Credit rating. Having lived abroad for 38 yrs, I have never taken out credit So I have a bad credit rating?

thats why love the more your in the sh*t the more they offer you, weird isnt it

Depends what you mean by 'bad'. At the moment, you simply do not HAVE a credit rating in this country, which could be construed as bad, as most lenders will be unwilling to lend to someone without a track record.

The easiest way to build up a credit rating is:

1. Get a contract mobile phone.

2. There are a lot of 'starter' credit cards for those with adverse/no credit ratings. Most major banks issue these. Open an account (even if you've no intention of using the credit facility on it). Run it perfectly: whatever you charge to it, pay it off in full, well in time each month, preferably by setting up a direct debit from your current account. You could put petrol on it, or any sort of regular expense you incur. After six months or so, you will have built up a flawless, albeit limited credit rating.

Incidentally, you must have had some form of 'credit facility' when abroad: even if only in the form of a current bank account. It is often worth pointing this out to lender, or asking the company for a written reference (for which you will probably have to pay)

One of the best things in life, is you always have the opportunity to start over again so to speak, I would do this.

The best way to do this is to talk to a bank manager about establishing a credit rating.

Your bank should be able to setup a small loan account at a low interest rate. Most banks will want you to apply for a credit card instead of applying for a loan. Do not do this. The banks earn a percentage of the credit card fees and charges without incurring the risk. This is why they want you to get a credit card.

Establish your small personal loan with them. Let's say you borrow $500.00 in the form of a personal loan. This will most likely be over a period of one year at a low interest rate. Your repayments will be around $55.00 a month. This is hardly a financial stretch.

Take your $500.00 and invest it at another bank. Get a term investment account that lets you invest the money for a year. Your interest earned will not be as high as the interest charged to you, but it will off-set the cost of your borrowed money.

Pay your loan back to the first bank with money you earn during the year. Make sure you meet the repayments on time, every time. This is your credit rating we are establishing here. It is the ability and readiness to repay, that financial institutions are concerned with. One error at this stage will mean a down grading of your rating.

At the end of the year, you will have met the terms of the loan and established your credit rating.

Getting a credit card depends on the company. Every company has a different lending policy. No credit does not necessarily mean bad credit in the eyes of a lender

I would have thought that most finance companies especially Banks would be able to take any credit activity abroad into account. If you have some written evidence of credit/loans arranged abroad that has to count surely?

If you have not had loans abroad then, like all of us, you have to start from scratch, it's the system.

See if there is anyone who can cosign a small loan for you.

If you have a job and the loan amount is small, I cannot see why they would be against doing this.

Ask to see, all the can say is no

To establish my credit, I had a cosigner for a small loan and that really boosted my score and allowed me to obtain credit of my own.

They say that no credit is bad credit try doing something same like asking the bank for a small overdraft or apply for a catalogue that should boost your credit score.

My daughter always paid her bills cash she didn't like debt unfortunately when she needed credit she was refused due to not having a good credit score. due to not having any credit cards etc.