How tf do I get my credit score up when nobody wants to give me credit?

[Shampoo1014]

Hey everyone,
So I am in a weird predicament where I am sure others have found themselves in the past.
I am needing/wanting to get my credit score up as I recently (April) landed another job and my income has been substantially more, which has allowed me to finally look at things like my credit score.
I have previously not done ANYTHING on credit and according to Clearscore, my credit is -1 (Due to a credit check??)
Anyways, I did not study and take a student loan so essentially, I am a fresh young person looking to work towards a good credit score.

The problem is... Nobody wants to give me credit.
I have tried:
- Mobicred (Declined due to credit and blocked from applying for 2 years. Apparently this is normal???)
- Payflex (Declined due to credit)
- FNB Credit Card (Declined on app. Applied in person & was told it was going for manual review. Never heard back)
- Capitec Credit/Loan/Revolving (Declined due to credit)
- RCS Credit Card (Declined due to credit)
- FNB Connect - R120pm contract for SM Watch 4 (Declined due to credit)
- MR Price store card (Declined due to credit)
- Trueworths store card (Declined due to credit)

The two things I have been successful in:
- Opened a new FNB account and was given a R1000 overdraft.
- Woolworths approved me for a store card with R3000 limit.

The thing with these is that I really don't know how the overdraft works and their chat is useless. Would my account go into the negative if I use the overdraft, then I have to pay it back? Or does the R1000 get added to my balance?
Secondly, I don't know how "fast" these two things would generate good credit. Honestly I would prefer a contract of some kind so that I don't have to be continually buying shit. I don't spend a lot of money on clothes and whatnot from Woolies for example.

So honestly I am just looking for some input. Some "dad-like" input, if you will.
I have heard that debit orders go towards your credit score but I have had a debit order go off for medical for the last 3 years and it doesn't seem to have made a difference.
Thanks all, look forward to hearing your suggestions!

 

[Dom]

Hey everyone,
So I am in a weird predicament where I am sure others have found themselves in the past.
I am needing/wanting to get my credit score up as I recently (April) landed another job and my income has been substantially more, which has allowed me to finally look at things like my credit score.
I have previously not done ANYTHING on credit and according to Clearscore, my credit is -1 (Due to a credit check??)
Anyways, I did not study and take a student loan so essentially, I am a fresh young person looking to work towards a good credit score.

The problem is... Nobody wants to give me credit.
I have tried:
- Mobicred (Declined due to credit and blocked from applying for 2 years. Apparently this is normal???)
- Payflex (Declined due to credit)
- FNB Credit Card (Declined on app. Applied in person & was told it was going for manual review. Never heard back)
- Capitec Credit/Loan/Revolving (Declined due to credit)
- RCS Credit Card (Declined due to credit)
- FNB Connect - R120pm contract for SM Watch 4 (Declined due to credit)
- MR Price store card (Declined due to credit)
- Trueworths store card (Declined due to credit)

The two things I have been successful in:
- Opened a new FNB account and was given a R1000 overdraft.
- Woolworths approved me for a store card with R3000 limit.

The thing with these is that I really don't know how the overdraft works and their chat is useless. Would my account go into the negative if I use the overdraft, then I have to pay it back? Or does the R1000 get added to my balance?
Secondly, I don't know how "fast" these two things would generate good credit. Honestly I would prefer a contract of some kind so that I don't have to be continually buying shit. I don't spend a lot of money on clothes and whatnot from Woolies for example.

So honestly I am just looking for some input. Some "dad-like" input, if you will.
I have heard that debit orders go towards your credit score but I have had a debit order go off for medical for the last 3 years and it doesn't seem to have made a difference.
Thanks all, look forward to hearing your suggestions!

Hey bud,

The overdraft gets added to your account - you pay it back as per a normal banking product; a minimum of 6 months to a year.

Try some retail credit (Edgars, Pep or Jet or Refinery) & use that Woolworths).

In terms of seeing a change, it will sadly be 6 months to a year.

 

[Areola Grande]

Hey everyone,
So I am in a weird predicament where I am sure others have found themselves in the past.
I am needing/wanting to get my credit score up as I recently (April) landed another job and my income has been substantially more, which has allowed me to finally look at things like my credit score.
I have previously not done ANYTHING on credit and according to Clearscore, my credit is -1 (Due to a credit check??)
Anyways, I did not study and take a student loan so essentially, I am a fresh young person looking to work towards a good credit score.

The problem is... Nobody wants to give me credit.
I have tried:
- Mobicred (Declined due to credit and blocked from applying for 2 years. Apparently this is normal???)
- Payflex (Declined due to credit)
- FNB Credit Card (Declined on app. Applied in person & was told it was going for manual review. Never heard back)
- Capitec Credit/Loan/Revolving (Declined due to credit)
- RCS Credit Card (Declined due to credit)
- FNB Connect - R120pm contract for SM Watch 4 (Declined due to credit)
- MR Price store card (Declined due to credit)
- Trueworths store card (Declined due to credit)

The two things I have been successful in:
- Opened a new FNB account and was given a R1000 overdraft.
- Woolworths approved me for a store card with R3000 limit.

The thing with these is that I really don't know how the overdraft works and their chat is useless. Would my account go into the negative if I use the overdraft, then I have to pay it back? Or does the R1000 get added to my balance?
Secondly, I don't know how "fast" these two things would generate good credit. Honestly I would prefer a contract of some kind so that I don't have to be continually buying shit. I don't spend a lot of money on clothes and whatnot from Woolies for example.

So honestly I am just looking for some input. Some "dad-like" input, if you will.
I have heard that debit orders go towards your credit score but I have had a debit order go off for medical for the last 3 years and it doesn't seem to have made a difference.
Thanks all, look forward to hearing your suggestions!

An overdraft allows your account to go into the red for a certain amount - in your case R1,000.

Important bit is to get it into the red and then pay it back every month so it goes back into the black.

Same with the woolies card. Just do you food shopping or really buy anything on it and then pay it back at month end. That will build your credit score up. Also remember, these things take time. The system takes time to update and also, you need to establish a credit history which is viewed over a period of time. So buying something and then paying it back one month won't have any meaningful impact on your credit score.

The most important thing I could add is building up your credit score is important - especially when it comes to financing a vehicle or a house later on. But what's more important is not getting yourself into revolving credit, where every month needs to use credit to survive, which is then paid back, but then you need to get into it again. So, ideally, have a great credit score without actually owing anyone any money.

 

[el_guapo3291]

I would say first step is to get a Cheque account, when I was opening an account at Nedbank I had a really good consultant and she recommended I get the cheque account because it will help me build a credit record. You can also open up some small accounts with clothing stores (Edgars etc.). Then use your credit frequently but try to keep total use <50% of what's available and make sure you always make your payments on time etc. It took me a about a year or two to get my score up to about 690+- (experian score) Goodluck!

 

[craigils]

Whenever this topic comes up, it seems like my experience is very different to what everyone else says.

My fiance had no credit score and we were trying to get a home loan. Went to Edgars/Woolworths etc to open clothing accounts and they all rejected her because she had no credit score (everyone else seems to always suggest clothing store accounts as the easy way to start).

Capitec were the first ones to actually offer her credit. They gave her a credit card on her account with a R60000 limit.
I think it only took a month or two before she got a credit score.
I'm guessing maybe they were willing to offer the credit card because she had a normal transactional account with them, so they could see that money was coming in regularly.

Alternatively, I know that you can open a phone contract with pretty much no questions asked

 

[Hamz1121]

Hey everyone,
So I am in a weird predicament where I am sure others have found themselves in the past.
I am needing/wanting to get my credit score up as I recently (April) landed another job and my income has been substantially more, which has allowed me to finally look at things like my credit score.
I have previously not done ANYTHING on credit and according to Clearscore, my credit is -1 (Due to a credit check??)
Anyways, I did not study and take a student loan so essentially, I am a fresh young person looking to work towards a good credit score.

The problem is... Nobody wants to give me credit.
I have tried:
- Mobicred (Declined due to credit and blocked from applying for 2 years. Apparently this is normal???)
- Payflex (Declined due to credit)
- FNB Credit Card (Declined on app. Applied in person & was told it was going for manual review. Never heard back)
- Capitec Credit/Loan/Revolving (Declined due to credit)
- RCS Credit Card (Declined due to credit)
- FNB Connect - R120pm contract for SM Watch 4 (Declined due to credit)
- MR Price store card (Declined due to credit)
- Trueworths store card (Declined due to credit)

The two things I have been successful in:
- Opened a new FNB account and was given a R1000 overdraft.
- Woolworths approved me for a store card with R3000 limit.

The thing with these is that I really don't know how the overdraft works and their chat is useless. Would my account go into the negative if I use the overdraft, then I have to pay it back? Or does the R1000 get added to my balance?
Secondly, I don't know how "fast" these two things would generate good credit. Honestly I would prefer a contract of some kind so that I don't have to be continually buying shit. I don't spend a lot of money on clothes and whatnot from Woolies for example.

So honestly I am just looking for some input. Some "dad-like" input, if you will.
I have heard that debit orders go towards your credit score but I have had a debit order go off for medical for the last 3 years and it doesn't seem to have made a difference.
Thanks all, look forward to hearing your suggestions!

Most banks allow you to open a credit card account if you're earning above R3000/month (age doesn't really matter). If FNB didn't respond, just move on to the next bank.

 

[Spectre]

Have you tried getting a Telkom sim only contract ?

 

[Dom]

Whenever this topic comes up, it seems like my experience is very different to what everyone else says.

My fiance had no credit score and we were trying to get a home loan. Went to Edgars/Woolworths etc to open clothing accounts and they all rejected her because she had no credit score (everyone else seems to always suggest clothing store accounts as the easy way to start).

Capitec were the first ones to actually offer her credit. They gave her a credit card on her account with a R60000 limit.
I think it only took a month or two before she got a credit score.

Alternatively, I know that you can open a phone contract with pretty much no questions asked

That is really weird - I have found Capitec to be the most tight arsed (given that he majority of their client base is more low income (than the other banks))

 

[Dom]

Have you tried getting a Telkom sim only contract ?

If this is a 24/36 month contract - you will possibly get rejected due to the duration.

 

[Dom]

Also ask @Thanatos_ZA - he is the best wiff credit.

 

[Kwaai]

I got started by opening an Edgars account, bought a few things and waited two months before settling the account. A few months later I was approved for a FNB credit card.

 

[el_guapo3291]

One more tip don't apply for too much credit in a short space of time, each time a hard check is done on your profile you will lose a few points.

 

[Dom]

One more tip don't apply for too much credit in a short space of time, each time a hard check is done on your profile you will lose a few points.

This - you can ask if it will be a hard or soft check.

 

[franman]

Brother in law recently went through the same thing. Finished his study's started working, waited 6 months for pay slips just to get a cellphone contract in his name, got denied. Also had to build credit somewhere else...
Discovery bank was the only one giving him a credit card.

 

[Will_I_Am]

When I started working, Standard Bank was the only bank willing to give me a credit card. I did not even have three months' pay slips, think I had one or two at the time. I just showed them a letter from my employer confirming that I am indeed fulltime employed, and they were happy with that.
As soon as your foot is in the door, getting credit is easy, too easy actually. Don't do anything stupid, and you will never have this problem again.

 

[Hamz1121]

When I started working, Standard Bank was the only bank willing to give me a credit card. I did not even have three months' pay slips, think I had one or two at the time. I just showed them a letter from my employer confirming that I am indeed fulltime employed, and they were happy with that.
As soon as your foot is in the door, getting credit is easy, too easy actually. Don't do anything stupid, and you will never have this problem again.

Agreed.

Also, don't overcomplicate it and appear desperate for credit either. If you have a professional degree/diploma, then banks are more likely to accept your application compared to clothing stores and cell companies.

 

[Scrooloose]

Use that Woolworths card for your purchases and settle the card's outstanding balance each month. Your credit score will start going up in a few months.

Having the Cheque account also helps, you don't need to use the overdraft facility to build your credit score with that account.

Just be patient, it will come. It's not like earning eBucks.

 

[NemoXX7]

On my side whenever I make purchases online I use PayFlex if they offer it instead of paying up front, and pay it back over 2 or 3 months (interest free) even for small purchases I can afford straight up. Along with having several debit orders that never bounce and I have managed to get my score in the 600's (700 - 800 is considered the sweet spot and above that is excellent).

The edgars/ foschini credit account route works but I have been able to rack up a fairly decent score without it.

 

[TheJudge]

When I started working, Standard Bank was the only bank willing to give me a credit card. I did not even have three months' pay slips, think I had one or two at the time. I just showed them a letter from my employer confirming that I am indeed fulltime employed, and they were happy with that.
As soon as your foot is in the door, getting credit is easy, too easy actually. Don't do anything stupid, and you will never have this problem again.

Ja I moved from Absa to Std Bank and they were happy to give me a credit card (didn't have one with Absa). I actually had to force them to remove the overdraft facility they gave me even after I said no and kak on them for repeated contacts regarding an increase in credit limit (same story each time that I had 'queried' an increase and they were following up when I hadn't).

Credit card to car finance and no great issue since. If I were to default on anything I imagine that would change quickly though.

 

[Hamz1121]

D

On my side whenever I make purchases online I use PayFlex if they offer it instead of paying up front, and pay it back over 2 or 3 months (interest free) even for small purchases I can afford straight up. Along with having several debit orders that never bounce and I have managed to get my score in the 600's (700 - 800 is considered the sweet spot and above that is excellent).

The edgars/ foschini credit account route works but I have been able to rack up a fairly decent score without it.

Your rating depends on the credit system used. Experian score bands (I believe ClearScore uses this) goes up to 740 only whereas other systems reach 800-900. A credit score of 650+ on any system will probably land you successful applications for most things and you can achieve this in <6 months.

 

[NemoXX7]

D

Your rating depends on the credit system used. Experian score bands (I believe ClearScore uses this) goes up to 740 only whereas other systems reach 800-900. A credit score of 650+ on any system will probably land you successful applications for most things and you can achieve this in <6 months.

Yea, I check mine on ClearScore

 

[BearZA]

I took out an R4k loan from FNB, waited about a month, and paid it all back in one go. Boom! Credit score all of a sudden, could open accounts and get cell contracts.

 

[TheJudge]

Still amazing that you're punished for being solvent and living within your means. How dare you!

 

[Ortaega]

Went through that many years back, Mr.Price was the first place I could get credit at. After I've been with them for about 3 months I could get a phone from mtn, closed my mr.price account and opened an Edgars one.

Cheque account as a start is a great start like most mentioned above.

 

[Ner0]

for me to get credit started I used TCG bought a tshit and a six pack undies after 3 months i got an mtn contract and 3 months later bought a bakkie for 400k.

but now my credit score just hovers at 657 does not get any higher

also yeah get nedbank current account

 

[SteveIndeed]

I agree with the other posts here that say something along the lines of 'put your spending through the Woolworths card'. You just have to make sure you pay back the balance owing in full on the due date or just before it. Paying it in full is super important because as a new lender, they will nail you with interest if you don't.

Remember, it will take some time for the transfer from say, Nedbank, to reflect on WW's side. If the balance on the WW card needs to be paid by 30 August, make sure you transfer it from your own current/savings account on 28 August to give the transfer enough time to make it through.

But there is also another point to consider: your credit score actually falls if you use too much of your available credit limit. I think the magic number is 40% but I could be wrong. If you use less than 40% of your available limit and pay it back on time religiously each month, you'll quickly earn a great credit score.

I've now got to the point where Nedbank is happy to give me more credit without me asking for it. In fact, Nedbank gives me the option to apply for a higher credit limit but I ignore it. Then they give it to me anyway. It's happened twice now and it's no doubt one of the reasons why the American banks got into so much shit circa 2008.

It looks like Nedbank's willingness to dish out the credit is because I put all my spending through my credit card (literally all of it: groceries, fuel, City of Joburg payments, etc) without going over the 40 or 50% "soft limit" and pay the balance in full on exactly the due date every month without fail.

 

[Shampoo1014]

Hi everyone, thank you all for the responses.
I understand that I have to start slow. My goal for the end of the year was to look at a car, and I have been trying since Feb to work up my credit score.
I am buying things on my Woolies account as much as I can and paying it back as soon as possible. Obviously don't want to just buy stuff for the sake of it.

Thankfully, my FNB bank account is a Cheque account so I will start using that for my day-to-day transactions instead of my Capitec account which has been my primary account up until this point.
Perhaps I should go to Capitec or FNB and try again in person. Their apps are pretty terrible when doing credit checks, which is why the FNB consultant offered to do a manual check. Just nothing came from it, so perhaps it is worth another try.

An overdraft allows your account to go into the red for a certain amount - in your case R1,000.

Important bit is to get it into the red and then pay it back every month so it goes back into the black.

Same with the woolies card. Just do you food shopping or really buy anything on it and then pay it back at month end. That will build your credit score up. Also remember, these things take time. The system takes time to update and also, you need to establish a credit history which is viewed over a period of time. So buying something and then paying it back one month won't have any meaningful impact on your credit score.

The most important thing I could add is building up your credit score is important - especially when it comes to financing a vehicle or a house later on. But what's more important is not getting yourself into revolving credit, where every month needs to use credit to survive, which is then paid back, but then you need to get into it again. So, ideally, have a great credit score without actually owing anyone any money.

@UrBaN_BuNnY , when you say into the red, do you mean a negative amount? For example, if my balance was at R0, would I then owe the bank R1000, or would I only owe them money when it goes to -R1000?


So far it looks like my goal of the end of the year is most likely going to be pushed back a bit in order to build this up.

 

[Confucius]

Hi everyone, thank you all for the responses.
I understand that I have to start slow. My goal for the end of the year was to look at a car, and I have been trying since Feb to work up my credit score.
I am buying things on my Woolies account as much as I can and paying it back as soon as possible. Obviously don't want to just buy stuff for the sake of it.

Thankfully, my FNB bank account is a Cheque account so I will start using that for my day-to-day transactions instead of my Capitec account which has been my primary account up until this point.
Perhaps I should go to Capitec or FNB and try again in person. Their apps are pretty terrible when doing credit checks, which is why the FNB consultant offered to do a manual check. Just nothing came from it, so perhaps it is worth another try.


@UrBaN_BuNnY , when you say into the red, do you mean a negative amount? For example, if my balance was at R0, would I then owe the bank R1000, or would I only owe them money when it goes to -R1000?


So far it looks like my goal of the end of the year is most likely going to be pushed back a bit in order to build this up.

If you have credit facilities but you don’t use them, it does nothing for your credit score. You need to show that you are managing the credit facilities so use it and then within the 55 days, pay it off. I purchase everything on my credit cards (it’s also get you Miles, ebucks, etc) and then I pay off the full outstanding balance at the end of the month.

If you have been with a bank for some time and they don’t want to give you credit, threaten to move. Just as them for a small amount and tell them you need to use it for certain types of purchases like online purchases. I’ve got a credit card with a R1000 limit which when I want to buy something bigger, I transfer into it.

 

[Mr_Birb_ZA]

I'm not an expert and can only guide you through my own experience:

A good credit score takes time to build

1. Stop applying for credit from too many places too soon, they do what is called a hard credit check that negatively affects your credit score. This stays on your score for 6 months I think and potential lenders see it as a risk if you apply for credit and get declined in a short period of time.

2. As a start get a store card (Mr Price, Game and Woolies is how I started), use less than 40% of your credit limit (Buy something you need like socks and shit) and pay back the min balance every month ON TIME, I would opt for debit orders if possible for convenience.

3. After 6 months of paying back your store card go to your bank and ask for a credit card (Capitec is what I used), and they most likely will give you one.


Just be responsible with credit and buy the stuff you need, not the stuff you want otherwise you will end up in a situation where your entire salary will just be used to cover debt repayments.

I use MyCreditCheck to review my score, it is very user-friendly (Read the blogs on the site for more info regarding credit scores)
MyCreditCheck


The only debit orders apart from debt repayments that I have seen affect credit score is for short term insurance like vehicle insurance, medical aid does not
And I signed a sim card contract for data many years back and it also will affected my credit score


Keep your credit utilization low
Pay your account on time
It is better to have more accounts with low outstanding balances than few with high balances

 

[Mr_Birb_ZA]

Might be useful as you're banking with FNB:

• Log in to your FNB mobile app
• Scroll down and tap on ‘nav-igate life’
• Tap on the ‘Money’ tab
• Finally, tap on the ‘Credit status’ tab
• You might need to approve the terms and conditions of this is your first time using this feature.
• You’ll now see your personal ‘credit status’