Declined twice for new credit cards

Knackered

I'm trying to get a good deal on a 0% balance transfer card and applied for Halifax's and was declined. Bemused by this I applied elsewhere, at Tesco, and was declined again.

Being pretty sure there was nothing wrong with my credit, I paid for a credit score off Equifax, and lo! they confirmed my beliefs - spotless credit and a respectable score.

Neither Halifax or Tesco gave any reason for declining me, and in fact their "credit searches" do not show up on my report.

I'm not sure what's going on. Any ideas? :huh:

UsetheFORCE

Knackered wrote: »

I'm trying to get a good deal on a 0% balance transfer card and applied for Halifax's and was declined. Bemused by this I applied elsewhere, at Tesco, and was declined again.

Being pretty sure there was nothing wrong with my credit, I paid for a credit score off Equifax, and lo! they confirmed my beliefs - spotless credit and a respectable score.

Neither Halifax or Tesco gave any reason for declining me, and in fact their "credit searches" do not show up on my report.

I'm not sure what's going on. Any ideas? :huh:

Have you checked the search history on Experian? They are more likely to have been searched.

Maybe the information on your application form doesn't meet their criteria?

grumbler

Knackered wrote: »

...Neither Halifax or Tesco gave any reason for declining me, and in fact their "credit searches" do not show up on my report....

Any chance they use other CRA(s)?

Also, according to Experian company representative,

Experian_company_representative wrote: »

...You could also try going back to the lenders to ask them to tell you the primary reason for saying no. Industry guidelines require them to do this, if you ask.

stephane_2

Knackered wrote: »

I'm trying to get a good deal on a 0% balance transfer card and applied for Halifax's and was declined. Bemused by this I applied elsewhere, at Tesco, and was declined again.

Being pretty sure there was nothing wrong with my credit, I paid for a credit score off Equifax, and lo! they confirmed my beliefs - spotless credit and a respectable score.

Neither Halifax or Tesco gave any reason for declining me, and in fact their "credit searches" do not show up on my report.

I'm not sure what's going on. Any ideas? :huh:

You probably don't meet their minimum criteria....and by the way your score with Equifax or Experian is meaningless.
What is your income?
What is your level of debt?
What is balance on each cards?
What is credit limit?

Knackered

I went to Experian and re-opened my old account with my previous login details. While my score is also good with them, there information just seems wrong, they have me down at my old address still and say I've only got 1 credit account in my name, which isn't right at all. Could their wrong information be causing me problems?

stephane wrote: »

You probably don't meet their minimum criteria....and by the way your score with Equifax or Experian is meaningless.

Credit scores are meaningless? What's the point then? And if there's some criteria I didn't match, why don't they just say what it is?

stephane wrote: »

What is your level of debt?
What is balance on each cards?
What is credit limit?

Neither application asked those questions in any detail.

Tixy

Knackered wrote: »

I went to Experian and re-opened my old account with my previous login details. While my score is also good with them, there information just seems wrong, they have me down at my old address still and say I've only got 1 credit account in my name, which isn't right at all. Could their wrong information be causing me problems?

Yes an address mismatch could certainly be an issue. Not having all your credit accounts showing is normal. Most lenders don't report to all agencies.

Credit scores are meaningless? What's the point then? And if there's some criteria I didn't match, why don't they just say what it is?
Credit scores are sold by credit reference agencies to you. No lender sees that number, they see the raw data on your credit file when making a lending decision. All lenders have slightly different acceptance criteria/place more or less importance on different items. And lenders take into account far more information than just what is on your credit file.


Neither application asked those questions in any detail.

They may not have asked those exact questions in detail, but they will be relevant when deciding whether to offer you a new line of credit. E.g. they will certainly have asked your income, and some cards have minimum income level criteria.
They'll also have assessed your affordability by comparing your income to your existing debt and credit lines. Its a common reason for people being declined credit .

sfax

They'll have both searched Experian. Get your Experian credit report sorted out and try again in 6 months. They might not ask questions about existing debt but they can see it on your credit report so it's very important

Knackered

6 months? I want to start saving money now!

Can any applications I make in the immediate future be scuppered because of some criteria that these banks didn't bother to make clear before I applied?

nctmum

Knackered wrote: »

6 months? I want to start saving money now!

If you keep applying now, you will make the situation even worse. The other poster is right, unfortunately you need to sort your file out and wait for a bit

sfax

Knackered wrote: »

6 months? I want to start saving money now!

Can any applications I make in the immediate future be scuppered because of some criteria that these banks didn't bother to make clear before I applied?

You should always check your credit reports before applying and preferably every year or 6 months too. If you blindly apply twice, you will have to wait 6 months as you've used 2 credit searches which is usually another black mark

Knackered

Does that rule apply even if no recent credit searches are showing with either agency?