Apologies I have not posted on her for a while.
All my defaults and IVA dropped off my credit files last Nov/Dec so almost a year of squeaky clean credit files. I've had a vanquis card for 18 months which I clear the balance every month...credit limit of £2,200. Life is good only downside money wise is I only have a Santander Cash card. I did try and upgrade my account in Jan but they refused...they weren't even a creditor. Made me feel really fed up at the time.
Anyway over the weekend, after several months, I decided to bite the bullet and apply to another bank. Ruling out some of the big guns as they were creditors I opted for a Nationwide flex direct account - debit card, cheque book but opted out the overdraft...then nervously pressed the apply button....within seconds I got approved then a message came up to say I had also been approved for a nationwide credit card with a limit of £6500!!! I didn't apply for this. It said if i applied now I could have one but if i declined and asked for one at a later date a new credit search would need to be carried out!!! You could have knocked me down with a feather, but in a good way ...I have agreed to the credit card and will get rid of the vanquis. I intend paying it off like I have done with the vanquis every month. I went to bed with a big smile on my face on Sunday, and still smiling now. I feel like I have been given a second chance of mainstream banking xx
IVA finished Oct 2011, CC received 27 April 2012, No longer on Insolvency Register 01 May 2012. Jan 2013 - all Credit Files squeaky clean
Ladybird ,I read your profile,,I too didn't tell a sole about the iva - so to get that "yes" for a flex account & credit card,,,you'll feel like shouting it from the rooftops!! Really pleased for you!!
IVA COMPLETED & CLEAN CREDIT FILE.
An old bible proverb says this: the rich one rules the poor, and the borrower is a slave to the lender.
Excellent positive post .... I would be scared to have that level of credit personally .... My Barclaycard gave me £3500 from day one and i had it reduced to £1000
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
There is a solution for everyone .... Just need to stay positive !
You rightly deserve that second chance, having successfully completed an IVA, and very pleased to hear that Nationwide are supporting you in this. I guess you are so used to budgeting now, that it almost comes second nature - but do be careful with that card, and use it for emergencies only.
Thanks for all your comments. Yes Mel you are right re budgeting and I will be careful with the credit card...once bitten twice shy and all that. I left the balance at £6,500 as it is just nice to know if i had any dire emergencies I have immediate financial backup. That is not there in an IVA and can be quite stressful when something happens. I have also saved quite a bit of money since finishing my IVA. It was just a pain not having a debit card and having to carry money around. Re my credit file. I had a 4 year contract lease with Money barn which I started in my IVA, this finished last month, all Green ticks, and Vanquis for 18 months, all green ticks. I moved home in Jan/Feb my credit score did a bit of a dip on change of address.
For anyone contemplating going for a Nationwide account I can confirm they do ask 'Are you CURRENTLY declared bankrupt of in an IVA?' They also ask if you current bank account has a debit card...I had to answer no to that...I thought that might give them a steer that there might have been past problems but it didn't seem to make a difference. I think if your IVA or BR is off your file and so is all your defaults and anything else adverse you stand a good chance. Only wish I applied earlier, having said that maybe waiting a bit and getting more green ticks on the credit file served me well. xx
IVA finished Oct 2011, CC received 27 April 2012, No longer on Insolvency Register 01 May 2012. Jan 2013 - all Credit Files squeaky clean
Hi Rappy,I'm no longer leasing. Got a 12 month old car on Car Finance ok though, through Car Finance 247. Moneybarn (previously Duncton) no longer lease. Both Money Barn and Car Finance 247 will help people with bad credit histories. Car finance 247 are a broker so will shop around to get you a deal. You will get a better deal once your IVA and defaults etc have fallen off your file in Jan 14 if you can wait that long...hopefully you will get your CC through soon. 10 months is along time to wait. Not sure how things are these days with the CCs...luckily for me the PPI and VAT issues were just starting to bubble up when I finished mine.
IVA finished Oct 2011, CC received 27 April 2012, No longer on Insolvency Register 01 May 2012. Jan 2013 - all Credit Files squeaky clean
A very positive email indeed.I would however,qualify that 'second chance's statement.
I think it is important to understand the mechanism behind the acceptance or rejection for a standard bank account and credit card. It is not on luck.
Most Banks use Experian and with no IVA public record and defaults - your credit score would be high around 900 plus.So if this is what Nationwide look at then - absolutely no reason why one could not get a CC after an IVA. There is nothing on the Credit file to say your were in an IVA.Great.No reason to say NO.
Some Banks however use the dreaded Equifax and Call credit agencies - these two firms look at only borrowing history. Now if the lenders look here then that is where the problem lies in the acceptance.
Post IVA(AFTER 10 MONTHS), THE CC score could look like this - Experian 950/1000;for Equifax and call credit - 250/1000.
You see the disparity?
The latter score is due to 'little lending history' and a post IVA person could increase the lower scores but it would take time.How long I am not sure but it isn't linked to more DB/CC cards been held or big expenditure as I have been told.
I prefer the Banks did not use the Call Credit and Equifax scores for all banking service assessments as that often lead to clues of an IVA in place in the past,ending hope for a large home/car loans.
A much softer criteria is used for CC acceptance.This been the point.
Last edited by nonewdebt on Mon Nov 11, 2013 4:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Just a heads up here. Although I didn't have Santander as one of my creditors (initially), clearly one of the banks they bought WERE one of my creditors, and as such, Santander now appears as one of my creditors on my now completed IVA. It would explain why there were so b***** minded when they refused to upgrade my basic account that I had with them for 7 years. I too have had joy with Nationwide and am about to shut down my Santander account.
So beware, just because a bank/cc company weren't initially one of your creditors, they may well have become one due to mergers and aquisitions along the way
So a place to go, though I'm taken aback by that credit limit. But it does help to dispell the IVA.co.uk myth of the need for credit building credit cards post IVA...I know what foggy's thinking oh flippin heck, I'll never hear end of it from Sponge!
...I have agreed to the credit card and will get rid of the vanquis. I intend paying it off like I have done with the vanquis every month. I went to bed with a big smile on my face on Sunday, and still smiling now. I feel like I have been given a second chance of mainstream banking xx
