Bank turned me down for consolidation but Equifax records look fine...

PlutoniumDragon

Hiya,

I'm new to the forum *waves* :-D

I recently asked my Egg for a consolidation loan and they said they would only give me a loan to cover the credit card I have and the loan I already have with them. So I went to my bank (Barclays) and they said that they weren't prepared to give me a loan of any sort...

My intent in getting a loan is to reduce the amount of interest but most of all to reduce the monthly payments.

So today I paid for the online Equifax credit records / score thing and got the following results:

"You have a score of 461. Your score is highly predictive that you would be a good candidate for credit.You are above the average for UK borrowers. Most credit grantors would consider this score good. While many factors other than your score influence the decision to grant credit, you will probably not be turned down for loans based on your score alone. Review the Risk Signals below to identify areas that may be negatively impacting your score."

In their system 400-474 is good and 475+ is 'excellent'. I know that this is just an example of a credit score as each lender would have their own system but it leaves me a bit puzzled as to why I was turned down.

The only 'non excellent' areas in the report were:

"Your payment history shows that you have previously been 1 month in arrears. While you haven't been significantly overdue in making payments, some credit grantors may not grant you credit if you have other risk signals present on your credit report."

I wasn't paying attention to my statements (I know I know!) for awhile and so my accounts (Barclays and Egg) kept being like 5-20 pounds over the limit.

The other thing was that I'm not listed in the electoral register.

Egg didn't give me any indication as to why they wouldn't offer me a larger loan, but Barclays was a bit more helpful. The person I spoke to (in the bank) said he thought it was because I have been living in my overdraft (of 3K) for the last 4 or 5 years (I was a student and I've just always stayed there).


I really want to reduce my monthly payments but I am concerned about applying somewhere if I'm going to be rejected (as I know that will make things worse). At the moment I'm just leaving my job of 6.5 years to move to Cambridge so (given that I assume I will get credit checked when I apply to let somewhere) I'm assuming the smart thing to do is to wait until I've been approved to let somewhere, and then apply for a consolidation loan with someone else.

I assume that I'll be starting a new job will count heavily against me though. Arggh money! I'm not sure having it makes you happy but not having it certainly makes you unhappy!!

Has anyone got any ideas, or advice? :-)

kenshaz

The electoral register is a very very important factor

regularsaver1

did they turn you down on affordability?

sometimes it depends what you are consolidating too

jonesMUFCforever

Agree with regularsaver1.
You can have the perfect credit record but if the loan company don't think that you can comfortably afford the repayments you may be declined.This may sound bizarre if your new loan reduces your outgoings but the late payments on your files will not have helped you.

magic_pants

kenshaz wrote:

The electoral register is a very very important factor

Absolutely! I am not surprised in the slightest that you have been turned down for credit if you aren't on the electoral role. I mean, would you lend someone money if you had no idea where they lived?

PlutoniumDragon

So the key thing to do at the moment is to get on the electoral register?

I'm moving to a different city (and job) in 6 weeks, so I suppose that's one of the first things I need to do!

I take it then that it would be smart to wait until I'm on the electoral register before I apply for a consolidation loan with someone else?

Would it have been an issue for Barclays or Egg? I've been with both of them for over 5 years.

In terms of affordability, I owe about 20K in total (6K credit cards, 3K overdraft, 11K loan) and earn 35K.

I'm just about to start a new job in a new place so advice on the best way forward would be helpful. It takes time to get on the electoral register doesn't it? Also as I'll have just started a new job that will count against me too won't it?

chani1

I work for a loan company and if you have moved home and/or jobs you'd be better waiting at least 3/6 months before applying for credit as it can take time for you to get on electoral reg and also to prove you actually live there(bills etc) also they may reqire proof of your last 3 months wages if you have had a break in employment. Also to advise in my experience you might be better off checking experian as more lenders seem to check that you may be suprised at the difference.

jonesMUFCforever

PlutoniumDragon wrote:

So the key thing to do at the moment is to get on the electoral register?

I'm moving to a different city (and job) in 6 weeks, so I suppose that's one of the first things I need to do!

I take it then that it would be smart to wait until I'm on the electoral register before I apply for a consolidation loan with someone else?

Would it have been an issue for Barclays or Egg? I've been with both of them for over 5 years.

In terms of affordability, I owe about 20K in total (6K credit cards, 3K overdraft, 11K loan) and earn 35K.

I'm just about to start a new job in a new place so advice on the best way forward would be helpful. It takes time to get on the electoral register doesn't it? Also as I'll have just started a new job that will count against me too won't it?

Nowhere in your first posting do you indicate anywher near £20k of debts!
That + the default + moving address is the reason you are being turned down.