Credit history

 Ok..I asked my hubby and he didn't know.  So am going to put it to y'all to see if perhaps you can help me!  Will my credit history from the States follow me here?  It was reaaallly bad there and I'm worried that if it follows me here that I'll never be able to start clean here.  I read somewhere that your credit doesn't follow you here.  Does anyone know???

 ..... I read somewhere that your credit doesn't follow you here.  Does anyone know???

I have worked for several banks in the UK, before I left to go to the US.

The good news (from your point of view) is that your credit history doesn't follow you here, unless you really want to lean on one of the very small number of banks and credit card issuers that operate in both countries.  I can only think of Amex and HSBC that this applies to.

The bad news however is that having no credit history is almost as bad as having a bad credit history.  It is very difficult to get a bank to issue you a credit card, or lend you money, or even give you your own checking account.

 Ok..I asked my hubby and he didn't know.  So am going to put it to y'all to see if perhaps you can help me!  Will my credit history from the States follow me here?  It was reaaallly bad there and I'm worried that if it follows me here that I'll never be able to start clean here.  I read somewhere that your credit doesn't follow you here.  Does anyone know???

I think it depends on who they do their credit checks with.  Some use Equifax or Experian which are also used in the US.  If you're really worried, you can order a copy of your credit history for like £2 and see what's on it.  I know how you feel because I'm going through the exact same thing and it's very frustrating for me.

elle, I have found from our various moves, it takes about a year until you can get credit, i.e., I just got a card from Debenhams last week, and we have been here almost 2 years.  I think they need to know that you have paid your utilities, etc...and have established a good banking relationship..hope that helps!  

When I tried to establish credit in the UK I asked about what agencies they would be using to check my credit.  I was told Equifax and Experian, but I was also told it was not the US Equifax and Experian.  I was told by my bank that it was the UK version/side/arm whatever of these companies and that they did not have access to my credit history in the US.  

The associate who assisted me in appying ran the credit check while I waited with him and showed me the report.  There was no report.  They had no record of me whatsoever as I was new to the UK.  My 15 excellent credit history in the US meant nothing in the UK.  I had to work for 6 months before I was able to reapply and be accepted.

elle, I have found from our various moves, it takes about a year until you can get credit, i.e., I just got a card from Debenhams last week, and we have been here almost 2 years.  I think they need to know that you have paid your utilities, etc...and have established a good banking relationship..hope that helps!  

I think this is part of my problem as we live with my in-laws so I don't have ANY bills here in the UK in my name.  Eventually I will hopefully!  Did I just say that?!

Many of the clothes stores (especially the ones aimed at young people) will give you a card with a limit of, say, £200. I know because my student kids got cards that way without any credit. It's a way to start....
susan

Well I called Halifax today and they told me that all they need to open up a checking account was a piece of mail with my name on it (Inland Revenue has already sent me one ) and my passport.  Haven't gotten a chance to see if it'll work as of yet as we're waiting on a repairman to come and fix our washer/dryer.

Well I called Halifax today .....

Hi Calluna,

You may find that Halifax give you a hard time when they discover that you are not a British citizen, which is what happened when my wife tried to open an account there, ironically while I was working for Halifax!

They will probably offer you a "Cardcash" account, which is a checking account without a checkbook, and it can be upgraded after 6 months.  You will not be eligible for a checking account until you have a little banking history with them, and typically some income into the account.  

Have a look at the Expat Life / Re: bank accounts? thread, as I gave some more advice, and some names to throw around, and/or to contact, if they give you a hard time.

They will probably offer you a "Cardcash" account, which is a checking account without a checkbook, and it can be upgraded after 6 months.  You will not be eligible for a checking account until you have a little banking history with them, and typically some income into the account.  

I must challenge you on this yet again, Mr. Val.  Not to give you a hard time but just to say that this was NOT my experience with Halifax and what you say and my experience just don't match.  

Barclays refused to put my name on my husband's already existing account unless I had an employment contract showing I would be in the country for the next 12 months.  So, I told Barclays to stick it.  A few people recommended Halifax and so I rang them up.  They gave me an account with no hassle and no problem.  Yes, they gave me a Cardcash account, BUT I got a cheque book with it.  Maybe that's atypical.  I don't know.  But they gave me one and it obviously wasn't a mistake because they recently sent me another chequebook for when my current one runs out.  

The only problem they've given me is that they said they wouldn't upgrade my account to a current account because they said I hadn't been in the country long enough.  And I think we went down that road in the other conversation so I'll leave that as it is.

I must challenge you on this yet again, Mr. Val.  .....

Elle,

I am pleased to hear that you had good service from Halifax.  I would recommend them to anyone.  I worked for them when I was in the UK, and I have had an account with them for all but the first four years of my life.

I was only recounting my knowledge and experience, as an (former) employee, account holder, and as the husband of a US citizen who had a problem opening an account herself.

I was only trying to be helpful to others who might not get service from staff as helpful as the ones who helped you with your account.  Inconsistency seems to be a common problem with staff at all British banks, and may be US ones too?

For the record I did take the problem up with senior managament (I was management grade myself and able to rattle a few cages), and perhaps things have changed in the past 18 months, I do hope so.  

This is how it worked for us.  We went to HSBC and they were kind enough to allow us to open an ISA (Instant Savings Account) right away, which allowed us to have a bank account to deposit salary, and cash cards to withdraw money.  No checking or credit cards yet, but the ISA account was acceptable to the estate agents when we started looking for a house.  Once we had our rental agreement we went back to HSBC and they opened a full bank account (chequing, debit/Switch cards, credit cards) for us, jointly (even though I am not working.)  They just needed our rental agreement, Bret's work offer letter, and our passports to open a full account.  So, check different banks and see how flexible they are.  We tried Barclays first and the person there wouldn't even give us the time of day!  

Good luck,
Stephanie

I meant to say, first, that HSBC didn't do any credit checks on us, just wanted Bret's offer letter, etc.  They totally understood that we were new to the country, so didn't have any UK credit history.  The letting agency was also very understanding about our situation, as was the car leasing agency for my car.  So far, we've been able to get around the "not having a UK credit history" roadblock.  We did bring along a letter from our US Bank stating that we had been customers for X number of years and had a very good history with them.

Stephanie

This is how it worked for us.  We went to HSBC and they were kind enough to allow us to open an ISA (Instant Savings Account) right away, which allowed us to have a bank account to deposit salary, and cash cards to withdraw money.  

Stephanie, if this really is an ISA account (Individual Savings Account), you must be very careful, as you are only allowed to put in £3000 each tax year, so if your husband's wages go in at, say, £1000 a month, you can only deposit his salary for 3 months!  After that, no further deposits (we call them 'subscriptions' when it's for an ISA) can be made till next April, the new tax year!!!

Are you sure its not an IASA you've got?  That's an Instant Access Savings Account, on which there would be no limit to the deposits made.

Stephanie, if this really is an ISA account (Individual Savings Account), you must be very careful, as you are only allowed to put in £3000 each tax year, so if your husband's wages go in at, say, £1000 a month, you can only deposit his salary for 3 months!  After that, no further deposits (we call them 'subscriptions' when it's for an ISA) can be made till next April, the new tax year!!!

Are you sure its not an IASA you've got?  That's an Instant Access Savings Account, on which there would be no limit to the deposits made.

It doesn't matter now, as we have a full joint current account now, into which his salary is deposited.  We just needed the savings account so we had some form of bank account to satisfy the letting agents requirements.  Then, once we had our rental agreement the bank gave us a full joint current account.

It was a bother, but it all worked out in only a few weeks.

Stephanie