Declined credit card

charlie792

Hi - Ive been telling my partner for a while that he needs to build some credit and he's finally accepted that he needs to do it.

He applied for the standard credit card with HSBC who he hold an account with but he's been turned down - it just said online he doesn't have a good enough credit score. Well he's never had any credit in the past so I assume this is the problem, as he met all the requirements - he earns double the minimum salary required for the card. Hes 21 with a full time job and yet Im a student and unemployed and have a £500 credit card limit!

So where do we go from here? He obviously needs to build his score but obviously don't want to hurt his record further by getting declined elsewhere, obviously if his own bank won't give him an account Ive no idea who will - especially seeing as they can see that he has a lot of money sitting in his account with them.....

[Deleted User]

Try the sub prime providers - aqua, vanquis, cap 1. Run that well for a while and his rating will start to build.

charlie792

How long should we leave it before applying elsewhere?



Also is it true that Direct Debits to pay for things help build a credit score? In which case that might explain a lot....all our bills are in my name and come out of my account...

asdfgf

My son had the same prob with his bank. They actually encouraged him to apply for a credit card (brownie points for the bank clerk!). Same scenario, good job, never overdrawn etc. However, credit card was declined, which in turn gave him a negative credit score. After much complaining, the bank removed his negative credit rating and supplied a hamper as an apology! They should have known by his bank records that he wasn't a candidate for a credit card. After 6 months, and a series of direct debits paid from his account, he re applied and was fine.

Any

No contract for mobile phone?

I would probably write to HSBC or speak to the bank manager and ask to have the revision manually reviewed as he is current account holder. Sometimes they do, as online decisions are made by computer while the bank manager will try to keep loyal customer and give him one with at least low limit. Some banks do, some don't.

Otherwise yes, try subprime cards. Then he will need at least 6, best 12 months of well managed card (ie used - buy regular everyday things such as fuel or food shopping and pay in full every month to avoid the high interest rates) and then he can try and apply for normal mainstream card.

Any

asdfgf wrote: »

My son had the same prob with his bank. They actually encouraged him to apply for a credit card (brownie points for the bank clerk!). Same scenario, good job, never overdrawn etc. However, credit card was declined, which in turn gave him a negative credit score. After much complaining, the bank removed his negative credit rating and supplied a hamper as an apology! They should have known by his bank records that he wasn't a candidate for a credit card. After 6 months, and a series of direct debits paid from his account, he re applied and was fine.

A search shows on your credit report, but it is not deemed as negative credit score per se. You would have to have number of searches in short period of time, which could cause other banks to think of you as desperate for credit.

paulmcerlean

asdfgf wrote: »

My son had the same prob with his bank. They actually encouraged him to apply for a credit card (brownie points for the bank clerk!). Same scenario, good job, never overdrawn etc. However, credit card was declined, which in turn gave him a negative credit score. After much complaining, the bank removed his negative credit rating and supplied a hamper as an apology! They should have known by his bank records that he wasn't a candidate for a credit card. After 6 months, and a series of direct debits paid from his account, he re applied and was fine.

Negative credit score from one search?

Nonsense.

charlie792

Any wrote: »

No contract for mobile phone?

I would probably write to HSBC or speak to the bank manager and ask to have the revision manually reviewed as he is current account holder. Sometimes they do, as online decisions are made by computer while the bank manager will try to keep loyal customer and give him one with at least low limit. Some banks do, some don't.

Otherwise yes, try subprime cards. Then he will need at least 6, best 12 months of well managed card (ie used - buy regular everyday things such as fuel or food shopping and pay in full every month to avoid the high interest rates) and then he can try and apply for normal mainstream card.

No mobile contract - its in his parents name as it was a present.... And all the bills for our house come out of my account (just because I already had them all before we moved in together) So I guess this puts him in a disadvantaged situation really.

Think I might try getting him to apply for Aqua - but don't know if they can give a decision online, probably not.

One thing I am slightly concerned about it - how long does it take to appear on the electrol roll, we moved in 6 months ago (yet another bad strike against him)

It really does seem so silly though, as an unemployed student, in thousands of pounds of debt - including a £1500 overdraft and I can get credit and yet he's never had a loan or card, or even an overdraft in his life and can't get anything....Just shows it doesn't pay to be good with money
Interestingly enough it says that joint bank accounts can influence applications - shame they won't count my ability to get credit then

Any

charlie792 wrote: »

It really does seem so silly though, as an unemployed student, in thousands of pounds of debt - including a £1500 overdraft and I can get credit and yet he's never had a loan or card, or even an overdraft in his life and can't get anything....Just shows it doesn't pay to be good with money
Interestingly enough it says that joint bank accounts can influence applications - shame they won't count my ability to get credit then

No it doesn't - you are a student and as such you are supported in a way of loans, grants and all sorts.. And government supports student loans etc.. Special rules/products. It is more difficult to get any other then student debt as a student - again you need to have a track record and funnily having student debt record (student card with regular repayments) again plays in your favour.

He is normal working person, like us. He has no track record. Think about it - if any person on the street walks up to you and want to borrow money, do you lend him? Or new "friend"? Or would you have more trust in a person that you know had a loans in past and always repaid every penny, on time, without problems?

It makes every sense.

And don't get your comment about not paying off being good with money - utter rubbish. You have to prove you are good with money to get credit. Or are you hinting on thinking that people that have cards are not good with money? Just because they have cards/loans? How did you come to that conclusion?

charlie792

Any wrote: »

And don't get your comment about not paying off being good with money - utter rubbish. You have to prove you are good with money to get credit. Or are you hinting on thinking that people that have cards are not good with money? Just because they have cards/loans? How did you come to that conclusion?

No I just meant he's always managed ok with money he has and as a result never needed any form of credit - such as overdraft or credit card, Ive no doubt that if he took these out when he was a student he would have been able to get them and as a result would have been able to build his credit to some extent and be able to probably get a mainstream credit card today.

I personally couldn't survive without an overdraft but that seems to have worked in my favour - I have a near perfect credit score (which I know means very little) but it seems ironic as I would have thought Id be considered a bad risk.....

Wasn't trying to offend anyone - guess I should have probably just phrased things a little better....

izools

Anyway,

To answer your question, these are the four cards he should try for to start building credit rating:

http://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal-home/cards/initial/index.html
https://www.capitalone.co.uk/creditcards/secure/application.jsf
http://www.aquacard.co.uk/
http://www.vanquis.co.uk/

He'll definitely be approved for at least one if not two or three of the above cards.

Once he's run a couple of these for a year (I'd suggest setting them up with a Direct Debit to take the full balance each month, thereby avoiding acutual debt and avoiding interest) he should be a better candidate for mainstream credit.

I would suggest simply using them in place of his debit card for things he'd buy anyway, groceries, travel, etc.

Good luck! :beer: