Halifax judge you by behaviour score only?

QuantumSuccess

I've had my Halifax account for 4 years I think. When I opened the account the only OD limit they'd offer me was £100 and for the first two and a half years they told me I wasn't eligible for anymore. Then one day I decided to ask them if I qualified for a higher OD. They asked me how much I required. I said let's go for £2000. They said fine and keyed it straight on for one year. A few months later I decided to see if I was eligible for anything higher and I asked them to raise it to £3000 - no problem they said. Each time they didn't credit check me.

My record with Halifax is perfect but my credit overall is not good. I have two defaults with other companies, each of them about 4 years old.

Are Halifax concerned solely with your behaviour history within the bank? It certainly seems so in my case.

Also when I opened the account they gave me a debit card with no cheque guarantee facility. They just sent me a new card which is now a Cheque Guarantee. The only thing that has changed since I opened the account is that my external credit report has gotten slightly worse.

Halifax also told me that I qualify for a credit card with a limit of £4000. But I was unable to get to the bottom of what they mean by that. The woman said it's pre-approved but when I asked if they'd do an external credit report I couldn't really understand her response. Do Halifax ever give out credit cards without doing credit check?

Despite the £3k overdraft I don't actually ever go overdrawn at present. It feels quite pleasant to have it there just in case though.

rb10

When you open a current account with a bank, that opens up a regular two-way flow of data between that bank and one or more credit reference agencies (CRAs).

This means that the bank reports your account conduct to the CRA, but also that they automatically get data passed back from the CRA without actually having to do a credit check.

So they already have access to information on there. They will, no doubt, have used a combination of this data and their own internal records to offer you these facilities.

Halifax will give out credit cards without doing credit checks. There are two levels of pre-approval that you can have - it can be 'guaranteed', in which case there won't be a credit check, or it can just be highly likely that you'll be accepted, but they'll do a credit check to make sure.

QuantumSuccess

rb10 wrote: »

When you open a current account with a bank, that opens up a regular two-way flow of data between that bank and one or more credit reference agencies (CRAs).

This means that the bank reports your account conduct to the CRA, but also that they automatically get data passed back from the CRA without actually having to do a credit check.

So they already have access to information on there. They will, no doubt, have used a combination of this data and their own internal records to offer you these facilities.

Halifax will give out credit cards without doing credit checks. There are two levels of pre-approval that you can have - it can be 'guaranteed', in which case there won't be a credit check, or it can just be highly likely that you'll be accepted, but they'll do a credit check to make sure.

Thanks for your reply. It's interesting they're giving me facilities considering my external credit report (which is not good). They seem to be taking my very good conduct within Halifax very seriously and giving it more weight than the external credit report.

opinions4u

QuantumSuccess wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. It's interesting they're giving me facilities considering my external credit report (which is not good). They seem to be taking my very good conduct within Halifax very seriously and giving it more weight than the external credit report.

The key is not to use these newer lines of credit to live beyond your means.

Because that would leave you with a poor internal rating and a poor external rating and it would probably take longer to recover your credit rating (internal or external) a second time.

QuantumSuccess

opinions4u wrote: »

The key is not to use these newer lines of credit to live beyond your means.

Because that would leave you with a poor internal rating and a poor external rating and it would probably take longer to recover your credit rating (internal or external) a second time.

I've already stated that I never use my OD and that I've run my Halifax account flawlessly for four years. So how is merely having a £3000 overdraft limit available to me going to leave me "with a poor internal rating and a poor external rating"?

My question was whether Halifax go by internal behaviour score or not. I didn't ask for some random lecture on whether I should "live beyond" my means or not.:eek:

whitewing

I think opinions4u was trying to be constructive, and you will be given additional comments that posters feel is relevant on these boards. Just ignore it if you don't like it. It may be helpful to someone else reading the replies.

opinions4u

QuantumSuccess wrote: »

I've already stated that I never use my OD and that I've run my Halifax account flawlessly for four years. So how is merely having a £3000 overdraft limit available to me going to leave me "with a poor internal rating and a poor external rating"?

Ok, I'll word it another way. Internal performance scoring is not the same as a credit reference agency. It doesn't "drop-off" after 6 years so that nobody can see it. A bank charge now, a missed payment now, a delinquent loan now would remain recorded within the bank's systems for as long as you have a relationship with them - possibly until the day you drop.

I didn't state that having a £3k overdraft available would give you problems. I made a statement that clarified what could happen if you utilised credit in an unsuitable way. Far too many people clean up their act, spend years sorting themselves out and then, as their bank or other lenders show an interest and offer new credit, the customer over-extends themselves again.

It's real. I've seen it done by dozens of people. I was simply trying to help you to ensure that your efforts of the last 4 years benefit you longer term.

My question was whether Halifax go by internal behaviour score or not. I didn't ask for some random lecture on whether I should "live beyond" my means or not.

To be honest, it's an open forum. By posting you potentially open yourself up to whatever the world wants to throw at you and need to take the rough with the smooth.

My post wasn't a lecture. It was intended to be helpful given the set of circumstances that you outlined. You've had difficulties before. You've done a cracking job of resolving that. You now have access to lines of credit that haven't been there for years. That provides you with risks as well as opportunities and I was trying to convey that by continuing to manage your finances carefully those opportunities will be likely to continue.

I'm sorry you didn't take it in that spirit.

jackjones01

No wonder the halifax are mostly owned by the goverment if they are going to offer people credit without credit scoring them !!

jambosans

jackjones01 wrote: »

No wonder the halifax are mostly owned by the goverment if they are going to offer people credit without credit scoring them !!

What an ill-informed observation.

Incyder

So you have a 3k o/d u don't intend to use.
Pointless.

KingElvis

Woh op, take a chill pill, simmer down etc etc