Abbey confirmed CC when all we wanted was information!

loulou123

After abit of advice, my boyfriend was going round the various banks to see who could give him the best 0% credit card transfer deal.

He went into Abbey and asked about there deals, we went out the back and he was told that he would have no problems getting a credit card with them, as he also has his mortgage through them, so would be pre-approved. The man did some tapping into his computer (to confirm boyfriends name and address etc) and said yes they could give him a credit card with a £3,000 limit. He then asked for some time to think this over and was told "ive already put the request through sir, your new card will be with you in the next week! " As he was preapproved there was no credit check etc.

At no point did he say he wanted to go ahead with this, as far as we were concerned he was just finding out the options. He then pointed out that he owed just over £3,000 on his old card and so this limit would not be enough to transfer the debt over. So the Abbey man said that when the card arrived to call up Abbey and explain why he needed a slightly higher credit limit and this certainly wouldnt be a problem.

The card arrived and he called them up and was told "we cannot increase your credit limit just because you want us to"

So now he has a card that he cant transfer the balance too. We are not happy with Abbey at all, as they had no right to apply for a card when all he wanted was information, and are going back into the branch tomorrow, so are just wondering where we stand on this? Surely banks cant just do this, without your say so.

The guy on the phone, said if hes not happy then he should cancel the card, but will he then have problems getting another card as it will leave a footprint on his credit file etc?

LeeSouthEast

Transfer most of the balance and pay off the rest quickly. £2900 or so at 0% is better than none but not quite as good as all.

CLAPTON

re-arrange

mouth look in don't the gift a horse

izools

Yes although Abbey have screwed you over in a sense I think you'd be best off leaving the account open and transferring as much of the old balance as possible, as with the new abbey card, even if you close it, it will appear on the credit report as opened and immediately settled, which some creditors may take offence to.

CLAPTON

izools wrote: »

Yes although Abbey have screwed you over in a sense I think you'd be best off leaving the account open and transferring as much of the old balance as possible, as with the new abbey card, even if you close it, it will appear on the credit report as opened and immediately settled, which some creditors may take offence to.

exactly how is being given 0% finance on 2900 being screwed over?

udydudy

CLAPTON wrote: »

exactly how is being given 0% finance on 2900 being screwed over?

As no credit check was required, this would mean no immediate search footprint on your file. Also if you were to close the card account the next update(which is anyway monthly) will show both the opening and settled status at the same time unless you are unfortunate to have had an update immediately after opening of the account which would then mean 4-5 weeks before the settled update.

And I do not think banks look that much into detail of whether an account was opened and closed in a short period(somebody correct me if I am wrong). Remember it is a software that does all this credit scoring and being a software business analyst myself, from the financial sector, I have rarely seen a finance company go that much into detail. They will look at available credit, outstanding balances, how long the account is open if not settled status, any missed payments, etc. but surely not how long an account was open if settled. I do not think they care as long as the account was settled and no missed payments!!!

does not really tell a risk analyst anything as long as the status is settled which means no delinquency!!!