Life after bankruptcy

[DelphiniumDoris]

I went bankrupt Aug 2013-Aug2014. Ever since I have made enough to survive and not incurred any debt.
I would like to camp in Europe this summer and have the option of perhaps hiring a car. All the hire companies require a credit card, not debit or cash, for the deposit.
Any chance I'd get one? And which would you apply for? I obviously don't want to try and get turned down, as I believe this impacts my credit score.
Many thanks.

I'm not at all sure that you would be able to do it with such a short time to go. (Although I believe that there are companies that will at least check for you without impacting your credit score.)

Do you have no other options for travelling? Hire cars can be dashed expensive.

Try Vanquis though I am sure a number of hire companies will accept a higher deposit on a debit card.

I got an Aqua card about six months after discharge (used purely for rebuilding credit). MSE has a soft search which supposedly tells you which cards are more likely to accept you, without impacting your credit score, but it wasn't accurate for me (suggested the Capital One card but it turned me down, possibly because they were one of my creditors). Vanquis are the other firm which tends to consider recent BRs. So I'd suggest one of these. Noddle and Clearscore can also make suggestions about which cards might accept you (it would probably be one of those three though). There are some prepaid cards as well, if you can't get any of these, but they have a fee and I'm not sure how it would be regarded for car hire.

It only took a couple of weeks to sort out getting a new card from Aqua though, so I think there is enough time to apply before this summer. Most cards allow you to just apply online and then send the card and PIN through the post.

Ah. That's all a bit more positive.

Arnold Clark hire a car with only a debit card if that's any help?

Go to givemecredit.com and look up the 1 star matched credit cards. You should be able to obtain one of these if you are out of your bankruptcy, have a stable income and are on the electoral role.

Cozietoesie. It's only when I'm there that I MIGHT want to hire a car for a day or something. I'm planning everything else very economically!

Lucsy, couldn't do prepaid as I don't have ready cash, just want the facility iyswim

Excellent advice! Thank you so much lovely mumsnetters! X

Good luck and have a good trip if you go.

Actually, getting a cc - even one with a low limit - should help to repair your credit score so no bad thing to try for now in any case.

Second all the MSE advice, but one thing to watch out for - car hire companies sometimes block a few hundred pounds/euros on a card as a deposit which might not be possible if you get a card with a low limit.

But yes, if you get a card anyway and spend a small amount on it each month and then pay it back in full every month, that will help you loads in repairing your credit rating and the company might raise the limit later to something more useful.

Or would it be possible for you to get a card on the account of a close relative who trusts you not to spend a load of money and not pay it back?

Probably a bit much to ask Barbaraofseville, I'm going to have a look at MSE.

Maybe so but something to bear in mind anyway, I reckon. Can primary account holders set lower limits on a secondary card than they have themselves? If so, someone might be prepared to do it while limiting their exposure and on the understanding that they'll cancel the card after a certain date?

My initial credit limit was £300 but I've heard of others being offered £500 after BR. I've been using it regularly and repaying it in full and it's increased twice, first to £1000 then to £2000. If it's just a few hundred that the car hire firms block then the initial credit limit should be OK.