how do i raise my credit rating score, if i cant get a credit card?

Question

im looking to buy a house in 12mths or so, but need to raise my credit rating to obtain a mortgage. i tried to get a credit card to help me do this, but was refused. what can i do?

Answer 1

do you have negatives on your sheet? try fixing them first then get a card. orchard bank and household bank walmart are good place to get cards with bad or no history

Answer 2

Hi, you donlt state if you live in the UK But if you do. . .

I would first obatin credit reports from the two main agencies, Equifax and Experian. This costs £2 per report.

Once you have the information - go through and see if you have any defaults or county court judgements. If you do, these need to be 'satsfied' once they are, you can write to each creditor and ask them to inform the credit refference agencies.

Your credit may be bad because of someone who had lived at your address in thr past, or because of a member of your family. If this is the case - write letters to each agencies 'disassociating yourself' with the previous occupants.

Make sure you are on the electoral roll, this is V important.

If you have a bank account, try and use your card for things rather than cash, don't go overdrawn.

Easy credit cards to gte are capital one, vanquis and aqua. he interest is VERY high - so just use them to buy something small each month, then pay off the balance in FULL! Thus not building up any interest payments, but still helping your credit rating!

Another good thing to have is a contract mobile phone. If you get refused, try '3', they're lenient!

Also, get a next/empire catalogue and do ther same as with the credit cards - buy somethign small and PAY IN FULL each month.

All of the above should help to build your rating :)

Answer 3

Do you have any utilities? Rent? Anything that will show that you can consistently (over a year or more) pay a bill each month. You may want to start with a store credit card, rather than a MasterCard or VISA. Stores have a bit more lenient standards.

If you're looking to buy a house, definitely get advice from a mortgage banker (not broker!!!) that you can trust.

I'm including a link to a credit guide that's published by a direct mortgage lender (Quicken Loans). The link is an article, but you'll want to download the PDF.

Answer 4

first off applying for loads of cards will wont help it looks like you cant get credit hence your desperate for money, first off for example you get paid £100 a week leave twenty pound a week in the bank, over the weeks you balance will raise for example week one your balance £20 week 3 your balance £60, this proves you can save money and are not reliant on your current wage for every day living. Then after 3 months of doing this apply for a card with YOUR BANK THIS HAS BEEN DONE WITH.

Then when you get the card use it when you know you can pay it off for example use it for the £!5 CD you want then go the bank and pay £15 to your credit card before it registers . Before you know it they will start increasing you credit card limit.

Do not abuse it keep clear from spiralling into debt , when you apply for a mortgage they will look at your history they will see you are good at saving and when you use your credit card you aim to pay it quickly these are the things they look at.

A mobile phone on contract when paid on time without fail would also boost your credit rating.

Good luck

Answer 5

Rather than taking on more debt, it sounds like you need to make sure you clear existing ones. Examples of this would be making sure that you make any monthly payments on time, (late payments can affect your credit rating).

Another downer for your credit rating is if you've not been in your job very long or you're on a temp contract. Also, being in short term rented property doesn't help.

Log on to somewhere like Experian, from there, you can view a copy of your credit rating and it might show you where your problems lie.

Good luck

Answer 6

The more you apply for credit cards and are refused, the worse your credit rating will be, if you aren't in debt there should be no problem, if you are, pay off your debts and bills on time, and this will up your ratings, apply for a credit rating score from where you are going to apply for a mortgage.. ie Experian, you will have to pay to find out what your rating is and how to rectify it, but believe me it is worth it... good luck

Answer 7

Have you looked into getting a secured credit card. Most banks and credit unions offer them. The easiest way to explain them is that you basically get a line of credit with your own money. For example, If you give them 300.00 it goes to your credit card and that is your balance. The downfall is that you pay interest on your own money BUT it does significantly imprive your credit. It has the same effect of a regular credit card just make sure you make your monthly payments on time!

Answer 8

I don't know yopur personally situation but genrally you can raise your credit score by basically showing you are a 'good risk' (someone who borrows money AND then pays it back)

So you need to borrow money loans/hp/credit cards and they pay it back quickly.

you can do this by transferring a credit card debt from one cards to another (balance transfer). try a 'capital one' card first

open savings accounts and just put a small amount in

increase your income and reduce your outgoings

contact the credit references and get your file and check it for mistakes. if the person who lived in your house before didnt pay their bills it could have a negative affect on YOU, you need to tell the agencies that yopu have no connection with these people


good luck

Answer 9

I don't know if this will work fast enough for you, but you can take out a small signature loan at a bank, deposit the money you borrow in an account and have them draft the payments out of the account. You will have to come up with the interest charges, which won't be much, out of your own pocket. After you pay it back, take out a slightly larger one, do the same thing. Then take out a slightly larger one. Do the same thing. DO NOT SPEND THE MONEY. Keep it in the account to be drafted out to pay the loan. It really boosts your credit because it's drafted out and always on time.

Answer 10

hey...dont get a major credit card start out slow!...try something like Macy's,Mervins or even the Walmart card. I have heard alot of good things about that...

Take out a small loan from your bank...and pay it off within a couple of months! Pay it off withing 6 months or less depending on how much the loan is.

hope that works!

Answer 11

Your best be is have someone like a parent cosign on a auto loan or whatever and dont miss a payment. Then when its paid off your credit should be better.