Having experienced the really tough times, I think it is always re-assuring to read about people who are able to get credit again (providing they use it responsibly of-course).

I completed my trust deed in July 2012. I should say that it started in September 2010 and was originally for three years. I was very fortunate that my parents paid this off early, but I did pay them back over the next year and a half.

I realised that I needed to try and re-build my credit so applied for a Vanquis Card in January 13. This card came with a £500.00 limit. I used this for small amounts each month, paying it off in full. For anyone who is stuck on a £500 limit (an increase of your credit limit is seen as a positive I believe), you need to use around 1/5 of your limit each month to qualify for an increase, according to staff at Vanquis anyway. Although I can understand why, I did point out to them that this could be very risky for certain people - but I guess that is how these companies make their money. Anyway, to cut a long story short, after six months of using 1/5 of the £500 and repaying it in full each month, I got a call to say that my limit would be increasing to £1,500 (under a 'Gold 'status').

I realised that the Vanquis card was good but, at the same time, the APR was always going to remain worryingly high. So, I spotted an Aqua card online that starts off at a high APR and comes down by 5% or so each year until it reaches a relatively normal APR of 19% or so. This seemed like a lot of sense as I had applied a few times in last year for a credit card from my bank and was rejected, unsurprisingly, on both occasions.

I'll get to the point...I have a bank account I pay a monthly fee for - for mobile insurance, travel insurance etc - seems to be the norm these days. I have use of a company car and mobile and didn't need the travel insurance so I decided to cancel this and save £13 a month or so. I went into the bank to fill out the necessary forms - a process that turned out to be a lot more simple than I thought it would be! Anyway, I was informed that I qualified for a platinum credit card with an APR of 19% and interest free for 13 months. I also apparently qualified for a loan, albeit at a higher interest rate than the one advertised. Needless to say I didn't go for the loan, I did opt for the credit card. I will be cancelling my 'credit repairing' cards once I have the much better APR one in my hand! I can appreciate that a high interest credit card is of no disadvantage if you pay it off in full. I have no intention of using the card from the bank more frequently. It is more the fact that I have even been offered this that has put a spring in my step. I hope to get a Mortgage again one day so this has given me some encouragement and that I won't be punished for the rest of my days - a feeling I would think most people on here have felt at one time or another.

I still have around two years of my defaults showing too. I have worked extremely hard to tidy up my credit file so that any 'satisfied' dates clearly show as the date of the default. I encourage everyone to do the same.

Have hope folks, things do get better. Everyone makes mistakes but hopefully this post proves that second chances are possible.