Credit Card Denial. Please help!

dougens

I have a Halifax One card and have done so for two years.
My rate now is 17.9%.
I have about £250 on it and pay £40 per month on it to pay it off.

I just applied for a Tesco Credit card and Barclaycard (both with 0% on balance transfers (3% handling fee) and 0% on purchases for about 9 months each I think (or thereabouts).

The idea being that I transfer my balance and pay out less interest.

My situation is as follows:

I have just started a new job (07/03/11) and moved into a new house (26/03/11) and earn £15,000 per annum pre tax.

This will be increasing after three months marginally and then after 9 months to £22,500 pre tax per annum.

I was hoping to transfer my balance (for the small fee) and pay it off and any small purchases before the 0% interest period on purchases and then only spend what I can afford to pay off, keeping a good credit rating.

I have never missed a payment (minimum) and never been contacted by debt collectors and paid my bills.
I went through a credit check to get the lease agreement for my house and passed (I can post the score later).

I can't re apply for 3months barclaycard and 8 months tesco so need a card till then so can then get tesco card for fuel points and store points.......I'm running out of decent interest options!!!

Is this the norm?
Is it because I've just moved, new job?
Any ideas/advice?

Thanks

Venusflytrap

A couple of things:

Recent credit search for house move (presumably you're not on the electoral role yet?)
New employment
Applying for two credit cards simultaneously = 2 additional credit searches within a month.

You're credit profile isn't looking too stable... best to give it 6 - 9 months and then reapply for either but preferably not both at once!

izools

Your recent change of job AND address has introduced an instability factor. Your credit rating will suffer for this, and be back on a lever when you can say you've been at your address / with your employer for 12 - 18+ months

dougens

izools wrote: »

Your recent change of job AND address has introduced an instability factor. Your credit rating will suffer for this, and be back on a lever when you can say you've been at your address / with your employer for 12 - 18+ months

12-18 months!! Is there any way I can reduce this?
I just want to reduce my interest rate...........
Or do any cards offer a card for new circumstances etc...?
Thanks for your help.

dougens

Venusflytrap wrote: »

A couple of things:

Recent credit search for house move (presumably you're not on the electoral role yet?)
New employment
Applying for two credit cards simultaneously = 2 additional credit searches within a month.

You're credit profile isn't looking too stable... best to give it 6 - 9 months and then reapply for either but preferably not both at once!

Thanks for reply
I didn't apply for the cards at the same time. I waited till I was denied on Tesco then applied with Barclaycard.
I have just applied to be on the electoral role as well.
If I'm applying for another card should I wait till this has gone through or would you advise me just wait 9 months etc and apply with Tesco again. It's just the 17.9% that's annoying me at the minute.
Thanks

FB13

The balance is only £250? Why not just pay the whole thing off either now or when you get your raise in 3 months?

With paying £40 per month, you are already going to pay off the balance in a couple months anyway. If you listen to the above posters (which you should) you are going to have to wait to apply for another card anyway. The easiest way now for you to reduce the interest you are paying is to pay off the balance faster since it is so low. If you can't pay it off now, could you double your payments to £80?

ILW

I would have thought you are only paying around £4 or £5 pounds a month in interest. Hardly worth the bother.

dougens

FB13 wrote: »

The balance is only £250? Why not just pay the whole thing off either now or when you get your raise in 3 months?

With paying £40 per month, you are already going to pay off the balance in a couple months anyway. If you listen to the above posters (which you should) you are going to have to wait to apply for another card anyway. The easiest way now for you to reduce the interest you are paying is to pay off the balance faster since it is so low. If you can't pay it off now, could you double your payments to £80?

Can't double the payments unfortunately but I see where you're coming from.

ILW wrote: »

I would have thought you are only paying around £4 or £5 pounds a month in interest. Hardly worth the bother.

Excuse my ignorance as I have always paid off the amount in full so no interest occurred.

I take it the 17.9% is annually.
I've just realised this and if this is the case the interest is minimal and not a problem.

Sorry for the stupidity and wasting anybody's time! I lost myself and thought that the % was monthly. i.e. £44 per month!

opinions4u

dougens wrote: »

I have a Halifax One card and have done so for two years. My rate now is 17.9%. I have about £250 on it and pay £40 per month on it to pay it off.

So the interest is around £3 to £4 a month and reducing as your debt goes down? Not the end of the world.

I just applied for a Tesco Credit card and Barclaycard (both with 0% on balance transfers (3% handling fee) and 0% on purchases for about 9 months each I think (or thereabouts).

Multiple credit searches will now need to be given time to drop off your recent history.

The idea being that I transfer my balance and pay out less interest.

It's a good plan if your debt is higher and your ability to repay is longer. I'd suggest ringing Halifax to see if they have any existing customer deals. They may not, but nothing ventured ...

I have just started a new job (07/03/11) and moved into a new house (26/03/11) and earn £15,000 per annum pre tax.

The credit scoring systems that I worked with viewed 3 years in work and 3 years at address as stable. £15k is well below average income. These are all potential reasons to decline you a credit card.

I was hoping to transfer my balance (for the small fee) and pay it off and any small purchases before the 0% interest period on purchases and then only spend what I can afford to pay off, keeping a good credit rating.

To be honest, a 3% fee of £7.50 is hardly worth the effort if your balance is going to be cleared in a few months anyway. I reckon at £50 a month you'll probably pay less than £10 in interest.

I can't re apply for 3months barclaycard and 8 months tesco so need a card till then so can then get tesco card for fuel points and store points.......I'm running out of decent interest options!!!

Just accelerate the clearing of the debt. Then, after you've had a statement with a nil balance, just use your card as an alternative to cash and pay the balance in full each month.

Is it because I've just moved, new job?

More than likely.

dougens

opinions4u wrote: »

So the interest is around £3 to £4 a month and reducing as your debt goes down? Not the end of the world.

Multiple credit searches will now need to be given time to drop off your recent history.

It's a good plan if your debt is higher and your ability to repay is longer. I'd suggest ringing Halifax to see if they have any existing customer deals. They may not, but nothing ventured ...

The credit scoring systems that I worked with viewed 3 years in work and 3 years at address as stable. £15k is well below average income. These are all potential reasons to decline you a credit card.

To be honest, a 3% fee of £7.50 is hardly worth the effort if your balance is going to be cleared in a few months anyway. I reckon at £50 a month you'll probably pay less than £10 in interest.

Just accelerate the clearing of the debt. Then, after you've had a statement with a nil balance, just use your card as an alternative to cash and pay the balance in full each month.

More than likely.

Thanks.
I'll contact Halifax and see what they say.
Otherwise I'll pay it off, make the full payments each month and wait it out for the card with the best rewards (Tesco)
Thanks to all the replies.
Have a good day.

the_insider

dougens wrote: »

My rate now is 17.9%.
I have about £250 on it and pay £40 per month on it to pay it off.

dougens wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance as I have always paid off the amount in full so no interest occurred.

I take it the 17.9% is annually.
I've just realised this and if this is the case the interest is minimal and not a problem.

If you're paying £40 per month then you're not paying it in full and will be getting interest each month. You might need to have a look at your statements and understand how much of your payment is interest and how much you're clearing as you don't seem to know at the moment.