burton bunch

We have a bank account in Alberta ready for when hubby gets out there but were justs wondering how you build up your credit rating before you get there as we have heard some people have a nightmare getting utilities hooked up.

Would it help if we made regular deposits into our Canadian account before we got there?

flashman

Take out a credit card or two and start using them.

bad.andy

The only thing that helps is to pay qualifying bills, making deposits doesn't help. A UK Amex card can help a bit, you can change it to a Canadian one when you get there, but you'd need to have it a while.

It might not help before you go but our Credit Union mortgage counts, but a bank mortgage doesn't (in BC anyway), I don't know why they are different. Utilility bills count apparently, but you might have to put up a security deposit which you get back later - we didn't need one for the phone or hydro, but did for gas, seems a bit random really. It was only $74 anyway, which is a lot better than messing about with a secured credit card, I forget the proper name for it.

It seems that the best way is to pay your bills as often as possible and don't miss any payments! I may have been misinformed but we were told your score will go up a bit faster paying bi-weekly than monthly because you make more payments, seems a bit odd as the payments are smaller, but that's what we were told.

bad.andy

Cowtown

Our UK Amex didnt help at all. In fact the Canadian Amex declined us and informed us that the UK card would not help as they are two totally separate organisations.

dozzzzy

I has been suggested to me that, if you can 0% store credit, buy stuff on that and paying it off quickly racks up your credit rating. I have no idea if this is true, but it seamed plausible to me.

Dozzzzy

Buchan6

My bank offered me a credit card but only on the bais it was "secured" i.e. Put 10K down for a 5K limit.

So I applied for a poxy Sears card, with the same thoughts as yourself and was knocked back. Also applied for a credit card with Crappy Tire, and received the same knockback.

Even worst was when i first progressed my application they read out all my info to me and told me everything was OK I'll have it in a week or so. Rang back three weeks later they denied all knowledge of me and had apparantly never received my application.

I earn a very good salary and absolutely no bad credit history and in the region of 10K limit on my UK card.
Yet what does this count for here ? **** All !!!!

iaink

All about credit scores
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/...ng/P136689.asp


I dont think it will make a bit of difference.

hot wasabi peas

It works the other way too. I've a very high credit rating in Canada and it did SFA for me in England. The experience is just part of the trip.

Buchan6

I'm sure it does but to me its one of the many negatives that leads me to question spending "the rest of my life" here

iaink

That makes no sense. Credit is one that fixes itself in a shortish time. Its just the way the system works, either side of the pond.

"lenders typically look back only in the past two years when they make credit decisions"

Buchan6

Iain,
Note the phrase "One of the many" its not the only reason.

Generally spending a lot of time, be it, months , years etc struggling with
bureaucracy isn't something I want to do.

Neither is "X years of hardship" etc that a lot of Expats talk of.
We didnt have that in England so I don't see the merit in moving halfway around the world with all the baggage that goes with it, only to struggle
to get by.

There are other reasons to, mainly to do with the positives in MY LIFE in England not the negatives offered by Canada.

iaink

I kind of picked up on that. Hey, only you know whats right for you and yours, and Im sure you have your reasons. I was only commenting about the credit situation specifically, which you might run into again on your return to the UK. Good luck with everything!

Buchan6

I made a point of keeping all my UK accounts Credit Cards etc active so to avoid being met by the bureaucrats back on the other side of the pond

iaink

Ah, so you never fully commited

kt0157

I'm with you there. In fact, I spent some months in Canada over the summer and realized just how I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in Canada fighting morons in big companies and in Government to try and get something done. The mobile phone system is expensive and crappy. The eating out experience is so-so (even to the point where I refused to pay a tip for terrible service in a pizza place in Vancouver only to find the owner just ran the tip through on my credit card afterwards anyway!). And you all know about getting credit cards, car insurance, etc.

My biggest gripe with Canada (apart from the abysmal CIC) is that the whole country is "south facing": everything is done with reference to the US. So the crappy US phone system is imported into Canada. Crappy cars come from America. The arcane and antique taxation system comes from the US (the price listed is never the price you pay). This means all the crappy norms of America, particularly the mind-melting bureaucracy, are imported into Canada.

So I've just pulled my PR application after two and a half years. Getting the meds, paying the spiteful landing fee tax, and then scurrying around for private medical insurance for 3 months, getting non-silly car insurance, getting a credit card and a bank account that doesn't hit you for huge fees, getting an apartment without putting down thousands in a bond, all was just so unappetizing.

K.