I suppose, that there might be a bit of confusion between the OP and his dad's details, and dad's bad credit has found it's way onto son's file, but that's (a) erroneous and (b) fixable.

[jimbobsimmonds]

bigandclever said:

jimbobsimmonds said:

I am with the nationwide, and despite me having (as a proportion of my salary) exceptionally good savings etc etc they will not touch me with a barge pole... like i said, i personally have done nothing wrong but my dad's attitude has been sketchy to say the least...

Your dad's credit rating has as much to do with you as my credit rating does.

really, not what the chap at the bank said... basically said they scan the household as much as the person...

[bigandclever]

jimbobsimmonds said:

Really, not what the chap at the bank said... basically said they scan the household as much as the person...

Either the bank bloke was talking out of his arse, or you've misunderstood what he meant.

A few years ago, it was practice to check out other people's credit at your address - that just doesn't happen anymore. Your credit file doesn't even contain information about relatives (or any other third parties), whether you live with them now or previously unless, as I said earlier, there are financial associations (so joint accounts, joint mortgages and so on) but I assume this doesn't apply to you. If your financial associate has a ste credit rating then that probably will affect you.

Ultimately, an institution can simply decide it doesn't want your business, for whatever reason, which will encourage you to look elsewhere. You're knackered at the moment because you don't have a credit history - bit of a catch22 if your bank won't let you start building one. It may just be easier to go for a sub-prime card so long as you keep on top of the payments. And then in a few years when you're looking for a mortgage, think back on how Nationwide treated you

[jimbobsimmonds]

bigandclever said:

jimbobsimmonds said:

Really, not what the chap at the bank said... basically said they scan the household as much as the person...

Either the bank bloke was talking out of his arse, or you've misunderstood what he meant.

A few years ago, it was practice to check out other people's credit at your address - that just doesn't happen anymore. Your credit file doesn't even contain information about relatives (or any other third parties), whether you live with them now or previously unless, as I said earlier, there are financial associations (so joint accounts, joint mortgages and so on) but I assume this doesn't apply to you. If your financial associate has a ste credit rating then that probably will affect you.

Ultimately, an institution can simply decide it doesn't want your business, for whatever reason, which will encourage you to look elsewhere. You're knackered at the moment because you don't have a credit history - bit of a catch22 if your bank won't let you start building one. It may just be easier to go for a sub-prime card so long as you keep on top of the payments. And then in a few years when you're looking for a mortgage, think back on how Nationwide treated you

don't you worry, i'm concidering switching banks anyway (will leave £1 in my account just so they have to send me a statement and waste their postage )...

thats nice to know, and yea, i figured sub prime was the only way to go but this time last year was turned down by vanquis and barclaycard; but thought i'd try again...