Abbey Zero card - declined - why??

troubleonline

Hi everyone

After looking thru various options for spending money whilst on holiday I discovered via this site the Abbey Zero card and made an application a couple of days ago via their website. I called this morning to enquire about my application as had heard nothing, no e-mail acknowledgement etc.

I was told that they had no record of my online application - I tried to give them the reference number I got at the end of the application process and was told to note but they said that this number was meaningless and bore no resemblance to ref no's they had on their system. I was told to make another application and therefore called back on another number to do that. I went through the whole process again by telephone and then told I was declined. I was amazed as never turned down before and have a great credit score (928 on Experian) and very little debt in comparison to my income and assets (essentially other than mortgage only have £450 on credit card, £800 PC finance and approx 2 years / £5000 left on a car loan). Got told by woman that she was surprised as I met their criteria and would need to wait 7-10 days for the reason I was turned down. They put me through to someone else who couldnt shed any light ether and was told I would have to write in. :mad: :mad: :mad:

Does anyone reckon there is anything I can do to try to get this card before my holidays (8 July)? Is it worth me going into a branch and trying again or will that make it worse. Been credit checked twice recently for new mortgage deal and when taking finance to buy a PC and both were fine.

Anyone else had difficult time applying for this card? Does anyone know if I am likely to get the reason for refusal letter quickly or is 7-10 days accurate?

Thanks

nickmack

troubleonline wrote: »

I went through the whole process again by telephone and then told I was declined. I was amazed as never turned down before and have a great credit score (928 on Experian) and very little debt in comparison to my income and assets (essentially other than mortgage only have £450 on credit card, £800 PC finance and approx 2 years / £5000 left on a car loan). Got told by woman that she was surprised as I met their criteria and would need to wait 7-10 days for the reason I was turned down. They put me through to someone else who couldnt shed any light ether and was told I would have to write in. :mad: :mad: :mad:

Does anyone reckon there is anything I can do to try to get this card before my holidays (8 July)? Is it worth me going into a branch and trying again or will that make it worse. Been credit checked twice recently for new mortgage deal and when taking finance to buy a PC and both were fine.

Anyone else had difficult time applying for this card? Does anyone know if I am likely to get the reason for refusal letter quickly or is 7-10 days accurate?

Alot of the questions you're asking can only be answered by Abbey.

From a very general view, it seems your credit record is ok. If all your credit searches were very recent, this could be a temporary negative factor. Don't get too hung up on your Experian Credit Score, some lenders may factor it into a decision, but many don't.

Check there are no glaring errors on your credit report, including not being on the Electoral Register.

The letter you get back may be a generic '...you don't meet our criteria' and therefore wouldn't explain much. Have you thought they don't really want you as a customer as they don't think they'll make any money out of you?

surreysaver

nickmack wrote: »

Alot of the questions you're asking can only be answered by Abbey.

Or should be able to be answered by Abbey.. But they are incompetent and do not know what they are doing. My advice would be to say be glad they've declined you before they had a chance to screw around with you.

exel1966

As previously said, only assumptions can be made by people here as to why. Abbey will be the ONLY one who can give you the answer you require, but they don't have to. They will probably just refer you to Experian or Equifax to check your crdit file. However ask yourself a few questions :

Are you on the electoral role ? Moved recently ? Forget outstanding debt, (even though it appears low) but how much available credit do you have at your disposal ? Perhaps it's too high ? Unused cards ? How many recent credit searches for loans, finance, other cards whether taken up or not ?
The credit 'rating' of 928 is near enough irrelevant. It's only an average figure based on other users, it's not based on ShAbbey's lending criteria.
Your assets are also totally meaningless as they are not factored into the equation. People with tens of housands in accounts have also been refused.

Your options :
1. Appeal against the decision to refuse. A closer look may be taken at your application and you may have to provide supporting evidence though it won't guarantee you get the card.
2.Forget ShAbbey and get a Nationwide Credit card but double check the number of credit searches you've had first as too many in a short time frame has a negative impact.

rdp1980

I too have applied for the Abbey Zero in an attempt to Balance Transfer from two existing cards where the 0% will be up in the next month or two.

I found it odd that there was no email confirmation, even if just an automated "thanks for your application" and confirming your reference number.

The final screen basically says "if you are successful we will send paperwork out for you to sign and return".

Based on the OP's experience if I don't hear anything in a week I'll give them a ring and hope they haven't lost my application too. Call me cynical but I bet all these online applications just get sent to someone's email address and they filter through them in their spare time and label them "accept" or "reject". This guy could be on holiday! :rolleyes:

I was a bit worried about the "number of existing credit cards" option as I have 8, and their highest option was "7+" - gave me an uneasy feeling in case that led to an automatic rejection, but to be fair most of those have no balance and the two that are significant are the ones I want to transfer.

I always used to like to close accounts when I had finished with them, but I once got a good deal through from a Halifax card that I hadn't used in ages offering 0% credit card cheques which I found handy at the time to pay for some work on the house without having to get a personal loan. Now I can't help feeling I should keep them running "just in case" - story of my life, you should see the junk I refuse to throw out in the house!

exel1966

rdp1980 wrote: »

I have 8, and their highest option was "7+" - gave me an uneasy feeling in case that led to an automatic rejection, but to be fair most of those have no balance and the two that are significant are the ones I want to transfer.quote]

Which would been seen by most lenders to be an exceptionally high number, but what's more important is the credit limits attached to them. That many unused cards could seriously hinder future applications and possible credit limits given. You also limit your chances of getting 'new customer' only deals.
It's generally accepted that holding onto cards like this has a negative impact on a credit rating.

rdp1980

exel1966 wrote: »

Which would been seen by most lenders to be an exceptionally high number, but what's more important is the credit limits attached to them. That many unused cards could seriously hinder future applications and possible credit limits given. You also limit your chances of getting 'new customer' only deals.
It's generally accepted that holding onto cards like this has a negative impact on a credit rating.

I know, I know, and thanks for reminding me! :cool:

I have just been lazy as a couple of new cards I opened have been for a specific purpose, for example my Barclaycard Platinum gives good cashback on fuel purchases (which I pay off each month obviously) and I have a Halifax Clear MasterCard (used to be VISA) which allows cash withdrawals with the usual interest free period you get with purchases. My Nationwide VISA has no commission for foreign use and gives purchase protection on electronic items over a certain value.

Once I have got the Balance Transfer complete I will have a good look through and see what I am likely to use, what the benefits are of each account and have a good purge. I daresay I can get rid of the AmEx Blue which used to give a decent cashback rate but has since dropped, and of course the two which will be cleared to nil by doing this balance transfer.

I was always under the impression that having more than 3 credit cards was meant to be frowned upon and could affect your chances of getting further credit, but my latest one (HSBC) actually gave me my most generous credit limit yet.

But yes, of course, I will run out of "new customer" deals if I have too many running so I do fully intend to have a sort-out and get rid of some of the dead wood.

peaceandfreedom

troubleonline wrote: »

Anyone else had difficult time applying for this card? Does anyone know if I am likely to get the reason for refusal letter quickly or is 7-10 days accurate?

Thanks

I applied for this card, and although Abbey took their time, the paperwork eventually arrived and I was approved, albeit with a low credit limit (£3000). I am wondering if perhaps your first application is actually on the system and that is why your second one got declined.

Abbey are not known for their efficiency, they feature every week in the Sunday Times money problem pages. Have no idea if the 7-10 days thing is right, but that does seem to be about how long it takes them to post out anything at all.

HamiltonL

As somebody who works for Abbey, here's my twopenny worth.

I notice myself that applications done online occasionally never appear on our system. I have no idea why that is as much as you do. We normally ask the customer to apply again. This isn't necessarily the reason why he has been declined though.*

The reference number is for the benefit of the underwriters. It is a record of your application, and we have no use for that number. We just compile a simple search using personal information (surname, DOB etc).

The Abbey card agreement packs usually take upto 14 days to get sent out, perhaps delayed by upto a week. Anyone waiting more than that needs to contact us and we're refer it straight away to the back office to chase it up asap.

*Best to write to the Abbey Underwriters to find out exactly why the application was declined. You should receive a letter shortly, but I am happy to PM the address if requested.

nightwatchman

Some time ago I applied for the Abbey card and I was accepted.
I had DD arranged for the minimum payment. However the DD did not gone through, and they charged me £12.00 for late payment.
I call CS and I ask why that happened and they replied that the DD it takes on month :wall: :shocked: to go through and I should have made a manual first payment.
However as a gesture of good will they refund the £12.00 late payment fee.
Advice for all new Abbey CC customers is to arrange for a manual first payment as well as a direct debit.

ali137

I also applied via phone yesterday and got rejected. I then applied for virgin and also got rejected :mad:. However applied to natwest and barclays and both got accepted. No email confirmation from any of the companies i applied.

I asked the abbey customer service lady whilst applying for the zero credit card if they were part of the MBNA group and she said not anymore. I think she was wrong as virgin card is part of MBNA and maybe that's the reason both companies rejected me.