Building Society at fault?

glynnpanzee

Hi.

I recently advised my b/s (Nationwide) that i was experiencing financial difficulty and requested their advice. Their advice was to take out a personal loan to replace 3 credit cards and wipe 3 account overdrafts.

I was told my affordability was OK and would get a decent % rate if approved. When sent to their head office for approval the loan was rejected because of advice from Experian. They were unable to explain further.

I disputed this as i knew i had not missed any repayment commitments. I got a copy of my credit file which confirmed i was squeaky clean but there was a marker which said i was near the top of my borrowing capacity. I noticed while looking at my file my rating had been downgraded to Fair as a result of this rejection.

Am i wrong to feel hard done to here? Should Nationwide not take some responsibility for my rating being downgraded when it seems their affordability calculation was wrong?

Thanks.

mynameistallulah

Yes, you are wrong. Being able to afford the repayments does not mean you will be accepted for the loan, several other factors are taken into account before a final decision is made.

ILW

Rejections do not result in downgrades.
The fact that you are overstretched is likely to be he problem.
Also bear in mind that the "rating" is not what any lender sees.

Experian_company_representative

Your credit report will not show whether credit was accepted or refused. But if your current borrowing situation suggests you're close to financial stress and you then apply for another credit product, this could affect credit scoring. Bear in mind that the score we give you with your credit report is only a guide and only based on your credit report data.

If I were you I'd go back to Nationwide and appeal the decision, explaining that you were looking to consolidate existing debt, on their advice, and not extend your borrowing.

James Jones

CLAPTON

how much are your debts
how much do you earn

Somerset

glynnpanzee wrote: »

but there was a marker which said i was near the top of my borrowing capacity.

Curious how Experian could know this ? Surely they'd need salary details. Obviously OP supplied to Nationwide - but the above was on his Experian file so how would Experian know his salary hence borrowing capacity ?

glynnpanzee

Experian_company_representative wrote: »

Your credit report will not show whether credit was accepted or refused. But if your current borrowing situation suggests you're close to financial stress and you then apply for another credit product, this could affect credit scoring. Bear in miond that the score we give you with your credit report is only a guide and only based on your credit report data.

If I were you I'd go back to Nationwide and appeal the decision, explaining that you were looking to consolidate existing debt, on their advice, and not extend your borrowing.

James Jones

Thanks for this - am seeing branch manager on Tuesday. Will let you know outcome

KingElvis

Forget all the fair, credit score shizzle from Experian....it's a load of cobblers peddled by them to make money.

There is no such thing as a credit rating or credit score. Each lender makes a decision based on your credit file, this is held with three major CRAs of which Expeicrook is just one.

Do NOT pay them anymore money for their rubbish.

Experian_company_representative

Lenders typically assess data from three sources: your credit report, your application form and their own internal records. We help many lenders interpret all of this data through the credit scoring and strategy management systems we build for them. These including affordability scorecards that assess data from a variety of sources, including the salary you disclose on your application form. Where people sometimes get confused is with the score your can get from us with your credit report. That is simply an assessment of your personal credit report data, but is based on the wider analytics we provide to the industry.

James Jones

pvt

Experian_company_representative wrote: »

Where people sometimes get confused is with the score your can get from us with your credit report. That is simply an assessment of your personal credit report data, but is based on the wider analytics we provide to the industry.

James Jones

James,

Is this the nearest Experian will ever come to admitting the credit scores you SELL to people are your own arbitrary assessment of their credit worthiness, and are not considered to be of any value by those who actually decide whether to lend money to people?

dresdendave

glynnpanzee wrote: »

Hi.

Their advice was to take out a personal loan to replace 3 credit cards and wipe 3 account overdrafts.

Thanks.

If you have balances on three cards and also three accounts in overdraft the real issue you have is... your outgoings exceed your income.

Addressing your spending is far more important than just moving the debt sidewards via a consolidation loan.

Post an SOA on the DFW board and you will receive valuable advice on how to improve your financial situation.