Credit Card Decline Help

Tixy

Buxem wrote: »

I don't follow.... How am I using a higher % of my available credit when only the limit on the 1 credit card has dropped at my request.... The amount of available credit hasn't dropped. Please can you explain?

On this card only - you are using 67% of your total available credit. If you had left the limit at say £1000, then you'd only be using 40%. Using a higher % of your total credit can be seen by lenders as potential indicator of debt stress.

Although as you have now stated you have other credit facilities, such as the overdraft - then the 67% is not the correct figure to consider. You need to look at total credit and total balances as per your credit report to understand what the lenders are judging you on.

CLAPTON

Buxem wrote: »

In my opinion, it's not relevant. I earned more than the minimum earnings they required.... Clearly it's so obvious I'm beyond stupid. Thanks for the support. :wall:

one is being a bit of a drama queen

but, although I don't know there exact scoring system (and neither do any of us) it is pretty reasonable that they would score some-one with an income of say 10,000pa more than the minimum required as a lower tisk of defaulting than some-one with the bear minimum.

and do bear in mind no-one here knows who you are (unless buxem is your real name) so why is disclosing your income of any matter?

Buxem

Tixy wrote: »

Not that you hadn't answered when asked but in the first post you mentioned a card and mobile phone - so someone suggested possibly a lack of credit history.
Then you mentioned a paid off loan, which made that seem less likely to be the problem.

In the last post you mention an overdraft, presumably this also appears on your report - one thing that can cause a problem is if a person uses their overdraft every month - so if people know you have one then we can ask you if its used all the time / sometimes etc and indicate this could be a risk.

You say your credit history is good - do you have any missed payment markers at all in the last 6 years that are appearing on any of your credit files?

In the first post you mention wanting to card tart which sounded like you wanted to move the £400 balance to a new card - which would mean people might be thinking your finances are strained if you cannot pay that off in a few months, but you've now mentioned paying it off next month.
If you have paid a lot off the card in the last couple of months possibly this isn't reflected on your credit file yet - so it could be that potential lenders are still seeing you as having a balance much higher than you have now.

So all I meant is that the more people know about what is on your files - the more likely we will be able to suggest why you might have been declined, which might then help you be successful in the future.

Ah right - now I understand. Thank you.
In the interests of clarification then, the only credit I use is the mobile phone contract (£26 per month until March 2014 I think), the OD and the credit card of £600. As I'm not a home owner and my history has no 'black marks' in the last 6 years (which I checked with Experian 5 months ago and last year), I should have 'available credit' of £20k ish - or I did last time I checked. I'm only using at most £1,520 and only wanted a credit limit of £600, maybe £1000 at the most. I have only gone into my overdraft by at most £20 in the last year, and when I have it's been paid back almost instantaneously. I also have some small savings, but I don't think this applies in this instance.

By the card tarting I meant purely so as to pay off the £400 that's on there and then switch to another 0% card. I omitted the 0% bit, hence the confusion.

All the above, hopefully lets you see why I am a confused little sausage and don't know why I was declined. :mad:

Buxem

CLAPTON wrote: »

one is being a bit of a drama queen

but, although I don't know there exact scoring system (and neither do any of us) it is pretty reasonable that they would score some-one with an income of say 10,000pa more than the minimum required as a lower tisk of defaulting than some-one with the bear minimum.

and do bear in mind no-one here knows who you are (unless buxem is your real name) so why is disclosing your income of any matter?

One came here for help and support, not for comments such as that.

My income exceeded the minimum income by quite a bit, hence why I believe the question to be irrelevant.

Buxem

Tixy wrote: »

On this card only - you are using 67% of your total available credit. If you had left the limit at say £1000, then you'd only be using 40%. Using a higher % of your total credit can be seen by lenders as potential indicator of debt stress.

Although as you have now stated you have other credit facilities, such as the overdraft - then the 67% is not the correct figure to consider. You need to look at total credit and total balances as per your credit report to understand what the lenders are judging you on.

Ah - that makes sense now. I didn't think they'd look at that in isolation of other figures concerned - i.e. the amounts involved (that it's £400 not £4,000!)

Cell

Buxem wrote: »

Ah right - now I understand. Thank you.
In the interests of clarification then, the only credit I use is the mobile phone contract (£26 per month until March 2014 I think), the OD and the credit card of £600. As I'm not a home owner and my history has no 'black marks' in the last 6 years (which I checked with Experian 5 months ago and last year), I should have 'available credit' of £20k ish - or I did last time I checked. I'm only using at most £1,520 and only wanted a credit limit of £600, maybe £1000 at the most. I have only gone into my overdraft by at most £20 in the last year, and when I have it's been paid back almost instantaneously. I also have some small savings, but I don't think this applies in this instance.

By the card tarting I meant purely so as to pay off the £400 that's on there and then switch to another 0% card. I omitted the 0% bit, hence the confusion.

All the above, hopefully lets you see why I am a confused little sausage and don't know why I was declined. :mad:

This is a relevant factor. Owning a home is a positive factor when credit scoring (subject to mortgage conduct etc):)

Buxem

Cell wrote: »

This is a relevant factor. Owning a home is a positive factor when credit scoring (subject to mortgage conduct etc):)

I know but it wasn't applicable to the cards I applied for, and whilst it means a lower amount of credit is available to me (as I understand it anyway), I am in no way 'maxed out'

meer53

Call them and ask, no-one here will know why you've been declined, questions have been asked and answered but the only people who can tell you are the lenders you've applied to.

Cell

It might not be a condition of applying, but I can assure you that being a homeowner, or not, as the case may be WILL have impacted on your application.

Just because it's not a pre-requisite doesn't mean that it can't harm your application if the internal weighting is set to emphasise that point.

In other words if you and someone else had exactly the same profile but you owned a home and the other person didn't you would score higher with any mainstream lender. That could be the difference.

erimus1

Buxem wrote: »

In my opinion, it's not relevant. I earned more than the minimum earnings they required.... Clearly it's so obvious I'm beyond stupid. Thanks for the support. :wall:

As has previously been stated, you are incorrect. Your income to credit ratio is a big thing for lenders, irrespective of what criteria you had fulfilled - these are just additional conditions. Plus if you are so defensive and dogmatic about people's suggestions, why are you on here asking for advice? These are real people with experience - you should take heed of the advice.