credit cards & credit scores

[mandimoo]

ive had different credit cards over several years and have taken advantage of promo balance transfer fees. i have never paid a penny in interest, and only recently have paid a balance transfer fee. ive never defaulted on any payments for anything, ever. my ex bf name was only ever put on my council tax bill and i had it removed when he moved out. it has recently come to my attention that my 'credit tart' style may be marked against me in credit scoring. ive never actually been turned down for any credit but im worried that it might be building up a bad score for the future. is this likely? or will the fact that i always pay way over the minimum, on time, cancel out any negative scoring?

[Mrs_Pegasus]

I cant see that there is a problem with what you have been doing. However, if you are not cancelling these cards then the limits I think contribute to your overall scoring i.e. if you have 3 cards which have the potential of giving you �15k of credit and your disposable income wouldnt be able to pay these on a regular basis then a lender may score you down.

Howver, if each time you surf the cards you cancel the previous one then I cannot see there is a problem.

I always advise that people get hold of their credit reports at least annually to keep an eye on what is being registered. Maybe you should get your reports and take a look on what information is on there.

[Ethel]

You are absolutely right.

.......credit card companies may reject applicants simply because their history predicts they will repay their debts in full every month and that isn�t profitable. Yet it goes further. Credit scoring is used to build up the �right� customer base. It�s a �wish-list�, allowing them to weed out the customers least suitable for their business.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewn ews.cgi?newsid1101485056,23650,

However, it won't have an adverse affect on your buying goods on interest free credit from stores, because the profit is already built in. It won't affect your ability to get a mortgage - lenders love long term financial commitments.

Credit card companies may start turning you down though. Although they get on average 2% from every transaction (the business who accepts the card pays it) that barely covers their admin fees.

[ccproducer]

Check this site: http://www.creditcards.org/