Three applications but only two successes - is that common?

Watson

Following the advice on this site I decided to reorganise my credit card balances to minimise interest rates. On 10th October I applied for the BA American Express card and the Lloyds TSB VISA, and a few days later I applied for the Barclaycard Platinum.

The BA Amex and Barclaycard applications were successful, with credit limits of £4000 and £1850 respectively, but I learned today that Lloyds have turned me down. Is this a common state of affairs?

Lloyds wouldn't give a reason for the refusal but advised me to contact Experian. Is it worth my doing so?

Does the Lloyds refusal mean that other companies would also now turn me down? And in any case, would be it be a good idea to apply for another card so soon?

Sorry for all the questions and many thanks in advance.

Watson

YorkshireBoy

Watson wrote:

Lloyds wouldn't give a reason for the refusal but advised me to contact Experian. Is it worth my doing so?

I've posted before that LloydsTSB have told me they regularly decline applications from non-LloydsTSB current account holders. Did they invite you to appeal? If so, you have nothing to lose by writing a short covering letter and including 3 months bank statements and details of any other equity you have.

Watson wrote:

Does the Lloyds refusal mean that other companies would also now turn me down? And in any case, would be it be a good idea to apply for another card so soon?

3 applications in such a short space of time is pushing it a bit, and might make you look desperate!! I'd let things settle down a bit before making any more applications.

Watson

Thanks for the speedy reply.

YorkshireBoy wrote:

I've posted before that LloydsTSB have told me they regularly decline applications from non-LloydsTSB current account holders. Did they invite you to appeal?

No, it wasn't suggested, though possibly it might have been in the rejection letter, which actually never reached me: I had to phone them today to ask what was going on. Incidentally, when I asked if the refusal letter would have given any reason, I was told "no" - is that actually correct?

3 applications in such a short space of time is pushing it a bit, and might make you look desperate!! I'd let things settle down a bit before making any more applications.

Yes, I wondered about that. Tell me, though, would it do any positive (permanent?) harm to make another application elsewhere? If not, then if the new application is accepted, all well and good; if it's refused, well, I'm no worse off than I am at present - am I?

Watson

CTT_2

I am a LLoyds current account holder and reapplied for the Plat Card. Before that I recently applied for the Natwest and Nationwide card. I was accepted with limit of 1k
but LLoyds gave a limit of 15k. Must be because I was already a customer with them.

Watson

CTT,

Thanks for the reply. A limit of £15,000 would have been useful for me! It looks like Yorkshireboy's point is right and Lloyds do favour their own bank account holders.

Watson

YorkshireBoy

Watson wrote:

It looks like Yorkshireboy's point is right and Lloyds do favour their own bank account holders.

Sorry, I didn't make it clear in my previous post that I was accepted on appeal and with a very good limit. Can you write a good letter?

Watson

YorkshireBoy wrote:

Sorry, I didn't make it clear in my previous post that I was accepted on appeal and with a very good limit. Can you write a good letter?

Yes, I think I can. But to whom should I address it? As I said, Lloyd's refusal letter evidently went astray in the post and never reached me, so I don't have a point of reference beyond the original email acknowledgement of my online application. Perhaps I should phone the helpline again.

Thanks for the thought.

Watson

BWZN93

Watson wrote:

Incidentally, when I asked if the refusal letter would have given any reason, I was told "no" - is that actually correct?

Watson

Yes - its a fraud prevention measure that all financial companies use - why would they tell you when you could go to another provider and 'accidentally' write down something different??

Credit reference agencies give the information to companies on the basis that they do not disclose the information, and if you want to know whats on your file, you have to pay £2 and ask them yourself.

HTH

Jo xx

Watson

Jo,

Thanks for the reply. I asked, because I was sure I'd seen other posts on here where people did give the reasons they'd been refused, as told to them (or so I thought) by the card company.

Watson