I would speedily substitute "marketing ploy" for fraud if I were you. as I am sure that's what you really meant...lol..but in essence you *can* get a credit card with any sort of history if you can: a) cough up an amount equal to the "credit limit" you want b)pay their "arrangement" fee for being such kind, public spirited people.(posted 8400 days ago)The typical one is 500 pounds - you give it to them and they give you a card with a 500 quid limit on it. What it does is re-establish a credit history of payments with no risk to the card issuer. If you default - so what - they have your 500 quid and your credit history gets further blackened. If you *really* have a chequered history it may be worth it only if you need to redeem yourself and start afresh. You will be registered at the usual organisations, however, and the address information etc will therefore be available to other creditors. If you have been made bankrupt you may be prohibited from getting one for a while under the terms of your order.