store card bullies

hoopstars

Firstly let me say this is probably in the wrong place but hopefully it can be sorted to the correct place.
My daughter (18yrs) works on Saturdays at a local well known DIY store and yesterday she told me that to meet his targets for a store card last week her manager had kept on to her and eventually co-erced her into applying for a card. She told me she was angry with herself for giving in but felt she had no choice but straight away regretted doing it.
It turns out that all the other youngsters working part time have also had this experience and some of them have THREE cards just to help meet these targets.

I was absolutely furious that he has done this and wanted to contact him immediately but she has said that if I do that she will leave, because she can't work there if her Mum has waded in to fight her battles for her, which obviously we don't want (she's using the earnings towards Uni).

What I am concerned about is, will applying for this card (which she will never use and intends to destroy as soon as she receives it) affect her credit rating and if so, what can she do about it, if she should do anything!

She told me about this happening when we went to open a Nationwide account for her (following Martins advice) so she can use the debit card abroad to get money out and pay for things without too many charges. That account was opened no problems and they offered her their "full card service" so it didn't seem to affect that although the application for the store card will only just be being processed so may not yet be on any systems
Can anyone advise regarding her credit rating and what to do, many thanks.
Sorry this post is long but I'm still very angry!:mad:

pinkshoes

She can only damage her credit rating if she actually uses the card, then doesn't pay the minimum balance. When you're young, you actually seem to have NO credit rating, which can go against you, sometimes it's helpful to take a store card, use it once, they pay off the full balance immediately.

It's ridiculous they have to sign themselves up for a card, just to meet targets. Indeed she's an adult, and does not need her mother fighting her battles for her, but I would write a (annonymous?) letter to headquarters asking if they're aware of such bullying tactics going on.

Idiophreak

Agree that she's an adult and can fight her own battles if she wants to...

In terms of credit rating, though, this could actually work out well for her...Get her to set up a DD for the full amount each month, then get her to buy a couple of packs of gum, or a magazine etc on it each month - clearing the full balance each month will actually start to build a good credit history...As long as she doesn't need to apply for another CC within the next 6 months or so, I don't think it will be a problem.

I'd also back the idea of writing to head office (if not an industry watchdog) and making it clear these things are going on...

Tozer

Make sure she terminates the agreement - not just destroying the card - as otherwise it will remain visible on here credit report despite the fact that she doesn't use it.

hoopstars

Thank you, that has made me feel slightly better at least. Don't think she will need to apply for a CC any time soon but we will have to see what happens if she gets to Uni.I will seriously consider the letter to head office or industry watchdog. Again many thanks for replying.

dangeroussports

Have you written to the banking ombudsman and informed the police?

Forceing someone who is in need of parental care to commit to a financial document is an abuse of power. If however an appropriate adult was present when the application form was filled in then Im afraid it is legal, without an appropriate adult present then it is illegal.

Pound

I hate these store cards. When I was younger I was pressured into taking out a store card in order to get a discount. They said I could still pay with a debit card but when the application went through they said I had to pay with their store card to get the discount and denied telling me that I could pay with a debit card. It was a biy annoying because I'd never had anything on credit before.

When I was talking to her about whether I could get discounts on future purchases she even told me I could do it by just cancelling the account and re-applying each time I bought something. Obviously this would quickly screw up my credit score.

I know it's up to me to know what I'm signing but some of these people are quite happy to lie to you and screw up your credit history in order to earn a few quid commission and they love people who don't know about store cards.

maninthestreet

Isn't an 18 year old considered an adult anymore?

Sooler

Oooooooohhhh wrote: »

Your daughters an adult

If she is stupid enough to agree then its entirely her own fault

Except she is young and new at working and is victim to pressure from someone who should know better, obviously the manager isn’t fit to hold the position they have.
She can fight her own battles but bullying is another matter completely.

Any worthy manager should be able to meet their targets by getting customers to sign up for cards, I’d report them to head office.

It would cost the company nothing to screen applications for cards to ensure this doesn’t happen – if they’re interested.

uktim29

Sooler wrote: »

Except she is young and new at working and is victim to pressure from someone who should know better, obviously the manager isn’t fit to hold the position they have.
She can fight her own battles but bullying is another matter completely.

Any worthy manager should be able to meet their targets by getting customers to sign up for cards, I’d report them to head office.

It would cost the company nothing to screen applications for cards to ensure this doesn’t happen – if they’re interested.

Bullying is one of these words people seem to use on this board when they've got a bee in their bonnets about something rather than actually using the word correctly.

Is setting someone targets at work bullying? No.

She is more than likely to be exposed to targets for the rest of her working life if she works for a company so I hardly think you can describe it as "pressure from someone who should know better".

At the end of the day she really could have said no if she wanted. If she really detests it she could just get another job!

How would it cost nothing to screen applications? Someone would have to do it, that someone won't want to be doing it for free!

Sooler

Managers spending time badgering staff to aid them in their deciet costs something.

Why should staff have to give up their jobs because of the manager?

Staff work for the company for their own benefit, not the manager for the manager's benefit.