Just turned 18... Why am I rejected for credit?

GKJB

I recently turned 18 in July, and goy myself on the electoral roll. I decided I'd get a credit card to use for emergencies, and applied for a Capital One credit building card, & similar Halifax card, both at around 30%APR. I was rejected for both cards, so I applied for a Provident cash loan of £60.00, but they rejected me too

Here are the problems I can think of:-

I have a low income, which I wrote down at £3000 p/a + £500 extra income on the two card applications.

I have only lived at my current address for 3 months, which I rent privately. I lived at my previous address for 10 months.

I can't work out why Provident rejected me, because I didn't have to give them any information on income, only my current and previous addresses. Does anybody have any idea why I have been rejected, when this is the first time I have applied for credit? Is there any card/service you can recommend which may accept me?

Thanks :beer:

Lemoncurd

I think it is probably down to the short time at each address. I had similar problems and actually wasn't successful in applying for a credit card until I was about 22 despite having a good salary each time I applied. In the end I used a house I had recently bought as my current address (had been there 6 months) and gave my parents address as my previous address, all my previous addresses had been short term, student/work placement addresses so I think this was ok in those circumstances. Do you think you'd be able to do something similar for your previous address? I think most cc companies require 3 years address history but often the application forms only allow you to enter 2 addresses.

Have you tried applying for an account with your own bank? if you have a history with them they might be more likely to accept an application.

NickX

GKJB wrote: »

I have only lived at my current address for 3 months, which I rent privately.

I would ensure that you are correctly registered on the Electoral Role. IMO this is pretty crucial to obtaining a decent line of credit.

cifpower

Basically you are an unknown quantity. Make sure you are actually registered on the Electoral Roll and this info has been passed to the credit reference agencies. Too many searches in a short period of time is also bad for your credit file. If you really want credit your first port of call should be the bank you hold your current account with as they have some history to look upon.

GKJB

Lemoncurd wrote: »

I think it is probably down to the short time at each address. I had similar problems and actually wasn't successful in applying for a credit card until I was about 22 despite having a good salary each time I applied. In the end I used a house I had recently bought as my current address (had been there 6 months) and gave my parents address as my previous address, all my previous addresses had been short term, student/work placement addresses so I think this was ok in those circumstances. Do you think you'd be able to do something similar for your previous address? I think most cc companies require 3 years address history but often the application forms only allow you to enter 2 addresses.

Have you tried applying for an account with your own bank? if you have a history with them they might be more likely to accept an application.

Thanks for replying, I may be able to put down an old address as my previous, but I'm not sure if they would have been able to prove that I lived there, because I moved from my mum's in a different town into my dads.

The halifax card I applied for is with who I bank with. I've been with them for 11 years & am waiting to hear back, but they couldn't give me an instant decision online which makes me think they're going to reject me.

Now that I've applied for these 2 credit cards & left marks on my history, do you think it would be a good idea to apply for another card (I'm looking at the Aqua card) and use my old address as you suggested as my previous?

cifpower

GKJB wrote: »

Thanks for replying, I may be able to put down an old address as my previous, but I'm not sure if they would have been able to prove that I lived there, because I moved from my mum's in a different town into my dads.

The halifax card I applied for is with who I bank with. I've been with them for 11 years & am waiting to hear back, but they couldn't give me an instant decision online which makes me think they're going to reject me.

Now that I've applied for these 2 credit cards & left marks on my history, do you think it would be a good idea to apply for another card (I'm looking at the Aqua card) and use my old address as you suggested as my previous?

If you start changing your previous address on different applications you may be hit with a CIFAS fraud flag on your credit file. Best to be honest.

GKJB

cifpower wrote: »

Basically you are an unknown quantity. Make sure you are actually registered on the Electoral Roll and this info has been passed to the credit reference agencies. Too many searches in a short period of time is also bad for your credit file. If you really want credit your first port of call should be the bank you hold your current account with as they have some history to look upon.

Well I had the letter through about 3 weeks ago to get on the electoral roll & sent it straight back. How do I go about checking whether I'm registered or not?

cifpower

GKJB wrote: »

Well I had the letter through about 3 weeks ago to get on the electoral roll & sent it straight back. How do I go about checking whether I'm registered or not?

Call your local council to check you have been registered. Then get a credit report from Experian and Equifax to make sure this info has been passed on. Reports cost £2 each. That way you can see if there is any unknown badness lurking therein.

I moved into my current house in June and applied to be on the ER immediately. My name wasn't added until 1 August and the data wasn't updated with the CRAs until a fortnight later.

Idiophreak

GKJB wrote: »

The halifax card I applied for is with who I bank with. I've been with them for 11 years & am waiting to hear back, but they couldn't give me an instant decision online which makes me think they're going to reject me.

Now that I've applied for these 2 credit cards & left marks on my history, do you think it would be a good idea to apply for another card (I'm looking at the Aqua card) and use my old address as you suggested as my previous?

Made a bit of a mistake applying to Halifax *online* imo - if you'd have gone to a branch, you'd have been able to push the matter harder with them.

If you really do only need the card for emergencie, I would personally wait for 6 months or so and then try - just put some money in a "rainy day" pot in the meantime....

So you have a mobile contract, any magazine subscriptions etc? Adding these will help build your credit rating for next time you apply...

GKJB

cifpower wrote: »

Call your local council to check you have been registered. Then get a credit report from Experian and Equifax to make sure this info has been passed on. Reports cost £2 each. That way you can see if there is any unknown badness lurking therein.

I moved into my current house in June and applied to be on the ER immediately. My name wasn't added until 1 August and the data wasn't updated with the CRAs until a fortnight later.

OK thanks, I'll get up the council today and ask them... so if I'm not currently on the electoral roll, will there still be marks on my credit file?

cifpower

Magazine subscriptions? Really? Never heard of that one. How does this help your credit rating?