Rainman Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 I've read many comments about the difficulty of getting a loan or mortgage without credit history in the UK. Does it help that we kept our UK bank account active throughout the time we've been away? Thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adelenaylor Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Im interested in this too, I have kept my bank account opened and I have been transferring a bit of savings In there hoping that it might help in the long run Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scuffythetugboat Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 We kept our bank account and credit card active and use them from time to time buying things online etc plus some regular payments. We have a UK address at our daughters place. I checked my credit rating with Experian about 6 months ago and I was given the top mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulswin Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 I'm curious too!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzukiscottie Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Probably, yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 We kept our bank account and credit card active and use them from time to time buying things online etc plus some regular payments. We have a UK address at our daughters place. I checked my credit rating with Experian about 6 months ago and I was given the top mark. My understanding is that it's the debt paying that boosts your credit rating. So savings or bank accounts don't . So this is probably why, if you are still using and paying a credit card it's keeping your credit score going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scuffythetugboat Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Plus we had a good credit rating before departure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 We've been looking into how to build our credit rating and as Que Sera Sera says, it has nothing to do with having a bank account. It's the credit card that matters. We could hold a bank account here for years and it will make no difference unless we have a credit card that we use - and of course we can't get one because we've got no credit rating! I guess it is possible that maintaining a bank account with a UK address means you continue to exist on their databases and therefore your original credit rating survives - but I'm not confident of that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 I had a Prison Officer friend years ago who was on a really good salary. She could have borrowed a really decent amount of money for a house and she didn't have any debts and no credit cards. She was a Divorced parent and had a healthy amount of savings. She applied for a mortgage and could not get one as she had no debt history. She had to get a credit card with a really low limit and keep it for quite a while buying her groceries each month and paying the balance off , for 6 months if I remember correctly. She got her mortgage eventually but unfortunately not the house she'd originally wanted to buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robswife Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 We tried several mortgage providers both last year and again this year when we went back on holiday, to get a mortgage - any type of mortgage.... We were continually told they expect one of you to be earning a UK wage for at least six months and it had to be in a permanent position if the job had a probationary period then we had to wait until that period was over before applying - doesn't matter that we had a mortgage for 20+ years before moving to Oz and that we have a substantial deposit and able to pay mortgage while we stay here for a few years longer. We are both in well paid positions. Our credit history is also very very good, we've kept bank accounts and credit cards, registered at a UK address for the electoral role. Hindsight is a beautiful thing and I wish we hadn't sold our house or had been able to buy something smaller prior to leaving to let out but would have something to go back to in the future, we've only been here 2yrs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scuffythetugboat Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 The lending rules have changed through the years. Any older people returning to the UK nowadays with the intention of buying with the aid of a mortgage may find that they may not get a loan at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 We kept bank accounts and credit cards in the UK - we had a property rented out so money was going in and out. I did an Experian credit check before we returned and our credit score was pretty high, only not being on the electoral role reduced it which we sorted as soon as we got back. I won't say getting a mortgage was easy but my OH has a very low income and I work through my own limited company and we didn't want to sell the rental property that we had moved back into so it would have always been a challenge without two years books and there are no longer self-certified mortgages. If we'd had a 60% deposit it wouldn't have been a problem but we didn't. The initial broker we saw said he couldn't help and even the Building Society we'd been paying a mortgage too for 6 years said no but we got an 85% mortgage from the Halifax (& could have had 90%) 9 months after we moved back & could have probably got it sooner we just were undecided where we wanted to live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainman Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 Thanks for your comments. I'm wondering if it is possible to order a credit card through my UK bank, have it sent to my brother's address where our account is registered and link it to my PayPal account over here. Just thinking out loud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goingbacksoon Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 In May I moved back to the UK after nearly 30 years in Australia. I opened an HSBC premier account in Brisbane and one in the UK six months before leaving, but I didn't use them for months. When I arrived I went to change my address at the local branch and they organised a mortgage appointment for me. I was approved for a mortgage (I'm 51 years old) and have just moved into a 'new' house in Surrey. I had a reasonable deposit from the sale of my house in Australia. I found them to be very helpful and they have recently approved a credit card (7,000 pound limit) and overdraft for me even though I don't have a credit history in the UK. I am a sole parent with two dependants. Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainman Posted August 17, 2015 Author Share Posted August 17, 2015 Hope this helps It does help, thanks. I'll look into opening a Premier account with HSBC too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goingbacksoon Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 The other really good benefit of that account is that you can transfer up to $100,000 between the two countries without having to fill out any additional paperwork. This really helped me when I was buying my new house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungbean Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 You should be able to get a copy of your UK credit history from Experian or Equifax for a nominal fee: see (e.g.) http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/statutory-report.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 You should be able to get a copy of your UK credit history from Experian or Equifax for a nominal fee: see (e.g.) http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/statutory-report.html Better still sign-up for free - just don't forget to cancel after your 30 day free trial! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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