to vanquis or not to vanquis?

[plasticdaft]

I was considering applying for a vanquis card to help rebuild my credit history,the wife is not keen on the idea,but I was and have spent the last hour looking up various reviews online and concluded that while it may have a positive affect on our credit file it seems that too many people have problems with the company as a whole. Extra charges for ppi and payments onto the card not going through resulting in interest being charged. Also there seems to be an issue when trying to not take an increase in credit limit,meaning that in a short space of time you could be the owner of one of their premier gold cards with a £3k limit(but still on an interest rate of 39.9% APR!!!).

I have opted to not bother with a card for the time being,as much as it may help the old credit file I am going to look for a safer way to get some green ticks!!!

Paul

[kallis3]

I know Skippy and Andy are very happy with theirs.

[artemischild]

Hay Paul

Ive been debating this myself lately with my other half, weve been looking at the best way for me to rebuild my credit file etc, thankfully he has a perfect history and file but we want to look at a mortgage in th next few years etc

However back to the point, ive too heard some bad things about them and some very positive things! Bad things mainly being payments not being processed in time and interest being added

I get green ticks from my mobile phone bill each month and previously did from littlewoods catalogue so i may continue down this route instead [:o]

Im just really worrid something somewhere will go wrong and i'll end up paying through the nose to sort a problem out....hmmmmmm!!

Arty

[KAYKAY]

I haven't had any issues as yet, but after reading this post, will certainly be on my guard.

[Foggy]

Paul, what do you think of these fiver a month pre-paid credit builder cards ? OK,so it's a fiver a month, but relatively risk free from the interest point of view.

[plasticdaft]

I think I will look to the prepaid cards now. I wonder if Andy could reveal his current APR??

Paul

[madwales]

I've had a vanquis card for a year and a half and have to say their customer service is excellent.

My limit is £2,500 I just use it to pay for petrol and small items I then log onto my Santander account and make a payment to vanquis for my purchases.

[Skippy]

I've had a Vanquis card for a couple of years now and the only problem I had was when I changed bank accounts and there was a delay in setting up the direct debit but I paid by debit card until that was sorted out.

Regarding your other concerns:

PPI - I was offered it at the beginning but I said no and wasn't pushed.
Late payments - I pay by direct debit each month and haven't had a problem (apart from the one above)
Credit limit increase - mine has been increased from £250 to £2250 but it doesn't make any difference as I only spend what I know I can pay off each month.
APR - Mine is 34.9% but it doesn't matter as I pay the balance in fill each month.

[olydak]

Paul

I changed my mind, i cancelled my Vanquis this morning, as i'm not ready for one yet. I have to wait a week for a letter to change the password then send it back, i feel happier already, so it wasn't meant to be, i don't really need one, it would have just been convienient for me!

Regards David.

[luluj]

I have a ore paid credit card and we pay each month £4.95 for it to be a positive return on our credit files. I am going to do this for a yer or so and then consider a normal credit cards.......but to be honest I haven't had the need to use it yet...we load £100 a month onto it and once a month I use it for fuel......good alternative in my view

[Skippy]

It is a good alternative in some cases, but I wouldn't want to pay to have the card.

[plasticdaft]

Skippy,I know you dont worry about the interest as you pay it off in full but why havent they lowered your APR as they increase your credit limit??

I think people who have been in an IVA are more likely to use the vanquis card safely,knowing full well what could happen if you get carried away.

I would jump at it had they reduced the APR as they upped everyones limit(clearly they see you can pay and therefore offer more credit).

I can honestly say I dont know what to do for the best!!

Paul

[olydak]

Paul do you have your CC yet if not wait untill it arrives before applying for a card.

Regards David.

[kallis3]

He has got it David.

[plasticdaft]

Yes got it,still really unsure and looking at other options like a catalogue account somewhere,or the prepaid card??????

Paul