Refused monthly mobile phone - but have no bad credit - help

catherineblack

Hi
My partner has just applied for a monthly contract with Virgin Mobile. They have refused him on the grounds that his credit history is bad. The same day he was accepted for a £6000 loan. So strange. The credit company Virgin use charge £9.95 for a search of your credit - i find that a rip off. Any suggestions? We have been living together for 6 years. Have no debts, a mortgage - what's gone wrong?
Any help much appreciated. Hope i'm in the correct board.
thanks
Catherine

lil_me

Was the loan accepted earlier than the contract was refused as that can effect credit rating?

Most mobile companies take an amount from your card and put it back on when they do a credit check.

You could contact Virgin and ask who they do the credit check through ad get a copy of your file from whoever it went through and make sure all is correct.

Also I wouldn't get a contract off them if they are charging to do credit checks, that's shocking, I sold mobile phones before and we never ever charged for credit checks.

Inzvestor

Check your credit file at Creditexpert.com

At £4.99 this is a bargain and gives you a pretty good picture of your credit status.

Arkad

I believe that it is your statutory right to get a copy of your own credit report for just £2 from credit companies. Feel free to correct me if i'm wrong.

catherineblack

THanks for the advice guys, really helpful. Sorry I didn't make it clear - it's £9.95 if you want to check it online, instantly. I now see in the small print that you can check it for the £2. So going ahead with that. My partner spoke to Virgin mobile last night, as usual their customer service was great, they were very helpful, but could do no more. Ironic that Virgin gave him a credit card last year without any trouble whatsoever???
He's sending for his credit report and hopefully all will go well.
thanks again,
Catherine

girlsmum

DH had this with vodafone last month, he went firstly thought carphonewarehouse and vodafone said that they needed proof of identity so we mailed a copy of driving licence and a utility bill to carphonewarehouse, stupidly vodafone wont except this as an e-mail and only allow it faxed, the lady at CPW did this, they eventually came back and refused it saying bad credit, we ended up paying out for the on-line check and we have excellent credit history, no searches in the last 6 months either, went back directly to vodafone they said they credit checked 3 times etc, went to another dept and it was nothing to do with the credit in the end it was to prove his identity, as the fax was not clear (suprise suprise!!!)
we ended up going to a vodafone shop showing them the proof they authorised it and faxed it (proof that it was oK) and we eventually got it sorted.
long winded story i know, but your problem might have more to do with proof of identity too

ALWAYS_POOR

I know someone who works in a phone shop. Apparently if they have been very busy and sold lots of contracts that day then their criteria for credit rating goes up, if they have not been so busy then they will accept a lower credit rating (but I didn't tell you that :whistle: )

Lugh_Chronain

If you are still having trouble with being refused credit you can get advice from your local Trading Standards Department, Citizens Advice Bureau or Customer Advice Centre. The Information Commissioner also produces a useful leaflet entitled “No Credit?”. You can obtain a copy on the Commissioners website or by telephoning 01625 545 700.

You could also ask Virgin which Credit Reference Agencies they deal with and take the £2 pound route instead as suggested by Arkad.

You can ask the Credit Reference Agencies for a copy of your credit file. You can write to them at any time en-closing a non-returnable fee of £2. If there is anything on your credit file that is incorrect, you can ask the agency to add a Notice of Correction.

rosscobley

Try 3 if you really want a contact phone. They dont worry so much about credit ratings. The tariffs are really good as well

pooranddesperate

If you want to do a quick credit check (for free) then you can sign up for a free credit trial with credit experian. Not sure if that is who Vodofone use or not, but might flag up any problems.

You have to give credit experian your direct debit details, and if you don't cancel your membership, then you will be liable for a monthly ongoing fee (so only do it if you are organised enough to cancel).

Also if you do it thruogh quidco you also get £5 cashback for your troubles!

Lugh_Chronain

There is also an excellent and informative booklet entitled “Credit Explained” which can be ordered from the Information Commissioners website [url=https://www.ico.gov.uk/tools_and_resources/request_publications.aspx#1
]here[/url] or you can order one using the phone the number I posted above.