Need advice on building credit history

KJK1LL3R

Hi guys,

I am 32 years old and have just relocated to the Republic from Northern Ireland to take up a civil servant role within a national government department.
Although I remain on the same island, I was told that because I have essentially moved to a new country then my good credit history from the North doesn't apply down here and that I will have to start all over again from scratch. This is very frustrating because my good credit history doesn't transfer with me down here, but of course in typical fashion any of my outstanding debts from the North still remain fully in place.

I had hoped to get a credit card which I would use to pay for my car fuel bills and would pay off in full each month as that was how I always built credit when I lived up North. I joined KBC bank when I moved down and was told I would need to be employed for 3 months before I could apply for a credit card. So I waited and when I finally applied I was shocked to be rejected and given no real reason why. I only wanted a simple €500 limit credit card purely to pay my monthly fuel bills as a means to building credit down here. I appealed the decision with KBC but it failed and I was told that I cannot re-apply for a credit card with them for another 6 months.

I think part of the reason I was rejected is because I have £18,000 student debts from my studies up North and this is seen as totally normal in the UK for most people to have a student loan. In fact I'm almost certain that student finance isn't even considered when doing credit checks in the UK, but perhaps in Ireland it is viewed as more of a bad debt. These student debts will not be written off for another 17 years, so I need to find a way of building up a good credit history because I will be looking at potentially buying a house in the not too distant future. I'm also scared of applying for credit cards with other banks because each time I get rejected it probably makes my credit report look even worse.

I honestly never expected to feel so financially disadvantaged by moving to the South from the North, I don't know how I'm supposed to get off the ground with building a credit history down here if I cannot even obtain a basic low limit credit card. I've already joined my local Credit Union but sadly they don't offer Credit Cards or mortgages so ultimately I need to try to improve my standing with banks really. Would anyone be able to offer some advice please? I've been told that it is not entirely out of the realms of possibility for employers to sometimes wipe out student debts for their staff members as a kind of education grant or benevolent fund but I don't expect that to be a realistic option for me having only just starting working down here recently.

dory

What are you building up your credit history for? I've never had a loan or credit card and am getting a mortgage soon for 3.5x my salary at a good rate. It's not like in America where people with a good score get better rates. Not sure how it is in the UK. From what I've been told by financial advisors it's irrelevant here. Well, only relevant if you've a bad history.

thomas 123

Yeah I think the absence of a bad credit history is more important to be honest!

KJK1LL3R

KJK1LL3R wrote: »

I need to find a way of building up a good credit history because I will be looking at potentially buying a house in the not too distant future. I'm also scared of applying for credit cards with other banks because each time I get rejected it probably makes my credit report look even worse.

A good credit history here means no missed payments and no arrears in the last 5 years.

I got a mortgage last year. Before that, I'd never had a loan, a credit card, or an overdraft. I had never owed anyone a cent and as a result I had never paid anyone back a cent. But it also meant I had no missed payments, no past arrears, no bounced direct debits, and no liabilities. It was a very easy application.

You technically can get a credit score calculated, but that's a recent enough thing and as far as I know, it's not used by the banks. The banks only really care about whether you have any past behaviour that would flag as a risk (so arrears/missed payments/multiple restructures).

As far as it goes for wanting a mortgage in the future, I think you do get asked if you've been refused credit in recent years, so it would be worth pursuing it with KBC to get a reason why your application was rejected. I honestly wouldn't be shocked if €500 was below their minimum card value.

Outside the mortgage thing, if you want a credit card you could just apply elsewhere, but it would be good to get an explanation from KBC before risking further instances of refused credit.

Dublinandy3

Hi,

I moved to Ireland 6 years ago in a very similar position to you. I joined BOI and was told I could get a CC then after 3 months when I applied they told me no and I had to be in the country at least a year. I immediately switched accounts to ptsb and they offered me. CC on opening the new account.
Ironically I'm waiting the kbc now but you could try that route, switching, I've no idea if it'd still be relevant advice nowadays though

Pablo1802

That is true that is is almost impossible to get any credit product in Irish bank with a bad credit history.Each declined application can be appealed but usually makes no difference. It would be waste of time.


Try AiB click card or Avantcard.

KJK1LL3R

Thanks for the input guys, I have got myself on the electoral register and joined the Public Sector Credit Union which deducts savings from my salary at source so hopefully that might help improve my financial standing a little. I've also requested a copy of my Irish credit report from the Central Credit Register so hopefully that might indicate why KBC turned me down for a credit card. I might try Avantcard but I'm guessing that I might not have much luck with any credit card applications until I've completed my probation period with the Civil Service.

Can anyone recommend any other steps that I can take to try to improve my credit rating or to help build a credit history? I'm currently with 48 mobile network which charges my debit card on a monthly basis to renew my membership every 30-days, but perhaps I would be better off with an actual 12-24 month phone contract instead? I'm also planning to buy a car which I intended to pay for using cash savings, but again I'm wondering if it might actually be beneficial to pay a percentage of the car cost using a small loan from the credit union for example instead of paying the whole thing in cash? I've also been advised that whilst I am saving money by living short-term with my girlfriends parents, I may be better served by renting a place in order to build up a history of paying back?

hanaimai

As others have pointed out, credit ratings aren't really a thing in Ireland. You just need to make sure that you have a clean record of repayments for any debt you do happen to have or have had.

Husband and I got a mortgage no bother at all and never had any previous loans, credit cards, overdrafts, nothing. We also weren't renting (living with parents to save money).

Sarn

There is no need to build your credit history in Ireland by taking out loans. The absence of debt would be looked on more favourably.

Edit: When taking out a mortgage, being able to show a history of regular saving, or paying rent, would be beneficial. That is more to show that you could cover the repayments.