James
I have been studying at university for the last ten years. I now work part-time and study part-time. I live on the university campus in a live-in position, which means I do not pay any rent. I have always kept my bank details registered at my parents’ address in Cornwall. As I now spent the majority of time at university, I am now on the electoral roll for my university area. I have failed several credit checks recently, I assume because I am not on the electoral roll for the area I provide for my bank address. I could switch everything to my university address but this address cannot be used on many applications online that use a postcode finder to populate address fields as there are 6000 people living at the same postcode on the campus. I also do not have any credit history for any of my university addresses in the last seven years, as I do not pay rent or bills as part of my job. What is the best thing to do? I want to apply for a mobile phone but currently would fail the credit check due to the above.
Gemma, Cornwall
Gemma,
You can actually register to vote at more than one address – as long as you only vote once in each election – so you could register at your parents’ address as well as your university address. That would allow you the ease of voting from either location on polling day, wherever you happen to be, while enabling you to use your parents’ address as a base for new and existing credit. However, I think this may be unwise. If your university address is now your permanent home I think it might be better for you to use this address for all your financial dealings from now on. You really should check your bank statements carefully as soon as they arrive, as well as correspondence about any other credit you use, now and in the future. Assuming your bank sends paper statements to your parents’ address, this is unlikely to be happening at the moment. If your bank account comes with an overdraft facility, as long as you don’t abuse this it will contribute positive information to you credit history at your current address, helping you build up a credit profile there. Getting and using further credit, such as a mobile phone contract, will only serve to strengthen your credit credentials there. Your worries about online postcode-finders are probably unfounded as you should be able to manually adjust the address when you complete online applications. Just make sure you use the fullest possible version of your address for all correspondence and for the electoral register, so that your correspondence reaches you swiftly and your credit report isn’t complicated by different address variations. One further consideration is the safety of your mail. I don’t know whether your post is deposited in shared university pigeonholes or whether you have a secure, personal letterbox. Fraudsters are increasingly targeting single renters who share mailbox facilities, so if this describes your predicament you might be much safer continuing to use your parents’ address. Whatever you decide, get into the habit of investigating any credit refusals. If you ask, the lender should always tell you why, which can often help you identify ways of making yourself a more attractive proposition in the future. They should also tell you whether your credit report let you down, in which case you should review it carefully to see whether you can make improvements. If you haven’t checked it recently you can get a free credit report when you sign up for a 30-day trial of Experian’s online service CreditExpert. Alternatively, for a few pounds you can order a printed report which we send to you by post.
James