Applying for a Barclaycard in branch

izools

I held a Barclays account for most of 2009. After having held two cash card accounts for six months I used the tool which said I wasn't eligible for any cards.

I applied for the Initial anyway, online, which arrived in the post with a #1,150 limit the following week.

I deride the in branch staff as every thing I was told in branch was absolute tosh. They opened up a full Current Account in branch, too, shortly after I was given the Barclaycard, which led to all my Barclays accounts being forcibly closed at 14 days notice soon after (bar the Barclaycard) as they didn't take sufficient ID and my accounts failed an audit done later as the ID they took hadn't fulfilled the money laundering regulations.

The tool on the Barclaycard website doesn't use just income.

It does a soft search on your Equifax / Call Credit Files and generates a result based on:

> Your credit file
> Your debt levels (derived from your credit file)
> Your stability (as you state how long you've lived at your address)
> Your current Account history if you are a Barclays bank account customer
> Your income

Etc. It is a fairly full featured tool and does in fact know what you have on your credit file when you use it, due to the soft search done with Equifax and Call Credit.

It's up to you though, of course

andyb_sv

I've been thinking about using the Barclaycard tool for my wife,what exactly is a soft search?

izools

It's a credit search done on your file for a purpose other than an application - i.e. to check eligibility or get a quote.

The search reveals to the creditor just as much information as a "Full search" or "Footprint", but is invisible to other lenders, so won't appear as if you'd just applied for credit (as you wont have just applied for credit).

Did that make sense? Drank a lot of coffee today...

EDIT: It is similar in approach to this tool:

https://www.moneysupermarket.com/credit-cards/smart-search/?productSelectionName=All%20Cards

Which, too, does a soft search with Call Credit and gives you a rough guide to your likelihood of being approved by various card providers, based on your actual circumstances and credit file.

As with any form of pre-application credit score checker neither tool is foolproof, but it may save some who have a far better or worse credit worthiness than they thought they had from being declined / short sold.

And of course, these tools are free, unlike the CRA's various "Scores" which they (mis)sell.

andyb_sv

Thanks for the quick reply. Basically it does a search but other lenders etc can't see it.

Sorry for the de-rail!

book12

izools wrote: »

If that says you stand a high chance of getting other cards you're assured an Initial -

That tool said I wasn't eligible for ANY cards the day I was approved for an Initial card with a four figure limit.

Barclays Branch personal bankers won't be able to tell you anything about your likelihood of being approved for a Barclaycard. They can't know until you've applied.

They can only tell you useful information about pre-approved offers, and IME even then it's a high chance they'll lie to you massaging your ears into applying for the highest commissioned products.

Good luck with your Initial application :beer:

EDIT: The Gold Card, for example, says you should have two credit commitments on your credit file. This doesn't mean Credit Cards, so if you have plenty of history with say, a bank account, mobile phone, and British Gas account, that fulfils that prerequisite.

Looks like when I apply in branch, I just say I want the Initial card, and look at my current account conduct on the system, score me, and the result will be displayed...

Do you know if the internal score counts more than the external, or is it a bit of both?

izools wrote: »

I held a Barclays account for most of 2009. After having held two cash card accounts for six months I used the tool which said I wasn't eligible for any cards.

I applied for the Initial anyway, online, which arrived in the post with a #1,150 limit the following week.

I deride the in branch staff as every thing I was told in branch was absolute tosh. They opened up a full Current Account in branch, too, shortly after I was given the Barclaycard, which led to all my Barclays accounts being forcibly closed at 14 days notice soon after (bar the Barclaycard) as they didn't take sufficient ID and my accounts failed an audit done later as the ID they took hadn't fulfilled the money laundering regulations.

The tool on the Barclaycard website doesn't use just income.

It does a soft search on your Equifax / Call Credit Files and generates a result based on:

> Your credit file
> Your debt levels (derived from your credit file)
> Your stability (as you state how long you've lived at your address)
> Your current Account history if you are a Barclays bank account customer
> Your income

Etc. It is a fairly full featured tool and does in fact know what you have on your credit file when you use it, due to the soft search done with Equifax and Call Credit.

It's up to you though, of course

I hope I get a credit limit like yours. How much do you earn in your job to get that limit?

It's strange that your account is closed due to ID audit problems. I'm sure you provided a passport/driving licence, and bills/bank statements (or similar) to prove your address.

Even though, it's a soft search, which won't affect credit score, I still don't want the footprint, lol.

izools

book12 wrote: »

Looks like when I apply in branch, I just say I want the Initial card, and look at my current account conduct on the system, score me, and the result will be displayed...

Do you know if the internal score counts more than the external, or is it a bit of both?





I hope I get a credit limit like yours. How much do you earn in your job to get that limit?

It's strange that your account is closed due to ID audit problems. I'm sure you provided a passport/driving licence, and bills/bank statements (or similar) to prove your address.

Even though, it's a soft search, which won't affect credit score, I still don't want the footprint, lol.

This is the thing - all they took as ID in branch was my provisional driving license photocard.

Not the counterpart, not my passport, no utility bills, nothing else.

Ergo it failed audit and got closed (along with my cash accounts) and ergo I don't trust in branch staff.

My monthly account turnover was pretty much the same as the limit they gave me, don't that that's anything to go on though.

EDIT: And it's not a footprint. No more than checking your own credit file is a footprint. I.e. it isn't a footprint.

But as I say, each to their own

book12

izools wrote: »

This is the thing - all they took as ID in branch was my provisional driving license photocard.

Not the counterpart, not my passport, no utility bills, nothing else.

Ergo it failed audit and got closed (along with my cash accounts) and ergo I don't trust in branch staff.

My monthly account turnover was pretty much the same as the limit they gave me, don't that that's anything to go on though.

EDIT: And it's not a footprint. No more than checking your own credit file is a footprint. I.e. it isn't a footprint.

But as I say, each to their own

According to their brochure which I have infront of me, it says if you have UK photo ID, there is no need to provide seperate proof of address. I did the same thing, and my accounts are not closed. Looks like you moved to HSBC according to your signature.

So that means if I use that tool, it won't appear on my credit report or to lender (in my case Barclays branch staff - applying in branch).

KingElvis

Just use the pre-app tool and apply, you'll get no advantage by going in store.

izools

book12 wrote: »

So that means if I use that tool, it won't appear on my credit report or to lender (in my case Barclays branch staff - applying in branch).

That's exactly right.

Also, the actual score of your current account doesn't count for much, just the fact alone that you bank with Barclays puts you as a lower risk to boot, as Barclaycard can exercise Right of Offset if you fail to pay (i.e. help themselves to your current account balance if you fall into arrears on your Barclaycard).

If you have your heart set on going into branch, that's cool, whatever you feel most comfortable with, but they can't tell you the likelihood of approval for various cards, and the ID requirements are stronger - you don't need to provide ID when applying online - so you may find it takes longer to get your card, too.

Good luck! :beer:

EDIT: Yes, I moved to HSBC. Thankfully it was really easy as they still had all my old ID I'd provided when I opened a student account as a teenager - despite having closed the account nearly six years ago - so when I applied online I just got a letter through saying "Sign this" and the account was opened! I do hope they do indeed have all my ID and a similar thing won't happen. HSBC do have a far better rep than the other high street banks tho so I hold out hope

book12

izools wrote: »

That's exactly right.

Also, the actual score of your current account doesn't count for much, just the fact alone that you bank with Barclays puts you as a lower risk to boot, as Barclaycard can exercise Right of Offset if you fail to pay (i.e. help themselves to your current account balance if you fall into arrears on your Barclaycard).

If you have your heart set on going into branch, that's cool, whatever you feel most comfortable with, but they can't tell you the likelihood of approval for various cards, and the ID requirements are stronger - you don't need to provide ID when applying online - so you may find it takes longer to get your card, too.

Good luck! :beer:

EDIT: Yes, I moved to HSBC. Thankfully it was really easy as they still had all my old ID I'd provided when I opened a student account as a teenager - despite having closed the account nearly six years ago - so when I applied online I just got a letter through saying "Sign this" and the account was opened! I do hope they do indeed have all my ID and a similar thing won't happen. HSBC do have a far better rep than the other high street banks tho so I hold out hope

I was hoping that the internal score will count as much as the external, lol. Oh well.

I will just tell them I want to Initial card, and put an application for that particular card through, then an immediate result with credit limit. If I don't say I want an Initial card, they will put an application (e.g. Gold, Classic, Breathe, Platinum, etc..) and would be a decline.

I wonder if there is a different scoring system for different type of cards. :think:

I've been a customer with the bank for quite a while now (coming up to 1 1/2 years soon). Also, I got other products with them too.

Also, how easy is it to upgrade to other cards in the future?