Cockneykiwi

Hi,
We are hoping to move back to the UK sometime next year. We'd like to get back on the housing ladder as quickly as possible but I understand not having any credit history there will delay us getting a mortgage, loans etc. Does anyone have any tips for speeding up the process of developing a credit history even before we leave for the UK?

Thanks for your help.

Pollyana

Probably the only thing you can do in advance is see if you can get on the electoral roll. Depending on when you left you may still be able to register to vote in your old constituency, which would put you back on the electoral roll.

Swatmozzies

I just went through this securing a rental in Brighton. I had to pay 6 months rent in advance plus a downpayment on the Deposit Protection Scheme with a Private Landlord. Agents required the same plus all fees. Although I checked with my UK bank my credit rating was fine, as soon as I mentioned I had been living in the US for a long period of time these were the terms.
Hope this helps.

Spacecake799

Hi
As crazy as it sounds, get yourself a credit card as soon as you get back. Use it to buy everything then pay it off each month.
Get a small loan and pay that off, even buy a car on finance, basically anything to show you can be responsible with money.

Richard8655

I never understood why credit history doesn't span international boundaries, especially between closely connected countries. When we moved to Canada from U.S., we had to start from scratch, as if we just became adults out of school.

As mentioned above, getting credit cards and opening checking/savings accounts as soon as possible is the best way to begin building a history. Utility bill payments as well.

salmoncolour

Yup, store card/credit card and current account are your fastest ways. Then mobile phone contract. Set up direct debits. Put your name on the electoral register or if you can't go on it, put a note on your credit record explaining why.

colchar

Why is the electoral roll connected to credit worthiness and one's credit file?

Englishmum

It shows that the person has stability and less likely to 'do a runner' leaving debts behind than someone of no established/fixed abode. I'm not sure what happens when the person isn't a British or Irish citizen, perhaps their credit rating is lower, at least initially

When we relocated to the US from Singapore (albeit many years ago) we had no credit rating at all, we only had our L1 and L2 non-immigrant visas...however my spouse definitely wanted to buy a house rather than rent. We produced copies of our bank statements going back for the previous 18 months and paid our banks (Lloyds IoM) and UOB (Singapore) to write a letter 'To Whom It May Concern' that we were in good financial standing with them. My spouse also was able to provide a letter with his salary details and we were able to secure a mortgage, albeit at a higher rate.

Now if I was relocating from the US to the UK or vice-versa, I would get copies of the credit reports from the three major credit rating agencies; Experian, TransUnion and Equifax as this would hopefully be of use when applying for any kind of credit/utility etc. It helps to provide a picture of the (hopefully good) financial management of the applicant

BTW the three main credit bureaus in the UK are Experian, Equifax and CallCredit. The first two are operated seperately from their namesakes in the US, but it would still be useful to print off the most recent credit reports when relocating.

salmoncolour

It affect the rating, yes. :/ That's why I suggested putting a note on the credit report (you can do this on Experian, not sure of others) explaining why.

cyrian

Because they want to check you are who you say you are.
They don't like gaps in information that could be caused by e.g. periods in prison or living "under the radar" to avoid debt collectors.
This is the problem when you return from abroad.
In the UK, certain districts or even streets can show up very poor credit ratings and you can be refused credit just because you live there.
A few years ago a credit card company contacted me to ask if I had applied for a credit card.
Apparently someone had applied from my old address using my details.
They discovered the attempted fraud using the electoral roll.
It saved me a lot of grief and them a lot of money.

alexleeson

I have been through all of this as I moved back a year ago.

Best thing is to get a credit card - I got one from Capital One but there are others like it - they are called credit-builder cards

Get on electoral roll

Get a post-paid mobile phone (this apparently helps your credit rating)

Make sure you get council tax, electricity/gas, water and phone in your name asap - it all helps with your credit score.


I made the mistake of applying for instore credit one month after my credit card and my credit rating plummeted for some reason like 'applying for too many things' - despite being told to apply for credit.

So don't apply for more than one credit at a time and definitely 2/3 months apart.

After a year, I still don't have a credit rating high enough for a normal mortgage.

Check your credit rating every few months to see the progress.

Englishmum

There is some very useful information in these links:

Credit scores: Boost your credit rating - MoneySavingExpert

Credit cards for bad credit: rebuild your credit - MSE

Getting a mortgage: boost your mortgage chances - MSE

Hope this helps!