No credit history

[spm20]

My husband and I are planning to buy a property soon, but we’re concerned about his lack of credit history. He has never had a phone contract or any bills in his name. Despite being a high earner (in the higher tax bracket), he was recently rejected when he applied for a credit card. I’m worried this could negatively impact his credit report.
I have an excellent credit rating and currently have a mortgage, but I earn significantly less than my husband. To help build his credit history, I’ve added him as an authorised user on two of my credit cards, which he pays off in full each month, and he has recently taken out a phone contract in his name.
We plan to apply for a mortgage in the next 6–10 months. Will we face difficulties due to his lack of credit history?

Bump

Speak to a whole of market mortgage broker and ask them what can be done/what you may face.

I don’t think having him named on your card will count? I have a card on DH’s account and it doesn’t show on my credit file as he is legally responsible for it.

Usually your own bank will give you a CC if they like the way your account has been managed.

Has he checked with his own bank?

This. He needs to apply for a bad credit card such as Capital One in his own name. Is he on the electoral role? Does he not pay gas or electricity bills

@Mountainclimber50 this will be our next step but about 4 months ago he applied for a Tesco credit card and he was rejected so I have told him to wait a while before he approaches his bank. He said he keeps getting emails from his main bank account offering him a credit card.

@GoogleWhacking He is on the electoral role as of a few months ago and he doesn't have any gas or electricity to pay as we live in my parents granny annex and we contribute towards my parents bills.

Thank you, I have two brokers that I have previously used but unsure if they are whole market brokers.

@TheFlis I thought it may help and when I called my bank to ask them they advised that it will show on his credit file. At the moment we're just trying to do anything we can to get him some form of credit history.

L&C are a free, whole of market broker.

You may also find the mortgage boards on Moneysaving expert to have a lot of experience with this. I get the feeling they are a bit obsessive:)

(but in a helpful way)

Naming him on your credit card will do nothing for his credit report. He needs his own.

Go onto clearscore and look there, it'll tell him the chances of being accepted for a card. He'll probably have to take out a high interest one to begin with, but as long as he clears it each month then that shouldn't be a problem.

My daughter had no credit history.
Building Society suggested she take out a card with them which she did.
Later, she got her mortgage, no probs.
If bank are offering a card, take it. Take it soon!

@stackhead thank you we're going to check his credit report this evening and take it from there. I'm just anxious of him applying for any credit incase he is rejected. The high interest credit card won't be an issue or even the credit limit as he has the ability to pay it all off each month, the problem is being accepted for one.
Once he's been accepted how long do you reckon we would need to wait before applying for a mortgage?
T

@PashaMinaMio thank you, that's very reassuring. How long did your daughter wait before applying for a mortgage?

I’d suggest searching for a credit card using ClearScore/money supermarket/totallymoney, basically any of the ones that do soft searches and list the likelihood of approval. I’d expect to see at least a couple of pre-approved cards, and open at least one of them because it’s guaranteed acceptance. Use it, pay it off, rinse and repeat over the months.

I’m in no way any form of financial expert, I’m just rolling with what I’ve read online and my own experience of seeing my credit file. I think I’d wait for at least 6 months before applying for a mortgage, on my credit file it lists it as a not so great thing to have opened an account within 6 months - after that’s passed it seems to be lower risk. Just make sure the balance is at zero before applying, I don’t know if it affects lending for mortgages because we cleared our balances before we applied.

@MuchTooTired we used money supermarket before applying for his previous credit card that rejected him so I'm really anxious of using one of those sites. But, this was before he was on the electoral roll and he now has a phone contract too.
Thanks, we will make sure no credit is owed when we take out the mortgage.

Pretty sure Capital One advertise as being a card that do soft searches that don’t impact your credit score.

Thank you. I will look into this.

3 -6 months after applying for credit. Though if you could leave it a year that would be good too.

No they do credit checks like everyone else

I'd go with a credit card from his bank. They have all the info on him already re regular wage going in & the way he conducts his account.

I also dont think it will be as big an issue as you think, although he does need to get a couple of lines of credit in his name. Even a phone contract would be a start.

Clear score is really good, has he got an account with them? They also do affordability checks etc and show what you will be accepted for etc.

https://www.clearscore.com

He hasn't got an account with clear score but he said he will sign up now and have a look.
Thanks everyone for your advice and tips.

This is surprisingly common OP, we see a lot of people so worried about negative credit history and totally afraid of credit cards that they have no credit history at all.
So with the credit card from his current bank, being on the electoral roll helps, what about phone contract I can't see if you've mentioned that?

@Outnumbered99 he recently took out a phone contract having been paying pay as you go for years. We checked his clear score report and although he has a low score the report shows no missed payments. He is going to apply for a credit card through his bank, but do this over the phone or in person so he can explain his situation.
The report also didn't show any hard searches even though he applied for two credit cards about 6 months ago.