Getting a Credit Card with Bad Credit
This post looks at how to increase your chances of getting a Credit Card with Bad Credit.
If you have Bad Credit then you would be better applying with a Credit Card Lender who specialises in people with Bad Credit. Look out for providers who let you do a soft credit search to show you the likelihood of you being accepted as this won’t affect your credit score. Alternatively later in this article I discuss an alternative method.
In the UK there are a number of credit card lenders who can provide credit cards to customers with bad credit. Some examples are Aqua Card, Barclaycard, Capital One, Luma, Wave, Zable and Vanquis.
Things you Can do to improve your chances of getting a Credit Card
In order to improve your chances of being accepted you should make sure that you are on the electoral roll for the address where you currently reside. You can check your credit file to see if you are.
If you are not on the electoral roll, You can do this at aboutmyvote.co.uk if you are not on the electoral register. The aboutmyvote website will allow you to register.
How many applications have you made?
If you have made a large number of credit applications in a short space of time, you should wait for a while before applying again.
A large number of credit applications may signal to a potential lender that you are experiencing financial difficulties. Especially if the applications were all made in a short space of time.
Do you have adverse data on your credit report?
If you have a large number of defaults, make sure that the balances you owe are correct. You can check your Credit Report to see what information is held by the main Credit Reference Agencies. If any of the data is incorrect, make sure you get it corrected.
Make sure that all the information on your Credit Report is accurate and up to date as well. Incorrect information could cause your application to be declined.
Use the Free Credit Reporting Services to see if you can get approval
If you use one of the organisations who let you check your credit report for free, you will also find they can show you what credit cards you are likely to be approved for. Whilst not guaranteed, this is usually a reasonably accurate way to determine if you can get a credit card, even if you have bad credit.
Financial Associations?
If you have financial associations with someone you are no longer with, make sure that these associations are removed as this could be harming your credit score if the other person has bad credit.
County Court Judgments?
If you have paid off a CCJ (County Court Judgment), you can apply to the court to have the CCJ marked as satisfied. A CCJ will remain on your Credit File six years from the date it was entered. Having a CCJ can make getting credit very difficult.
Time is a great healer
The most effective thing you can do is give things time. If you have very bad credit then it will take time for this to drop off your file.
If I remember correctly, most of my defaults were more than three years old and my CCJ was more than four years old before I applied for a credit card.
I was accepted with Capital One and Aqua Card, as well as Vanquis. I waited three months in between each card before applying for a new one. I then used the cards as a way to start rebuilding my Credit. Unfortunately I ended up defaulting on all them.