Amex Platinum Cashback Application Rejected

Psychological_2

Hello all,

I have recently had my application for an Amex Platinum rejected and I wish to appeal as I feel there are a couple of discrepancies (having run a credit report with Experian) that may have caused it to be unsuccessful. My salary is greater than their minimum required but I feel the fact I have not had a credit card before is the major factor. However, I still wish to write the below appeal to them in the hope it is down to these other issues, I would be extremely grateful if someone would be happy to read this below letter and make any comments:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I hope this correspondence finds you well. I am writing to appeal regarding the unsuccessful application for your American Express Platinum Cashback Card relating to the reference above.

Upon receiving your letter of 29th March 2010 confirming my application had been unsuccessful I decided to check my credit report with Experion in case there were any discrepancies that could have caused you to reject my application. I have found a couple of issues on there which I feel may have contributed to your decision and wanted to come to you with these in case there is anything I can do to turn this around.

Firstly, it appears the time at current address was registered incorrectly on your search, this may have been a human error on my part upon completing the application online but you seem to have searched based on being at my current residence for two years, when it is, in fact, only two months. Please do advise if this discrepancy could have been responsible for the unsuccessful application. You will see that I have not intentionally mislead you as my previous address was completed correctly with tenancy ending in February 2010.

Secondly, I imagine there was an issue regarding the electoral roll. I would appear to be registered at my previous address in London, this is easily explained as I have recently moved and although I notified them some time ago, having recently checked their website it appears my details wouldn’t have been changed until 1st April - just after you would have run your report. This is now up to date and I have called Westminster (my current Borough) and Hammersmith and Fulham (my previous Borough) to ensure this is now correct.

I hope these small errors were the major factors behind the rejection of my application and if I can do anything or provide any more information that will help you in your search I would be more than happy to do so. Please note my contact details above should you need to get in touch.

Yours faithfully,

BugsyBrowne

mate you will find it very hard to get a prime card like amex if you have never had credit card.they need to see that you are credit worthy first,and TBH what you have wrote still wont work,they will say the same thing..

Psychological_2

Thanks for that - I thought as much but it's got to be worth trying to appeal first? I understand that too many different applications can impact negatively so would rather not apply elsewhere just yet. Basically yes, I need to build up a credit rating so if this appeal doesn't work I'll look elsewhere for "beginners" credit cards but obviously the Amex appeals for the cashback opportunity.

lisyloo

only being in your current property 2 months, will not help you get credit.
Sorry, I know it's unfair, but lenders want to be able to find people if they default so stability is important to them.
Get a credit card via your bank as a first step to build your rating, even if it offers little reward.
Your bank will have interenal records so will be less reliant on extrernal CRA info.

Psychological_2

Yep, it's a cruel world. Well I shall appeal nonetheless and post any response. If it doesn't go through I'll ask my bank (Barclays) to set me up with a sub-prime. Thanks for your help both

no_more_cards_for_me

Matt, I wouldn't bother with the appeal. From the facts that you have told us, you don't stand a chance with Amex. I'd go straight to Barclays and organise a card via them. You may be able to get 1% Cashback with Barclaycard Freedom with some of their products.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

Hi Matt. For the record it's Experian not Experion if you want to get it right in your letter.

Psychological_2

Many thanks, fixed on the final draft but good spot

TFD_2

matt.mcginty wrote: »

Many thanks, fixed on the final draft but good spot

Not worth the cost of a stamp. Amex will want lots of positive history.

Psychological_2

Lucky I didn't have to pay for a stamp then!

I had a lovely long chat with Experian CreditExpert yesterday and they were incredibly helpful (agents name was Scott I believe and I will be sending a message to his boss to say how pleased I was with his assistance).

He helped me with a few questions I had based on my report through them

1) There were a number of addresses duplicated i.e. 58a or Flat A No 58, A58 etc which I thought could have in impact on anyone looking into my report, he explained this shouldn't be an issue and advised me of the address that was registered on the electoral roll which was the important one for credit applications.

2) Having moved and only just been put on the electoral roll for Westminster (they took well over a month to do this following my application) the credit report agencies then take another month to reflect this on their report. So immediately a discrepancy is made on the report which can't help the process. I was advised that a confirmation letter from the local authority will suffice in getting credit.

3) He also explained to me that I do in fact have a credit history in the form of a £2,800 overdraft facility with my bank which I have had since 2003 and that this appeared to have been managed well. I didn't realise this would count. He advised that as I'm not using it I should probably drop it down to a £1,000 overdraft so that if I'm looking for credit elsewhere they won't question why I need it.


All good advice and while yes, Amex may be a no go it should be worth a shot. They are the strictest but I've been advised that my utilities and overdraft facility should represent a fairly good well-managed credit history and I shouldn't need to start off sub-prime.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

Thanks for the update, matt. You might be surprised by the number of people who post a question here and are never heard from again.