Daniel is a Loqboxer who has been with us for a few months now, so we sat down with him to see how it’s helped him stay on track while at university.

Hi Daniel, thanks for talking with us. Let’s jump straight into it: what do you do for a living?

I’m actually a Pharmacology student going into my second year.

I’m interested to hear what led you to sign up for Loqbox?

I was looking at credit cards just to be able to build some kind of credit history. Because I was thinking I’d like to start building it now, so that when I get out of uni I’ve got somewhere with it. But my already poor credit history meant I didn’t want to make it even worse.

How come it was already poor?

I’m only 19 – I’ve never had a credit card.

So for phone contracts and stuff like that, are they in your name?

No. I’ve literally got nothing. So I think I just stumbled across Loqbox on the internet and thought, there’s not really a downside.

I’m glad you’ve said that. I’m keen to hear about your experience of the Loqbox signup process. Were there any parts you found frustrating or unclear?

I don’t think so. It was all pretty clear. I think I’m coming up to my third or fourth monthly payment.

How would you describe Loqbox to your friends?

I’d say it’s this cool online thing where you can save money and improve your credit score. I wouldn’t be able to go into much more detail than that.

Do you know roughly how it works?

I think so. I’m given a loan, which is obviously where the credit bit comes in, but I never actually see the money. So I think you kind of hold on to the loan money and then I’m paying it off – but I’m actually saving.

It’s pretty much that. So we issue you a voucher for a year of savings based on the amount you’d like to save every month – there’s no physical money. By the end of the year, we pay your savings back to you in full. If you decide to quit at any point, we would give you back the amount you’ve paid up to that point. I’m glad you pretty much get how it works. But do you understand the unlocking process?

No, not really. I was thinking I’d cross that bridge when I come to it.

Well, at the end of the year, you’d open up a new account with one of our partner banks for us to pay your savings into – and that’s completely free. But if you wanted your money paid into an existing account we have a premium option called a Flexi Unlock which costs £30. How do you feel about that?

The only thing is, I have a bit of a unique situation because I’m an American citizen, so I have to do tax returns every year. If I open another savings account, it’s more headache for me as I already have savings accounts, so I would probably pay the £30. If it improves my credit score in the long term, £30 isn’t an issue.

Any specific plans on what you’ll do with the savings?

Probably spend it on something stupid!

Is there any part of Loqbox you’ve felt left in the dark about? Or things you’d like more updates on?

I think it’s been really good. The emails just show they’re gonna collect payments, which is pretty useful. I think it’s all spot on really.

We find that younger people tend to put this sort of thing off. Why is it you’re thinking about it now? And how do you think we could engage more people your age?

Do you know what it is? I’m the youngest and I’ve got a lot of older siblings, and I see how they’re buying houses and doing this and that. I honestly couldn’t tell you how to get more people my age involved. You’re right – if I didn’t have older siblings, there’s no way I’d be doing this!

This post was written and compiled by the credit experts behind Loqbox – a completely free way to build your credit history by saving a little each month. To sign up or read more about the clever way Loqbox works, head to Loqbox.co.uk.

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