Starting a credit history

get a current account with whoever provides her high interest account? If that doesn't work see if her employer can help with an introduction to the bank they use. How is she paid? Presumably not into a current account? She could try someone like first direct who always seem to be touting for CA business.

Dont no how long since she was a student but if its not long her bank will throw a credit card at her.

She has a current account with her current bank, but she really doesn`t like them (poor service to cut a long story short) and would like to go elsewhere, but at the moment nobody wants her business because she has no credit history. She does get paid directly into the bank monthly at the moment, but she`s about to start another course at university that will be funded by her parents (they`re lending her the money for now and she`s paying it back). It`s a law course, so it`s about 8000 for the course alone for the year, plus living expenses, so for the next year she won`t have a regular income being paid into her bank account. She is more than capable of handling credit without being stupid and owing tens of thousands to random companies, she`ll have the money there to pay bills off as they come in, but she wants to play the system a bit (pay on a credit card and pay the bill off when it comes in, to maximise the length of time her money stays in her account, and thus the interest she earns on it) and also get a credit history together for when it is time to get a mortgage etc.

If shes a student tell her to open another student account. Its easy to get cards. I had friends with 3 student accounts each with typicaly 1500 overdrafts. I had 2 credit cards at uni. Only with 500 limits but if she just wants to build up a score they would help

In message , Simon Finnigan writes

Simon - we all reach a point where we hate our bastard bank but, for various reasons, cannot just walk away from them. If she moves elsewhere, it will not be long before she doesnt like the new bank... and so on.

She should get a credit card with her current bank.

She`s got a mobile phone on

I take it you mean the only *borrowing* she's ever done. You have to be a lender to do any lending.

Rob Graham

If she really doesn't want to get a credit card from her current bank, then several providers that provide cards for people with poor credit histories, for example Capital One. The interest rates are usually bad, so make sure the balance is payed off every month (direct debit is a good idea). She could use the card for everyday shopping.

She should also make sure that she's on the electoral register.

"Richard Faulkner" wrote

If that's the way you think about *your* bank, perhaps you should try FirstDirect or Smile?!

In message , Tim writes

I've got a quite large loan secured against a property, and it is quite a difficult process to extricate myself from it - so inertia carries me on, but I still hate the bastards..

I dont think Smile or First Direct would give me what I've got.

"Richard Faulkner" wrote

Last time I used FirstDirect's mortgage calculator online, their "slider" went up to a mortgage of half-a-million. Do you need more than that?

Step one is check she's on the electorial role. Then has she got passport etc?

Some of the credit cards give to poor risk people - and gettiong one of those and managing it well (ie: paying it off every month on time) gives you a good start imo.

In message , Tim writes

No. But it is a commercial loan secured against a house which is converted into flats. I could get better buy to let rates, (from the same bank), but would need to create separate leases for each flat and a management company.

Yep, got both of those sorted out a while ago

This is what she`s doing, but she`d like to improve her record as quickly as possible. Not to take out a 25,000 loan she can`t ever pay back and ruin her life, but to be in a better position when it comes to mortgage time.

If you hate your bank, you should move (or have realistic expectations). I`ve been with my bank for almost 18 years now, and never been anything less than happy with the service they`ve given me.

Plus a bank makes money from me, why should I essentially give my money to a company I dn`t like or trust? Why should anyone? She doesn`t like or really trust her current bank, she knows the bank she wants to move to will give her the level of service she wants.