Spouse can't get credit because has no credit - what do we do??

[Deathpledge]

My spouse and I are in our early 40s with a primary school aged child. We've been married for over 15 years. Partner is a high rate tax payer and earns roughly twice my salary. We don't own any property, and live in a flat that comes with my spouse's job. We are in the extremely fortunate position of having a large lump sum (from inheritance, from selling in-laws' house) and we are thinking of buying a house of our own so that we have somewhere to live if my partner stops working at the place that provides our accommodation/for retirement in 20 years.

My partner is very good with money, has lots of savings and no debt - used to have a credit card until recently but they cancelled it as it wasn't being used. All utilities and both our mobiles are in my name as we got a good deal. I have no debt either and no credit card.

We looked at our credit ratings. Mine are good (Equifax) and perfect (Experian) but partner's are poor. The only reason we can think of is the lack of credit. We decided it would be a good idea for my partner to take out a credit card and pay it back in full every month to build up a credit history, but the application was declined. It's incredibly frustrating, as it seems like the only reason not to get credit is that there's no existing credit.

What the frick do we do?

We're looking at houses that would need a bit of a mortgage (we can pay about 60-75% deposit depending on the price of the house) - more than I would be lent on my own, I think, but around twice our combined salary/three times the higher salary. Are we screwed? Did the failed credit card application set us back 12 months? Feeling a bit helpless and at the mercy of credit score people at the moment.

Please help.

[Deathpledge]

No, but the broker knew about this sort of situation and was confident that the lender wouldn't see it as a problem.

[Zpack]

Thanks @BarbaraofSeville that very useful! We’ve just returned from Australia where we had good credit, we both had credit cards and overdrafts and used them sensibly! Shame we couldn’t bring our credit history with us.

[BarbaraofSeville]

@Zpack Lots of information here:

www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/bad-credit-credit-cards/

In the eyes of the lender 'no credit' can be in the same category as 'bad credit' as they've nothing to base their decision on.

So as well as a 'rebuild your credit' card, they're good if you don't have a history at all. Use it for some of your normal spending and set a direct debit to pay off in full every month, so the high interest rate doesn't matter as you pay no interest.

Also try the bank you have your current account with, as they see your salary coming in each month and how you run that.

As for not using credit because you don't need it to borrow money, it's useful for far more than that, so it's a good idea to have a credit card when you don't need it, because it can protect you when you do need it and can make/save a lot of money with cashback, protection and refunds including consequential losses when a supplier goes bust, cheaper spending overseas, wider choice of car hire providers, etc etc.

[Zpack]

Thanks @Deathpledge I have opened a low limit credit card and got us both on the electoral roll. Good to hear you got it sorted in the end. Did you use a broker that specialised in limited credit history?

[110APiccadilly]

I had a similar problem some time ago. My bank were happy to provide me with a credit card (albeit with a fairly low limit) as they could see my salary coming in and that I'd not gone overdrawn, etc. I then used that to build my rating up. So it might be worth him contacting his own bank to ask what they can offer.

[Deathpledge]

We used a broker to apply for a mortgage and it was fine (but we did get him a credit card first which was a headache, and popped his name on the electricity bill alongside mine).

[Zpack]

@Deathpledge this was a while ago now, how long did it take to sort out? We’re in a similar position after a long time overseas. Trying to build just some credit to apply for mortgages but I’m worried it will take months at this rate!

[Devlesko]

This is me and dh in our 50's neither ever had any cards or monthly subscriptions apart from utility dd's.
It's quite scary really, we found out very early, after a year or so of marriage.
Never needed credit, as saved for emergencies for years now.
All the basics are covered.

[Blakes77]

Firstly-if what you are saying is that his credit file can't be found by clearscore etc (just skimmed, sorry) then I may know why:
If when he opened bank accounts, he may have ticked a box that requested his info not be visible to credit agencies. He should call his bank and check if this is the case-easily solved.
Secondly, honestly, don't faff about with applying for credit cards, just get a mortgage broker. I am certain that with your massive deposit and good salaries you will be able to get a mortgage. Credit scores don't mean as much as people think they do for mortgages.

[mooonstone]

Get a credit building card and pay it off in full each month, his score will improve within 6 months

[WednesburyPrinciple]

Look into manually underwritten mortgages.

[Deathpledge]

No, we are still having a hard time with this. He managed to get a credit card by complaining to a bank where he has a current account and a large amount of savings. We'll have to wait at least a month for this to filter through to a credit report. We are also trying to get Trans Union to show that we are on the electoral roll.

[Pinkflowers19]

Hi op, did you manage to find out why you couldn't get a credit report? Going through similar at the moment and at a loss.

[Deathpledge]

I think he may accidentally have missed one payment a few years ago but we can't really remember and it doesn't show on the reports we've been looking at.

[Deathpledge]

I've just been accepted for a normal credit card with a standard APR and good limit with the bank I have my current account with. I will look into adding him as a second card holder in a few months in the hope that this will improve his rating. The bank has my address wrong. It's also pretty different on the electoral roll from what appears on drop down lists, which is why it doesn't match up for credit reports. I'm hopeful I can get the council to change it but I'm not sure how quickly this will take effect.

[MixedUpFiles]

In the long run, he needs to have a credit card, charge to it every month, and pay it in full every month.

How to deal with the current problem, I have no idea. It might be easier to get a store card, but I don’t really know. Not an expert on today’s application climate.

[Bythemillpond]

We have an issue with our address as the postcodes got changed but we have never had an issue.

Have you done the Credit Expert application that leaves no trace on your credit file to see immediately which cards will be more likely to be given.
Even getting something like an Aqua credit card or something similar would help. But again you will be able to see if you are likely to get one if you did a non impacted search.
If you had to wait for a reply to see if you were able to get a particular credit card is not doing a no impact mass credit card search.

[Lochroy]

If there are differences on how your address is entered get them cleared up by contacting whichever agencies this applies to. It's a ball ache to do, but essential.

Do not apply for any more cards for now. If you've just had two declined, it implies some sort of desperation. Look online to see how long you should wait.

Do your research and look for a credit card designed for people with no credit history. It will have a hideous APR, but should be fine to use as long as it's paid off each month.

[minipie]

Have you actually tried applying for a mortgage? You may be presuming it’s a problem when actually the banks would be able to see the full information and would be happy to give a mortgage ?

[EmptyOrchestra]

It won’t just be the lack of credit making his rating poor. I had one credit card with a low limit that I never used and a mobile phone contract and mine was at the high end of good - I’ve had to get a higher credit limit and use my credit card to increase it.

Either it’s the address - whatever problems you’re having verifying the address may well explain the issue - or there are missed payments or defaults on his credit history. Even if he doesn’t have credit he shouldn’t be refused a credit card just because he doesn’t have credit. Something else is up here.

[moofolk]

PayPal credit worked wonders for my rating

[Bythemillpond]

The second credit card application was declined. We feel like we're completely at the mercy of these credit score companies, which seem to hold different information depending on how we enter our address

But you would know this immediately if you did an application that left no imprint on your credit file as if you go through the process it matches your credit file against loads of different credit cards and will tell you which ones will be more amenable to give you a credit card and which ones won’t

[Deathpledge]

I've now added his name to the electricity and broadband. I'll get him to set up a mobile phone, but we might have to wait a while before doing that after two declined credit card applications.

[Deathpledge]

Utility bills and mobile phones are in my name. He has no credit agreements at all.

[crunchiess]

Do they have a phone contract?

That's the only credit I'v ever had in my life and my rating is very good and never had an issue with getting a mortgage (even recently during covid). Never had to go to a broker either, just the bank directly. I don't need a credit car or car on finance etc so haven't bothered.

Something is going on that's making him appear high risk, unpaid utility bill in the past etc etc. If you get the free trial with Experian it will show you exactly what the mortgage can see.