Getting a credit card :-S

kjn469

Hi, got a few questions which I hope some people can help me with :-s

I've been looking to apply for a credit card and whilst on the money saving expert website I noticed that they had a link to a tool on the Money Supermarket website that conducts a soft search on your credit file to tell you how likely you are to be accepted for various credit cards.

It came back to me with some credit cards from people like Halifax, Sainsbury's etc and said that my chances were 7/10. Obviously that leaves some room for being rejected but I wondered whether anyone on here has a bad 'recommendation' from this website? 7/10 is a reasonably good chance of acceptance but obviously I don't want to get rejections on my file!

Another thing I did was get a credit report from Givemecredit.com and as part of the report they listed a number of credit cards with which I had a 'greater than 80% chance of obtaining'. Again, has anyone had any experience with this report and their recommendations?

Finally.....when I log onto my personal banking with Lloyds Tsb, one of the headings on the welcome page is 'My Offers' and I recently noticed that one of my offers is the platinum credit card. Does this mean that I would be accepted if I applied for it or should I simply wait for them to pick up the phone or go into the bank and see if I get offered one by the cashier as they tend to do with every other service they provide?

Any help would be great, improving credit rating can be a minefield !!!

stephane_2

If you are pre-approved for the Lloyds platinum then you're almost guaranteed to get it, I would start by that and let us know how you get on....

kjn469

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

So you think that if it does appear in 'my offers' then this amounts to being pre-approved?

stephane_2

If you apply online you'll probably get an instant decision, if it is your first credit card it would be a very good start as I doubt you would get a good deal with a mainstream lender...I would not trust any of the site you visited, they have no idea of your financial situation...

stephane_2

kjn469 wrote: »

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

So you think that if it does appear in 'my offers' then this amounts to being pre-approved?

I cannot say 100% you'll get it....but it would not be in your pre-approved offer it they did not want you to have a credit card. Also when you apply for any credit card, they do a credit search, but it will never say if you've been accepted or declined, it will just show that you have tried to apply

kjn469

Thanks, I've given it a go. They said I'll get a reply in the post within 5 days. Here's to hoping but I'm not holding my breath lol

Fiddlestick

kjn469 wrote: »

7/10 is a reasonably good chance of acceptance but obviously I don't want to get rejections on my file!

You won't get a "rejection" on your file.

All that is recorded is that a search took place.

No record is made of the lending decision that is subsequently taken in light of that search.

kjn469

Thanks Fiddlestick, I guess I have a bit to learn. Although I suppose if a potential lender saw that a search had taken place and a corresponding credit account didn't exist then it wouldn't be a massive leap in logic to ascertain that the decision was a rejection?

Do you have any idea what a potential lender sees when they credit check you? Going through the forums, people here seem to think that a credit 'score' that firms like Experian charge for are meaningless so I guess lenders don't see that either?

Thanks,

hur575

kjn469 wrote: »

Thanks Fiddlestick, I guess I have a bit to learn. Although I suppose if a potential lender saw that a search had taken place and a corresponding credit account didn't exist then it wouldn't be a massive leap in logic to ascertain that the decision was a rejection?

Do you have any idea what a potential lender sees when they credit check you? Going through the forums, people here seem to think that a credit 'score' that firms like Experian charge for are meaningless so I guess lenders don't see that either?

Thanks,

The lender sees your searches but I believe searches get deleted after 6 months. Paid Credit scoring is meaningless, as each lender have their own criteria and own scoring system which they do not share with anyone.

BugsyBrowne

hur575 wrote: »

The lender sees your searches but I believe searches get deleted after 6 months. Paid Credit scoring is meaningless, as each lender have their own criteria and own scoring system which they do not share with anyone.

Searches deleted after 1 year..

Hax

kjn469 wrote: »

Thanks Fiddlestick, I guess I have a bit to learn. Although I suppose if a potential lender saw that a search had taken place and a corresponding credit account didn't exist then it wouldn't be a massive leap in logic to ascertain that the decision was a rejection?

It's probably a leap too far. For all anyone else knows, you may have been accepted for the account and then decided to reject it before signing the paperwork. Or maybe the new account just hasn't been added to your report yet.