Tips on building credit in UK?

Whispersarah

I hope this does not sound stupid . What is mail order catalogues and how do i go about doing it. Please can you give me a link to start.

Also for women needing bigger sizes  www.simplybe.co.uk 

OK, here's my dumb question regarding building credit:

In the US, if you want a contract cellphone but don't have any credit, you can put down a deposit ($100-200) that you receive back after 6 months of "good" bill paying behavior. Anyone know of a UK mobile company that has a similar policy? I've poked around the websites and not found anything, and I'm a little too shy to go into a shop and ask outright.

There is a girl at work who didn't have any credit so she went to carphone warehouse and wanted a plan through t-mobile.  They made her put down £100 deposit which she will get back in 6 months to a year. That might be worth inquiring

I actually got offered a contract phone over the phone with the 3 network and we've only been here a couple of months. No deposit was asked for nor paid.

What with that and my first order with Next my credit rating has been set off on the right direction.

Unfortunately I paid cash for my car so that doesn't count.

Is the process of building credit the same in the US as in the UK?  Will banks want to see a history of smaller installment loans before offering you a mortgage?  Are UK banks more conservative with the size of credit lines relative to income than US banks?  Do utilities count at all towards building credit in the UK?

My husband has lived in the US for the past four years and never had a credit card or loan prior to that in the UK.  And I will have no credit history in the UK.  But we are also hoping to be able to buy a house in the next 12-24 months.

Thanks for starting the thread Smootie.

HIJACK...Thanks Whispersarah for that wonderful link!!!!

Is the process of building credit the same in the US as in the UK?  Will banks want to see a history of smaller installment loans before offering you a mortgage?    Do utilities count at all towards building credit in the UK?

That's pretty much how it works here...
But utilities dont 'count' toward building credit... unless you dont pay, and then the judgement will show up against you!

I started my credit here in the UK with American Express.  Amex in the UK just transfered my US card to a UK card, and presto, immediate credit history.   (They even has the membership start date as the same, which was nice.)

Tried to do the same with MBNA at the time, but apparently they are 2 different companies.

Current account with the bank when I started working helped as well......

I started my credit here in the UK with American Express.  Amex in the UK just transfered my US card to a UK card, and presto, immediate credit history.   (They even has the membership start date as the same, which was nice.)

Are you sure the UK Amex really helps your UK credit history?

I have the same UK Global Amex, transferred from US to UK, and even though it handles transactions in pounds, billing is actually done in the US. My paper bills get sent to me from the US via airmail.

And if you purchase something that is in neither dollars nor pounds, it converts the third currency first to dollars, then to pounds, not directly to pounds.

So it's not completely a UK credit card.

I started my credit here in the UK with American Express.  Amex in the UK just transfered my US card to a UK card, and presto, immediate credit history.   (They even has the membership start date as the same, which was nice.)

It's been awhile since the last post on this thread but I'm just starting this process and am curious...did you coordinate this transfer through the Amex customer service based in the UK?  I've called the customer service in US and they're giving me a bit of a run-around.  Also, what happened to your existing US balance...was it converted to pounds?   

I started my credit here in the UK with American Express.  Amex in the UK just transfered my US card to a UK card, and presto, immediate credit history.   (They even has the membership start date as the same, which was nice.)

Tried to do the same with MBNA at the time, but apparently they are 2 different companies.

Current account with the bank when I started working helped as well......

Do you know if it works the other way around? My husband and I will be moving back to the US next year, and want to transfer our UK Amex to a US one when we go back. (By the way, I have NO idea how we got an Amex here in the UK, seeing as how we were turned down for mobile contracts without deposit and a credit card offered through our own bank!)

Are the two Amexes the same company?

Can you get an account at the bank you want then apply for the credit card and have your hubby or a family member be a co-signer? that's what I did just a few weeks ago and i've been trying for over a year to get a credit card so I could build my credit. It's so freaking hard, the companies want you to have credit to get credit from them but they don't want to help you out when you are first starting out (understandable)

Hey peeps,

In the US at the moment and decided to check in before we go out for supper.

With regards the the Amex and credit history, I just spoke to the customer service department here.

American Express have a department that allows them to check your credit history with Amex in foreign countries to determine if they will issue you a card in the country that you reside in now.

I can only assume this is what they did for me 12 years ago when the UK issued me a card. Your history may not pass on, but at least you can start straight away building your new history.

I didn't have a balance to transfer over, only held the charge card at the time, so I don't know if the balance would transfer over.  Something tells me it may not, especially as I know the new card I had issued in England had a different card number.

Thanks, Murasaki!

I'm not so worried about the balance transfering over as I am being able to get an AMEX in the States. I have some late pays and one charge-off from when I was 18 (I'm 27 now, so maybe its off of my credit report now anyways?), so I'm not sure I'd be able to get an AMEX in the States, if I'm being totally honest.

Reeeka, were you actually able to get a credit card that way? I am SO confused as to how credit works here. I don't get it at all. . . .But, I'm just happy that I have one card. That's really all I need.