Help - credit rating :(

Experian_company_representative

Muffle. Lenders are required to read notices of correction and they cannot refuse an application simply because a notice of correction appears. If you have evidence to the contrary please let me know and I will investigate.

muffle_2

No evidence I'm afraid, as it was all done over the phone. From what I was told by Barclaycard they didn't read the notice, just refused the balance transfer on the basis that it was there. I assume this was becuse it'd mean it would have to be manually reviewed and the guy I spoke to was just using some automatic software to produce a score. He did not offer to have it reviewed, just said they couldn't do it.

gelato_cat

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

@Suzey
When I mentioned pension contributions I was concerned about a company pension. What rights do you have ? Can you transfer the benefits ? Get the money ? I am also clueless about pensions.

I'm not really worried about the pension. The money is locked in until retirement age (which will probably be about 80 by the time I get around to it).

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

I had closed down around 15K of credit limit two months before and only needed to transfer 6K. I did not wish to send my confidential information so I paid off the Egg card from existing savings. I have not applied for a card since.

I think I will try and apply for another card in June and see how I go. If that doesn't work I'll pay my debts and forget about borrowing any more money this year!

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

Would your savings count against you when claiming state benefits ? Yet again I don't know the answer.

Yes they would but I'm not concerned about that. I saved my money so I wouldn't have to rely on the dole if I became unemployed.

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

There are many experts in these forums who could help with details. I don't think pursuing credit is the way to go.

I am only using it as a tool. The £10k didn't go on whimisical purchases, most of it is season tickets for work and my Masters degree fees. As I said, I have the money to pay it off but while my job situation is uncertain I'd prefer to keep those funds liquid in case I need them.

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

PS. Can you still afford to study given the redundancy situation ?

Yup! There are no outstanding fees.

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

What subject are you studying ?

Marketing.

cheers

Suze

gelato_cat

muffle wrote:

I have found that once you get to a certain number of cards and a certain level of 'potential' debt they stop accepting you.

Yes, I can imagine! I've cancelled four or five of my cards in recent months - I never used them anyway. Hopefully that will help.

muffle wrote:

I used to have no problem getting platinum credit cards with 0% offers, now I have 7 and get declined every time, not just for cards but also personal loans and even bank accounts with overdrafts. In total my credit limits amount to about £30K which is my approximate yearly income.

It sounds like most lenders think this is too much Do you really need all seven?

muffle wrote:

So in reality I feel this theory of constantly swapping 0% offers only really works for a short amount of time, and only for those who only have one or two cards already. Once you've amassed a few cards I think you'll find it very difficult to apply for more credit.

I'll try again in June and let you know the outcome!

muffle wrote:

It wasn't clear from your post how many applications you've made in total recently, but these will also definitely affect your ability to get credit. It takes 12 months for these searches to be cleared off your report.

Thanks - I was wondering about that. I've made three applications recently. One was declined.

muffle wrote:

As for closing credit card accounts, it takes 6 years after the debt is paid off for them to disappear from your report, so the benefits of doing so are questionable.

I don't want to have too much available credit on my file, and I'm not using them anyway, so I figured no harm done by closing the accounts.

cheers!

Suze

muffle_2

Suzey wrote:

It sounds like most lenders think this is too much Do you really need all seven?

Unfortunately, yes, as I am self employed I put a lot of business expenses on cards. Just would be nice to have the 0% offers again as well!

Experian_company_representative

Bear in mind that credit searches only appear on your Experian credit report for one year, so they soon disappear.