So, this is why I didn't have a credit history after 3.5 years in the UK

I decided to write this post because I think it would be useful to somebody else..

So, I have been very frustrated for the last 3.5 years because I've been negated ANY type for credit in the UK. So, I finally grabbed the bull by the horns (and the fact that I'm now planing to buy a property!) and I investigated what the heck was going on with my UK credit history....

So - the main reason I was given over and over why I was denied financing (as low as 500 pounds!) was that I wasn't register in the "Voting Registry".
Duh! I can register since I'm not English or European!  So.. I thought that was a lost cause...

Well, now I know that what really was happening was that when I first moved to the UK I rented a brand new flat! I was (and still am) the only person that has ever lived here. So, NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN REGISTERED AT THIS ADDRESS!!!  Therefore -the credit companies cannot verify that mine is a valid address!!!  as simple as that...

If I just known this a couple of years ago!! So.. now I have a letter from my city Council  stating that I have been living AND paying my Council Taxes here for the last 3.5 years. and that's it! out of the blue I have a credit history in the UK!!!

so... I won't say I don't recommend to move into a brand new flat as they are beautiful! but make sure you keep records of every thing you pay so you can tell your "I live here and I am a good citizen" history whenever you need it~!!

I both agree and disagree. I think the main reason may be because of the credit crunch and banks tightening their criteria. I've been here 6 1/2 years and I had no trouble at all building up credit - starting with a department store account and eventually getting a car loan and a Barclaycard with an obscene credit limit.... But since then I've had two credit card companies actually lower my limit as the economy has got worse.

But having said that, I do think there is a limit to what you can do without being on the electoral register and our independent financial advisor (actually a friend, but that's what he does for a living and he's trying to help us get our credit in shape to get a mortgage) does think that my credit score is not as high as it should be and that's largely down to not being on the electoral register.... But until I can afford citizenship, I can't really do much about it! So even though having a registered address obviously helps, I do think you eventually hit a bit of a wall in terms of developing a really high score....

Another thing I did was to get onto my credit report and put an addendum in about me not being a citizen and thus I couldn't be on the electoral roll...but that I had a visa.  It definitely helped when talking to banks about getting a mortgage.

onetiger is right.  You are permitted to add a statement to your credit report, explaining that you aren't on the electoral roll because you aren't a citizen, etc. 

As others have stated, you really need to add that addendum. All of the "instant credit" engines appear to barf heinously if you're not on the roll. With the addendum, the instant credit check engines have to toss the record up to an actual human being, who can take the situation into account. You won't be able to open a new account at a till, and all such activities will now take longer, but you're far more likely to be approved. I've been here for a year and a half or so and, with that note on my system, I was able to get a bank credit card after about a year and store credit cards shortly thereafter.

For what it's worth, you may also want to check your credit score. As some meagre point of reference, with the above credit history, I'm currently at somewhere around 920/999 and going up monthly.

I know this is an old thread, but I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on how to add this addendum to your credit report. Is there a how-to guide? Can you do it online? Or do I need to go to a bank?

TIA!

I went to experian.co.uk and there were instructions there on there about how to add an addendum (I think I had to go to my credit scores and from there could do it).  Note, I'm pretty sure you'll have to pay to check your credit (not much but something).

This is great info.  I just went on the Experian and CallCredit sites to "get" my report and to send an addendum (Also called a Notice of Correction).  Experian was, by far, the easiest.  However, Equifax's website won't let me sign up online because I've lived here less than a year with no prior UK address.  It will need to be more manual to get that updated.

I was a bit shocked to see my credit score be so low.  But the great things on the Experian website was that they gave reasons why mine could be so low. The one reason? I don't show up in the electoral poll.

This is really helpful info. Thanks for posting it!