Declined for student bank account. Credit rating is 967!

Squeaky_Kleen

I've been declined for a student bank account by Yorkshire Bank. My experian credit rating is 967 (despite a delinquent account for around £5k from 2008), but I currently have 0 active debts.

I phoned experian to question my high credit rating just one week ago and they were insistent that because I've not been credit hungry or had any credit since 2008, that my credit score is correct despite that debt. Now I've started at uni and to be honest times are hard and a student overdraft would be a great help. With the confidence of my credit score I went to Yorkshire bank today with proof of my student loan & grant but following a credit check I was declined the student account.

Does anyone think theres a bank on the planet that would give me a student overdraft? If so who? Also should I ask experian for my money back because I think the credit score they have given me is BS to be honest.

izools

Barclays Bank.

Time was, the approval / decline decision on a Student account was made in branch, and can be authorised by the branch manager. This was the case a year or two ago, unsure whether it still is.

Hydromancer

Squeaky_Kleen wrote: »

I've been declined for a student bank account by Yorkshire Bank. My experian credit rating is 967 (despite a delinquent account for around £5k from 2008), but I currently have 0 active debts.

I phoned experian to question my high credit rating just one week ago and they were insistent that because I've not been credit hungry or had any credit since 2008, that my credit score is correct despite that debt. Now I've started at uni and to be honest times are hard and a student overdraft would be a great help. With the confidence of my credit score I went to Yorkshire bank today with proof of my student loan & grant but following a credit check I was declined the student account.

Does anyone think theres a bank on the planet that would give me a student overdraft? If so who? Also should I ask experian for my money back because I think the credit score they have given me is BS to be honest.

In the grand scheme of things, the experian credit score is probably BS and the banks do not really use use your experian score. Banks look at the credit REPORT and use it to arrive at their own credit score...different banks have different ways of scoring applicants and different criteria for accepting applicants.

If your "delinquent account" involves defaults or CCJs, then they can stay on your credit agency file for six years. It is possible that this may be causing Yorkshire bank to turn you down. Also, sometimes apparently students can get turned down randomly because of a lack of or limited credit history (according to an HSBC personal banker after I was refused a student overdraft extension).

If the previous problem with your account was of a serious nature, you might be better off starting to build a more positive credit history by getting a sub-prime credit card and paying off the balance in full every month (try the MoneySupermarket smart search tool thingy).

Purely out of curiosity, why did you choose Yorkshire Bank? I thought their overdraft wasn't interest-free even for students?

izools wrote: »

Barclays Bank.

Time was, the approval / decline decision on a Student account was made in branch, and can be authorised by the branch manager. This was the case a year or two ago, unsure whether it still is.

I think you're probably right. I applied for a Barclays student account this year right after applications for 3 credit cards (I didn't know I wouldn't get them with no credit history) and it had to be approved by the bank manager.

JacksterD

Squeaky_Kleen wrote: »

I've been declined for a student bank account by Yorkshire Bank. My experian credit rating is 967 (despite a delinquent account for around £5k from 2008), but I currently have 0 active debts.

I phoned experian to question my high credit rating just one week ago and they were insistent that because I've not been credit hungry or had any credit since 2008, that my credit score is correct despite that debt. Now I've started at uni and to be honest times are hard and a student overdraft would be a great help. With the confidence of my credit score I went to Yorkshire bank today with proof of my student loan & grant but following a credit check I was declined the student account.

Does anyone think theres a bank on the planet that would give me a student overdraft? If so who? Also should I ask experian for my money back because I think the credit score they have given me is BS to be honest.

Did you not shop around for your student account? Yorkshire and Clydesdale Bank are by far the least competitive - they're the only student accounts which actually charge for the overdraft.

The Co-Operative Bank just now are probably the most competitive for student accounts, offering the highest interest free overdraft. However, I believe the general feeling on student message boards is that RBS and Natwest student accounts are the easiest to be accepted for - and they're not a bad deal either, plus you have the benefit of a big branch network.

poppasmurf_bewdley

Your score of 967 means nothing! Zilch! Zero! Nowt! Getting a credit score is just a way of screwing a few quid out of unsuspecting punters who still think it is the be all and end all.

Send me £5 and I'll give you a credit score of 999. Get the idea? Problem is that it won't guarantee you anything from anybody except guarantee another £5 in my bank account and out of yours.