Why don't the Banks want me?

B123_2

Hi there. Hopefully some one can shed some light on this, as I am getting so confused. I know there are umpteen threads on here about credit reports etc, but I am getting lost.

I have had a standard cardcash account with Halifax since I was about 14. When I went to University I opened a HSBC student account with a £1250 overdraft facility. After graduation, no job & sporadic payment of money into account & HSBC wanted the overdraft money back! I couldn't afford to pay it back in full so set up a managed loan with them for £40 a month. This was more than a year ago now, so I must be nearly half way there. They took my card off me, refused to issue a new one, and told me not to apply for credit with them again.

Since then I have only had access to my cardcash account. So, on the advice of someone at Halifax I applied for a current account last Sept(they can't upgrade a cardcash). I was rejected.

I applied for a Capital One credit card last Oct. I had actually forgotten about this, and have just seen it on my credit report. I did not receive a response from them at all, or any confirmation of application. Will chase them about this, or ask that the search is removed from my report.

Over Easter I applied for a current account with Co-op and was rejected.

I am getting a bit ticked off with not being able to have a 'grown-up' account, and the ability to save my money properly and have access to credit, as I have no CCJs, no store cards/credit cards/mortgage etc etc and I never have. Have a phone contract for years that is always paid on time.

All that is showing on the Experian search is the 3 bank searches.(There are 2 searches for Co-op so I may contact them & see if one can be removed as a duplicate). There is nothing in the "Account Information Section" which should show credit agreements with lenders. Should my HSBC history be here?!

Also until very recently I was registered on the electoral roll at both my address and my parents address (don't know how this is even possible), and that doesn't seem to be updated on my report to show removal. Is that a problem?

Other than this, I can not think of anything else, and have been through Martin’s checklists and nothing applies to me. I know now that the 3 applications on there will prevent me from being accepted for a while.Is the the managed loan that is secretly biting me on the bum?!

Lokolo

You keep saying "oh I want a proper grown up account", yet you have said yourself you have no savings or backup.

Why not?

You don't need an overdraft, you don't need a credit card.

The fact you are applying and applying will dent your credit rating as it is.

Open a savings account, get the backup savings there. Then when it comes to you realising you have enough in there (maybe a years time), then apply for an account, your credit rating will have recovered by then. If you keep applying for credit you are not going to do yourself any favours.

---- edit

The banks will see your HSBC problem and think you have got more debt, so are trying to avoid you. I also suspect the electoral roll was a problem too.

BadlyDrawnGirl_2

B123 wrote: »

Over Easter I applied for a current account with Co-op and was rejected.

Sorry, but I thought I saw you say somewhere that you were rejected by the Co-op despite getting a welcome pack in the mail and presenting your documents at a branch...is this true? If so this really concerns me. We (my spouse and I) are not happy with the service we've been receiving through Lloyds, so we just recently applied for this same account with the Co-operative Bank as they have special perks and deals for NHS employees. A day after submitting the application online I received an email from them saying "We're delighted to tell you that subject to a few formalities, your application has been approved." A week later we received the welcome pack in the mail as well as a request to submit our documents. Does this mean that, despite the email, we still might be rejected? We don't have any credit cards or loans and the only debt we've ever had has been £250 worth of overdraft on our old Lloyds account, which has since been paid off to zero. Is this typical of the Co-op to reject people in this fashion?

robin_banks

B123 wrote: »

Hi there. Hopefully some one can shed some light on this, as I am getting so confused. I know there are umpteen threads on here about credit reports etc, but I am getting lost.

I have had a standard cardcash account with Halifax since I was about 14. When I went to University I opened a HSBC student account with a £1250 overdraft facility. After graduation, no job & sporadic payment of money into account & HSBC wanted the overdraft money back! I couldn't afford to pay it back in full so set up a managed loan with them for £40 a month. This was more than a year ago now, so I must be nearly half way there. They took my card off me, refused to issue a new one, and told me not to apply for credit with them again.

Since then I have only had access to my cardcash account. So, on the advice of someone at Halifax I applied for a current account last Sept(they can't upgrade a cardcash). I was rejected.

I applied for a Capital One credit card last Oct. I had actually forgotten about this, and have just seen it on my credit report. I did not receive a response from them at all, or any confirmation of application. Will chase them about this, or ask that the search is removed from my report.

Over Easter I applied for a current account with Co-op and was rejected.

I am getting a bit ticked off with not being able to have a 'grown-up' account, and the ability to save my money properly and have access to credit, as I have no CCJs, no store cards/credit cards/mortgage etc etc and I never have. Have a phone contract for years that is always paid on time.

All that is showing on the Experian search is the 3 bank searches.(There are 2 searches for Co-op so I may contact them & see if one can be removed as a duplicate). There is nothing in the "Account Information Section" which should show credit agreements with lenders. Should my HSBC history be here?!

Also until very recently I was registered on the electoral roll at both my address and my parents address (don't know how this is even possible), and that doesn't seem to be updated on my report to show removal. Is that a problem?

Other than this, I can not think of anything else, and have been through Martin’s checklists and nothing applies to me. I know now that the 3 applications on there will prevent me from being accepted for a while.Is the the managed loan that is secretly biting me on the bum?!

£1250 overdraft

£40 a month managed loan, been paying about a year, and you're halfway there ?. You're nowhere near half way and the rate wil be about 13%.

Stop applying for accounts, it's that simple.

B123_2

BadlyDrawnGirl wrote: »

Sorry, but I thought I saw you say somewhere that you were rejected by the Co-op despite getting a welcome pack in the mail and presenting your documents at a branch...is this true? If so this really concerns me.

I applied online for the account, and received the welcome back around a week and a half. The letter included stated that they had 'approved' my application 'in principle' and that I just needed to go through the formality of providing documents in person (eg.council letter, proof of address & ID) in person, or certified copies. I didn't receive an email.

As it was over the Easter holiday that I received the letter I decided to go to my nearest branch (45 mins away) and waited to be seen. When he looked up my application (using the letter), I was told that they had rejected my application a day after the pack was sent & that I should receive another letter to confirm this. I haven't yet.

I queried the reason why I was sent the welcome pack and so had spent in excess of 2 hours travelling & waiting to show my documents. The manager of the branch told me "that one is sent out automatically". I don't know how to true this is, or whether they had made a mistake that they weren't able to discuss?

B123_2

Lokolo wrote: »

You keep saying "oh I want a proper grown up account", yet you have said yourself you have no savings or backup.

Why not?

You don't need an overdraft, you don't need a credit card.

The fact you are applying and applying will dent your credit rating as it is.

Open a savings account, get the backup savings there. Then when it comes to you realising you have enough in there (maybe a years time), then apply for an account, your credit rating will have recovered by then. If you keep applying for credit you are not going to do yourself any favours.

---- edit

The banks will see your HSBC problem and think you have got more debt, so are trying to avoid you. I also suspect the electoral roll was a problem too.

Thank you for your reply. I do not have savings as yet as I graduated in the middle of a recession, where the only jobs I could find were as a temp to cover the people who had been laid off. Any additional funds I had saved I gave back to HSBC as a means to pay off some of the outstanding overdraft before my managed loan was set up. This is also why I am almost half way there after more than a year. I was not at my overdraft limit. I know the previous searches will effect any future applications,I put this in my post.

I know I don't need an overdraft. The credit card was applied for at a time when I did need some fall-back (old LL issues), but a credit card is not something that I would ever consider now.

All that I would like to open is a current account, with a card that I can use more widely (Visa Electron isn't great). I am not contemplating using/requesting an overdraft facility now, but I would like the option of having an account which would allow this in the future should I decide upon it. However, your suggestion of a savings account is one that I will look into. I simply need a way that I can get the best out of any money I am now saving and improve my rating.

Thanks for your help.

mattcanary

Have you tried a basic bank account. Basically, a current account that has Direct Debit and (often) Standing Order facilities, normally allows you to withdraw money from a cash machine but does not allow you an overdraft facility.

Sometimes you ahve to specifically ask them for a basic bank account, otherwise they will put you forward for a normal current account.

B123_2

mattcanary wrote: »

Have you tried a basic bank account. Basically, a current account that has Direct Debit and (often) Standing Order facilities, normally allows you to withdraw money from a cash machine but does not allow you an overdraft facility.

Sometimes you ahve to specifically ask them for a basic bank account, otherwise they will put you forward for a normal current account.

Thanks for the suggestion. I know that there is a thread about basic bank accounts on here so I will take a look.

My credit report has updated, and it seems that it is probably all the issues with HSBC and the cancelling of my credit agreement with them that is affecting my searches, rather than the managed loan itself..so Basic Bank Account seems like a good way to go.