Bad Credit

the whole year inn

Last year I got a student credit card but I let it go up to €700 on it and the limit on 400 any how I was meant to pay it off all when I got a grant but the grant came 3 months late and I knew I had to pay it off but could not .Any how I explained to them what my situation was and finally have it down to 199 but I was told that i will have bad credit now.I I just turned 20 and dont think i be taking any loans out anytime soon but is there anything i can do to get back into good credit.I am with the bank for 2 years .

gob_smacked

L5

I have the same card, most i let it go to was 400. They sent two letters asking me to ring them to arrange something. I managed to get it down to 240 which is what its at now. I think theyd be stupid to put students on bad credit, when they should know that once im finished college, id clear it in one weeks wages.

lordsippa

I don't know too much about this sorta thing but afaik it'll always be a blotch on your record. My advice would be to go check out if you could take any legal proceedings against whoever was behind your grant as it was simply the delay in you receiving your grant money that led to this - which may have a large part to play in your future as far as loans etc go. Maybe you could get a few grand extra out of them.

But then again I am a mean ol' bastard.

Anyway, condolences man.

GuanYin

In Ireland credit records are kept for 5 years. So basically once you clear it you will be have a bad credit history for that long. Thismay not matter if you explain it to your bank for future loan stuff.

Paddy20

Also remember that your address is currently an important factor in credit referance agencies records. I assume you will not be living where you are forever.

I agree with 'syke'. Pay it off as soon as you can. If you are overly worried you really should not be. Provided you show willing and keep in touch with creditors.

For really sound advice and pro-active help in relation to money matters. The following 'Free' & confidential service has a very good reputation; www.mabs.ie/

P. :ninja:

BuffyBot

It may not be the end of it. There is no such thing as a "standard" bad credit. There are degrees of variation

Credit applications (loans, credit cards etc) are credit scored. This is a points based system. If you've made amends with BOI and brought your account back into order and continue to keep it that way, and keep making regular payments on any other credit arrangements you may have, it shouldn't have too adverse an impact on your credit rating in the future

the whole year inn

Thanks for the advice lads dont think Ill be getting a loan for a few years any how going to start a credit union account and start saving would this affect it in any way?. Dont have any other cridit to pay off and this will be paid off within the next month .Is that true bout the 5 years?

gob_smacked

Sleipnir

AS Boffybot said, 'bad credit' can mean different things. I mean it was a pretty insignificant amount, especially when you take into consideration how much banks make. It'll stay on your records 5 years as a maximum.
But a piddling amount like that wouldn't really be taken into account for something like a mortgage.

eth0_

Originally posted by gob_smacked
Last year I got a student credit card but I let it go up to €700 on it and the limit on 400

That REALLY pisses me off. Why do banks bother to put a limit on your card when you can go over it and keep spending? Answer: so they can get rich off your 'over limit penalty'.
>-(

BuffyBot

dont think Ill be getting a loan for a few years any how going to start a credit union account and start saving would this affect it in any way?

If you want to get a loan from the credit union, having savings there is pretty much essential.

however most, if not all, credit unions don't deal with the Irish Credit Bureau (the people all banks and building societies check your credit rating with) so good/bad payments with a credit union won't affect your credit rating for good or bad.

seamus

As someone else said, I doubt it will really make a difference in the bank's scheme of things. If you go to them in a 4/5 years,(assuming you're almost finished) when you're earning €30k+, looking for 10k for a motorloan, they'll be happy to oblige you. Thousands of students every year end up in a situation where they can't pay money back. The banks will stick with them though because as BOI quite candidly put it, "Once you start making it, we do".
A regular salary will improve your credit rating far more than a minor delayed debt in college can damage it.

I still have a student credit card from BOI with a €350 limit, and I can't go over that. If I haven't enough on the card, it'll be refused (as it has in the past). What bank is the €400 one with?

zAbbo

I got my student Credit card in October 2002, increased the limit to 600 in June 2003, and when i next requested an increase(online), i got 1100. Never had any trouble paying it off, i pay 100% of it every month. You just need to keep track of whats going on, and if i dont have the cash in my current account, i dont use the cc. Simple as that

Humphrey

HI,

Firstly I would doubt you actually do have bad debt. They dont usually give people bad deby for such a small amount.

You can ask the Irish Credit Bureau for a copy of your credit History.

If you need a loan go to a Credit Union they cant get this as they aren't a member of the ICB.


If you need a mortgage go to EBS as they aren't a member either.

Humphrey

HI,

Firstly I would doubt you actually do have bad debt. They dont usually give people bad debt for such a small amount.

You can ask the Irish Credit Bureau for a copy of your credit History.

If you need a loan go to a Credit Union they cant get this as they aren't a member of the ICB.


If you need a mortgage go to EBS as they aren't a member either.

So it not as bad as you thought.

All the best,
Humphrey.

Victor

When you get a job make sure you put away some money in a separate account as saving, so when you look for your next loan they can see that you have improved.

whosurpaddy

Originally posted by bazH
I got my student Credit card in October 2002, increased the limit to 600 in June 2003, and when i next requested an increase(online), i got 1100. Never had any trouble paying it off, i pay 100% of it every month. You just need to keep track of whats going on, and if i dont have the cash in my current account, i dont use the cc. Simple as that

pretty much the same as myself. have had a cc for about 2-3 years now. 3 credit increases and atm i have €1000 limit. every month i pay 100% of what i owe especially if its a large amount a few times this has been north of €500.

only once was my card ever rejected.after a months heavy spending, the next month i put some flights for my parents on the card and forgot about em. tried to buy something in clothes shop. card rejected. its not really as embarrassing as ud imagine.

but id definitely subscribe to baz's theory that if u dont have it dont spend it.

][cEMAN**

Originally posted by Paddy20
Also remember that your address is currently an important factor in credit referance agencies records. I assume you will not be living where you are forever.

Afaik with credit agreement laws they can't do anything based on your address. I was told this by a financial advisor when I thougt I might have had bad credit before buying a house. If they turn you down you can check through a website called www.equifax.com

You have to pay something like £8 for a full printout but it gives every last bit of credit information people can check up on you, and you can see exactly what you're being refused on. If a credit agency refuses you and there is nothing wrong with your credit check you are quite able to pull them for this and ask for a written statement as to why they are refusing you credit. Bad business practice if they refuse you on your address as this is meant to be illegal. It is in the North here anyway!!

Then take them to court and sue them for stress related injuries due to them refusing you credit and causing you to think there was a problem where there had been none :P Say that this caused a lapse in work effort which resulted in you having to take excess time off without full pay etc etc and go for compensation

spongebob

Originally posted by gob_smacked
Thanks for the advice lads dont think Ill be getting a loan for a few years any how going to start a credit union account and start saving would this affect it in any way?. Dont have any other cridit to pay off and this will be paid off within the next month .Is that true bout the 5 years?

gob_smacked

How many payments did you miss in the 3 months it was over the limit.

Years ago the problem was not busting the limit, it was failing to make payments that pissed them off, eg the minimum monthly on €400 is €8 and the minimum on €700 is €12 ro similar.

If you made the minimum payements or only missed one then I think you are OK after 2 years. The one failure coulda been an accident and the system can tolerate that if you tell the credit instiutution it was an accident.

Going 75% over the limit is forgotten if you were a student at the time.

Missing 3 consecutive payments is somewhat more serious though .

M

BuffyBot

Equifax don't operate in Ireland, so it won't do much good to check your details there

shoegirl

Everytime you take out a loan under the consumer credit act the loan is placed on your "credit record." This will say who the loan is with and for how much its for.

Same if you have an overdraft, a telephone, anything on credit.

Everytime the bill reaches its due date the record is updated with the amount paid, the amount owing etc.

If you miss a payment this is recorded. The amount missed is recorded, but if you pay an amount less than the agreed amount this will be recorded and stands in your favour.

Now if you also have a student loan and say an overdraft, and they have not had problems, and you've missed less than two months, this will drift into the distant past very soon and will not make much of a difference.

However, if you missed several payments, or this was your only form of credit, it will not be so good as there are several "black marks" against you.

I notice also that you managed to overspend a 400 euro limit by 300 and then are flabbergasted at the idea that you might have to pay it back? When you were paying out all that money did it never dawn on you that it had to be paid back? If you've been a student for a while you should be aware that grant cheques are notoriously unpredictable. If this was this your only source of income then why are you using such an expensive form of credit? I know it sounds mean, but its important to take stock of yourself at this point and take responsibility for your debt, the county council didn't spend your credit card, you did!

Take it as a learning experience. Believe me, you are far better off running into credit problems at 20 than at 30. Also try to keep off further borrowing as long as possible. Its a huge temptation to mount up huge amounts of debt, but believe me the pain of paying back huge amounts of your hard earned money plus large amounts of interest is not pleasant.

nlgbbbblth

Originally posted by eth0_
That REALLY pisses me off. Why do banks bother to put a limit on your card when you can go over it and keep spending? Answer: so they can get rich off your 'over limit penalty'.
>-(

manual cc trans will go through regardless
as will small value purchases

at the end of the day you have spent the money not the Bank

Our man in Havana

Everytime you take out a loan under the consumer credit act the loan is placed on your "credit record." This will say who the loan is with and for how much its for.

Same if you have an overdraft, a telephone, anything on credit.

Not true.

Are Eircom a member of the ICB? No they are not. Only banks and finance houses are members. Even then not every loan etc is recorded.

Dr Bolouswki

All you have to do is manage your debt well and you can borrow literally thousands... as long as you don't mind paying interest you can get live a pretty high life style - I mean, the fun will have to stop at some stage, but by then you should be earning enough to pay it back...

take me - unemployed for the majority of the last 3 years, only 6 months into a fairly well paid job and my credit card limit (when unempoyed) was over 4k - simply because I would pay a little off it each month (and I mean a LITTLE) they let it all roll... I've also got car loans to beat the band and a second credit card (virgin plastic - haven't used it yet)...

Now - I gotta pay about €40 a month interest on the card at its current levels - but I put about 1000 a month into it and spend about 600 a month on it so it's working its way downwards...


Massive corporations are in debt, countries are in debt - you can be in debt too - you just need to not ignore it and make token payments and your credit rating will remain healthy - it's ignoring a debt that causes hassle...