LOL, Refused a credit card

kippen_noedel

I paid off my mortgage 23 years ago and have never borrowed any money since, all bills are paid by DD and have never missed a payment.

I'm going to the far east for an extended holiday this year and didn't want to carry enough cash or travellers cheques to pay for all the things I want to do. So I applied for a card with the bank I've been with for nearly 30 years.

I have a reasonably healthy bank balance & a decent income but failed the credit score.

My son who has just turned 18 and has only worked for 6 months was accepted.

NUTZ

thriftymomma

You have a limited credit history rather than an adverse credit history. It can be just as bad though. Lenders see you as an unknown. Try cap1, aqua, barclays or vanquis.

Francesanne

kippen_noedel wrote: »

I paid off my mortgage 23 years ago and have never borrowed any money since, all bills are paid by DD and have never missed a payment.

I'm going to the far east for an extended holiday this year and didn't want to carry enough cash or travellers cheques to pay for all the things I want to do. So I applied for a card with the bank I've been with for nearly 30 years.

I have a reasonably healthy bank balance & a decent income but failed the credit score.

My son who has just turned 18 and has only worked for 6 months was accepted.

NUTZ

We know a guy (30) who worked his way through Uni, doesn't own stores cards, no credit card and has never owed anyone a bean had hassle opening a joint bank account with his girlfriend.

YorkshireBoy

kippen_noedel wrote: »

So I applied for a card with the bank I've been with for nearly 30 years.

I have a reasonably healthy bank balance & a decent income but failed the credit score.

This would worry me...unless the bank outsources it's credit cards, eg A&L use MBNA.

Ivydene

No credit history. Before you appeal go to your bank & suggest closing your account as they are unwilling to offer a long-standing customer their usual services.

How much did your rejection letter explain about the reasons?

never-in-doubt

kippen_noedel wrote: »

I paid off my mortgage 23 years ago and have never borrowed any money since, all bills are paid by DD and have never missed a payment.

I'm going to the far east for an extended holiday this year and didn't want to carry enough cash or travellers cheques to pay for all the things I want to do. So I applied for a card with the bank I've been with for nearly 30 years.

I have a reasonably healthy bank balance & a decent income but failed the credit score.

My son who has just turned 18 and has only worked for 6 months was accepted.

NUTZ

As other posters have stated, i'd be looking to complain to your bank as most banks operate an internal behaviour score for existing customers so it is well worth appealing - if they continue to say no then move banks, quite simply.

Mind doing us all a favour and name-and-shame the nasty bank?

Send a snotty letter and if they still say no then move banks, as a homeowner with no mortgage you shouldn't be failing credit scores - if anything you should be flying through.....

kippen_noedel

i'm not bothered too much about it, would've been cancelled again when I got back from holiday.

I will however be leaving HBOS and closing both my accounts with them this month and moving to the Co-Op bank, they have a better ethical stance anyway.

I think I was looking for an excuse to dump them anyway, been totally disgusted at their recent actions over executive pay.

In the meantime I'll just use my sons card when required

Jemma-T

kippen_noedel wrote: »

...travellers cheques to pay...

There's the problem. Many (if not most) people reading that and the people who credit scored you and the people who designed the program will have no idea what those are.

Get a credit card from a company who are a bit more relaxed as they deserve your business.

benf90

Jemma-T wrote: »

There's the problem. Many (if not most) people reading that and the people who credit scored you and the people who designed the program will have no idea what those are.

Get a credit card from a company who are a bit more relaxed as they deserve your business.

Who hasn't heard of travellers cheques? I can't believe that most people wouldn't know what they were.

Surely anybody that's ever been abroad and has been to exchange money has been asked 'do you want cash or travellers cheques?'.

Travellers cheques aren't the problem. As others have said, it's a lack of credit history, their age probably has a factor too.

HBOS have had 30 years of custom from them. Banks will fall over themselves to get the loyalty of younger customers. Giving the 18 year old a credit card is basically the same as giving a student the 0% overdraft.

chattychappy

I'm almost based in the "far east" these days. Of course slightly different rules apply depending where you go and this isn't clear from your post.

Given the problem getting a credit card (agree with the posts so far about that), my practical suggestion is you take a debit card and preferably some other form of back up plastic (?another debit card). Carry one on your person, and keep one in a hotel safe, with a travelling companion, or locked in a hardshell suitcase (last resort, but that's what I always do).

Try a Nationwide account and get their debit card. It's pretty much the cheapest to use overseas, and has given me the least trouble - ie card not getting blocked, works in a variety of foreign ATMs etc. (Yep shouldn't be an issue, but the reality is that these international networks don't always join up and spurious rejections are always possible overseas.) Their online banking seems to work well overseas too. Using a Nationwide Visa Debit in Asia this summer will cost 1%. Most other cards are 2.75%. I think the only way to beat the 1% is with credit cards - Post Office or Abbey Zero (both 0% - plenty of other threads on this).

Despite what you say, I'd still take a small wad of cash. How much depends on where you are going to. (If, per chance, you are going to Vietnam then take crisp new £50 or £20. You can change these directly to local currency. No need to take US$ cash.) I generally take around £500 - I'm typically away for 2 or 3 months at a time. Incidentally some countries still have it as a condition of visa-free entry that you can show you have sufficient funds to support yourself. In the absence of plastic, this could help. (The only time I had to show cash was on arrival in Japan many years ago.)

I feel traveller's checks went out with the ark. Getting them replaced in an emergency can be a real problem. Don't believe the marketing - about 24 hour replacements. Many providers will only make a emergency "loan" and replace the cash on return to the UK. This is particularly the case if you say you lost them in a place associated with fraud. (Eg student backpacker locations.) The T+Cs say they can refuse immediate replacement if they suspect fraud. They can translate this into hitting honest claimants just because you're in the same hotel as someone who claimed before.

Finally, acquaint yourself (and friend) with the Western Union/Moneygram system. IF you really had an emergency (cards stolen/out of cash) this is an efficient if pricey way of getting cash to you. I helped a friend via Moneygram once. Went into a provincial post office in the UK with the cash, she was able to collect it in a participating "cafe" somewhere in the jungle within 30mins.

Oh one more thing. Though chip'n'pin isn't widely deployed yet, the machines are being put in. In some cases, when the machine sees a UK card, it asks for a PIN even though it doesn't for local cards. This can cause confusion for local staff. Sometimes the machine is behind security glass, screwed down etc! One british bloke told me the staff helpfully gave him a slip of paper so he could write the number down for them to type in! Just be prepared for these situations....

Jemma-T

benf90 wrote:

Who hasn't heard of travellers cheques?

HBOS have had 30 years of custom from them.

HBOS? No such company, please be accurate this isn't a forum about tropical fish. A lot of people may of heard the term "traveller's cheque" but that doesn't mean they know what it is.