Credit check is fine so why the declines??!! HELP!!!

tubie22

Hello,

I recently applied for a credit card (Capital One) but got a letter a week later saying i had been declined. A few weeks later, i was considering a new mobile phone on contract so went to have a look. I chose one and during the registration process, my debit card was declined for the credit check.

The guy in the phone shop suggested i check my credit score on experian so i did. My credit score was classed as 'fair'; the score itself was 872.

Therefore, i do not understand why i am being turned down for everything i apply for. My credit score is average, I am not in debt, I am on the electoral roll. I have had a store card in the past but it was completely paid off last year and hasn't been used since.

I really don't understand. I know people with debt, who only pay the minimum charge off their 5 credit cards each month, who never get declined for anything they apply for.:mad:

how can i fix this!? Any help would be great because my current mobile phone is now faulty and because my contract isnt over yet, i can only swap to a different phone and contract, so i need to be accepted by the phone network.

please please help. i have been suffering with this issue for about 2 and a half years now.:(

Thanks!

opinions4u

Are you on the voters roll?

Do you have any missed payments / late payements on the credit files?

How many addresses have you had in the last three years?

How many jobs have you had in the last three years and what's your existing occupation?

tubie22

I recently have just moved in with my boyfriend, about a month and a half ago, before that i lived with my parents. over the past 3 years, including my current address, i have only had 2 addresses.

i'm not on the electoral roll yet(have just printed the form and will post it tomorrow; i am living in london but moved from belfast). I was registered on the electoral roll back when i lived in belfast with parents, and i still had issues back then with credit.

have never missed a payment. the only thing i have had that has been like a credit card is a store card which i had to have when i worked for topshop, as it was used for staff uniform. i never missed a payment on it and now its all paid off and hasn't been used in over a year.

as for jobs, over the past 3 years i have had 3 jobs. all were part time (i'm a student). i was at all of them for about a year each. I am currently now unemployed but desperately searching for jobs that i can do whilst at uni. my boyfriend, who is my age, has no problems getting credit cards (he has 2) and a mobile phone contract. he is pretty bad with money too, if im honest; late credit card payments, exceeding overdrafts etc. so i just don't get why i am being declined for everything even though i have never had late payments, debt etc and he is accepted for everything he applies for.

thanks

InsertWittyName

tubie22 wrote: »

...i'm not on the electoral roll yet ...store card hasn't been used in over a year... over the past 3 years i have had 3 jobs ... I am currently now unemployed...

That's why you're getting declined.

opinions4u

So you're unemployed, not on the voters roll and expect to get credit? You need to get real. It isn't going to happen.

Prior to this, you've been a student doing a part time job. It's not the ideal profile to lend money to via a credit card.

tubie22

well fair enough about the electoral roll thing, hence why i have printed and posted the register form. what i meant by store card hasn't been used in over a year is that once i paid it off i cancelled it.

my boyfriend is unemployed(he is a student too), not on the electoral register, exceeds his overdraft frequently, has had 1 job in the past year which he was at for about a year and a half but has just been accepted for the capital one card that i applied for too. that will be his second credit card, along with his mobile phone contract. i usually have more money in my current account than him, have no debts, never exceed my overdraft limit etc but get declined for EVERYTHING i apply for.

he gets accepted for everything he applies for. If i am financially more stable than him and don't exceed limits etc then why is he accepted and i am declined. fair enough if we were both declined. we are both in basically the same sort of financial situation. But its always only me who is declined.

i was told it was my credit score but, when checked, it was in the FAIR category. So i really don't know what other reasons there could be.

rb10

tubie22 wrote: »

i have been refused debit cards, which are NOT lending, basic and student current accounts which are NOT lending and mobile phone contracts/insurance which are NOT lending.

Debit cards and bank accounts are credit scored. The way the Visa system works means it is possible to go overdrawn without the bank's permission. So whilst you may not intend to use them for lending, the bank cannot be sure of this.

And mobile phone contracts are also lending. Say you went abroad and used £500 of data. You wouldn't pay your mobile operator until the following month - so they are effectively lending you the money for that month.

Most people who are not in full time employment are unable to get a credit card. When you do want one, ask your own bank first - they know more about your situation, and so may be more willing to give you one.

Regarding the mobile phone contract, it may be easier to stay on the same network, as you already have a contract with them. It may be simply a case of an upgrade, and so not require a new credit check.

There's no explanation that can be given on here as to why your boyfriend gets credit and you don't. Possibilities are that at the point he applied:
- he didn't then have missed payments
- his background looked more stable to the CC company (e.g. time at address was longer)
- he was on the electoral role at the time of application
- his CC provider was more accommodating to people with poor credit (either because he applied at a different time or to a different company
- or a whole host of different possibilities.

Unfortunately, the fact that it works like this is just something that we have to live with. Banks tend to be unwilling to lend to the unemployed. Your boyfriend is the exception rather than the rule.

tubie22

rb10 wrote: »

Debit cards and bank accounts are credit scored. The way the Visa system works means it is possible to go overdrawn without the bank's permission. So whilst you may not intend to use them for lending, the bank cannot be sure of this.

And mobile phone contracts are also lending. Say you went abroad and used £500 of data. You wouldn't pay your mobile operator until the following month - so they are effectively lending you the money for that month.

Most people who are not in full time employment are unable to get a credit card. When you do want one, ask your own bank first - they know more about your situation, and so may be more willing to give you one.

Regarding the mobile phone contract, it may be easier to stay on the same network, as you already have a contract with them. It may be simply a case of an upgrade, and so not require a new credit check.

Thank you for your reply. I think i will do an upgrade when it comes to getting a new phone. i do have a debit card now, but when i was trying to open student accounts, i was declined from even opening an account with banks, nevermind getting cards from them. the only account i had had previous to my student current account was a savings account for 11-17 year olds. So i was puzzled as to why i was turned down for opening a student account.

thank you for your help anyway!

Silvercloud

It was a legitimate query tubie22 and you explained yourself well,I've had similar problems recently under different circumstances.

Although opinions4u did offer advice,the condescension was unnecessary and I also found their tone rather rude.Don't be put off,I'm also new to the forum and I must say I've found the members I've encountered so far friendly and helpful.The "Newbie Alert" to the left of post is there for a good reason and O4U is clearly too self important and/or impolite to heed it.

Good luck for the future in your credit card quest tubie22.

tubie22

SilverCloud,thank you for your kind words and post. Much appreciated.:beer:

I understand fully about CC companies being wary of unemployed, students etc. But i was also talking about mobile phone contracts etc. Even current accounts.

It's nice to know someone else is having the same issues as me (not nice as in nice that we have the problem but nice that we are not alone!)

Thanks again!

opinions4u

tubie22 wrote: »

Ah, nice explanation there... that really explains why my boyfriend gets contracts/cards etc and I dont (THE ORIGINAL QUESTION ASKED, IF YOU WOULD CARE TO LOOK).

I'm looking at your original post. I've highlighted what appear to be the questions asked. I can't see reference in it to your boyfriend.

I recently applied for a credit card (Capital One) but got a letter a week later saying i had been declined. A few weeks later, i was considering a new mobile phone on contract so went to have a look. I chose one and during the registration process, my debit card was declined for the credit check.

The guy in the phone shop suggested i check my credit score on experian so i did. My credit score was classed as 'fair'; the score itself was 872.

Therefore, i do not understand why i am being turned down for everything i apply for. My credit score is average, I am not in debt, I am on the electoral roll. I have had a store card in the past but it was completely paid off last year and hasn't been used since.

I really don't understand. I know people with debt, who only pay the minimum charge off their 5 credit cards each month, who never get declined for anything they apply for.

how can i fix this!? Any help would be great because my current mobile phone is now faulty and because my contract isnt over yet, i can only swap to a different phone and contract, so i need to be accepted by the phone network.

please please help. i have been suffering with this issue for about 2 and a half years now.

I think I gave you a straight answer to the first question. The voters roll issue is also relevant to contributing towards fixing the problem.

I had actually missed that you said you were on the voters roll in your first post. You subsequently changed your mind.

As rb10 has gone on to point out, debit cards and mobile phone contracts have an element of risk that issuers have to consider. While you may feel that you have a better risk profile than your boyfriend you are not the one taking the risk - somebody else is. So how they assess that risk is up to them. New at address. No employment, little credit is not a good risk as somebody with an established credit history. It's not as good a risk as somebody who has lived at the same address for 3 years. It is not as good a risk as somebody in full time employment.

i no longer require your so-called 'advice'. You can now leave the post. Goodbye.

Whatever. I'm sorry I've upset you. But I actually got straight to the point and "get real" means be realistic. Would you give potentially thousands of pounds of credit to somebody who is unemployed and not traceable at their current address? As somebody who has previously made underwriting decisions for mortgages and personal loans I know I wouldn't.