Refused credit by Orange through buymobilephones.net

mooch

I've come to the end of a 12 month contract and have been looking around for another cashback deal.

Settled on an Orange contract through buymobilephones.net and applied, but got this email back saying that my credit check has failed.

We have tried to process your order, but unfortunately the network have
declined your application for credit.You will now be unable to go through
another credit check on the same network for another three months.

The application has been unsuccessful and cannot be processed on this
occasion. If you would like further information on the reason for the
unsuccessful application, you can write to:

Equifax Plc
PO Box 1140
Bradford
BD1 5US

Please do not reattempt to have another credit check with this network without
consulting us first, as it can drastically lower your credit score further.

Kind regards,
BuyMobilePhones.net
0845 1303024

I've not really had any problems with credit in the past. Possibly 1 credit card application declined a few years ago.

The only things I can think of are:

1) i've been unemployed for a couple of years
2) i (semi) applied for 2 other contracts prior to this one, but i'm not sure if they got to the credit check.

a) the first was through coolnewmobile who didn't get back to me for 2 weeks and when i called them, they said the amex payment failed because they don't accept amex. doh! the offer i applied for was also no longer available, so left it there.
b) the 2nd was with phoneboxdirect. went though the application but didn't accept T&C because I realised they don't number port to Vodafone, so cancelled the application.

So, any advice on what to do next?

i) What's my best option for a new contract? Try a different company/network? Go PAYG for now?

ii) How best to see what's up with my credit rating? write a letter to Equifax as suggested by buymobiles.net. will they do anything unless I write them a cheque? i took the free credit check with http://www.annualcreditreport.co.uk/ and its all good apart from it having no info on credit applications or payment track record and it says that i'm not confirmed on electoral roll (which seems odd since i've lived here 6 years and voted before).

iii) my wife also needs a new contract. should she risk applying for the same package I did or try elsewhere. her credit rating should be ship shape as she's working and hasn't been refused credit before.

Any help appreciated. Cheers.

BONJOEY

just a bit of advise, three ( 3) network, accept almost everybody and have some preety good deals going on at present,
i would say you would definatly get a contract from them

i would also get your report from experian, this would cost you 2 pound,
there could be something on there thats damaging your credit,

i know people who have reall bad credit and have been sucsessfulwith 3

xx

mooch

Thanks. I had heard that about 3 from other posts. Do you know if i'd be able to keep using my phone (SE P900). That's one thing that would hold me back a bit there.

BONJOEY

they will give you a brand spanking new phone! the k800i is on 3
thats what i have and its well good!

orlwaysbroke

I had the same problem when I used orange shop to buy a phone - declined.

Then I used carphone warehouse online - orange k800i with half price rental etc , agreed immediately.

BEWARE - DON'T TRY TOO MANY DIFFERENT COMPANIES, AS THIS CAN AFFECT YOUR CREDIT RATING.

http://www.carphonewarehouse.co.uk/

(are there any quidco offers on CPW transactions??)

The_Boss

orlwaysbroke wrote:

I had the same problem when I used orange shop to buy a phone - declined.

Then I used carphone warehouse online - orange k800i with half price rental etc , agreed immediately.

BEWARE - DON'T TRY TOO MANY DIFFERENT COMPANIES, AS THIS CAN AFFECT YOUR CREDIT RATING.

http://www.carphonewarehouse.co.uk/

(are there any quidco offers on CPW transactions??)

There is a £30 cashback on new contracts, I think. Check the site for details.

mooch

orlwaysbroke wrote:

I had the same problem when I used orange shop to buy a phone - declined.

Then I used carphone warehouse online - orange k800i with half price rental etc , agreed immediately.

BEWARE - DON'T TRY TOO MANY DIFFERENT COMPANIES, AS THIS CAN AFFECT YOUR CREDIT RATING.

http://www.carphonewarehouse.co.uk/

(are there any quidco offers on CPW transactions??)

So that leaves me back to the original question. Should I or shouldn't I. I'm hesitant to apply for an Orange contract again and I don't want to adversely affect my credit score anymore until I know what's wrong with it.

Did you apply through CPW very soon after Orange Shop?

someonehadmyusername

call orange customer services and ask to be put through to registrations

ask them if any of your previous credit checks went through sucessfully-all they need is your postcode name d.o.b etc. they will tell you the decision for each of the checks (declined/accepted etc) but cant tell you the reason why

if you passed your credit check on any of them, registrations will give you an account num-give this to your mobile phone dealer-he will then call orange-and add the phone to this account without you being checked again.

x

mooch

okay, signed up for experian and equifax trials and surprised to find that as far as i can tell its all good.

on the electoral roll for last 6 years. no missed payments on credit cards.

only ONE search by Orange the day after i applied through buymobilephones.net

the only thing that's strange is that I have my current address as a linked address, so I might query Experian about this (but the Orange search was done through Equifax anyway).

As someonehadmyusername suggested, i called Orange Registrations, but was told they couldn't see my credit checks and that I would need to go through Credit Referrals which they could only give me a fax number for!

If I can find a fax machine, I might give this a go.

Maybe I *should* write to equifax to find out why i was refused by Orange. You think they'll be able to tell me anything?

someonehadmyusername

what rubbish!
argh!
i work in registrations-they can see this info!
just some are not as well trained as others lol
try to call them again

they can see the outcome of your credit check (s)

and you can choose to 'opt out' if you are having a credit check with orange where the check is done purely on your name-not your name/address and associated credit (eg. you and your friend had joint loan)-this is opting in

x

mooch

Played it safe and went for 3 as suggested by BONJOEY.

Applied for this:
http://threestore.three.co.uk/offerdetails.aspx?offercode=18DS14OL74

and accepted

Thanks for all the help. I'd still like to find out WHY i was refused by Orange. Will Orange or Equifax be able to tell me if I phone/email/write to them?