Any ideas what it might be?

quantic

I had some problems with my credit rating not long ago (4 months), to the point where I couldn't even get approved for a basic current account - this absolutely baffled the branch manager at Barclays, in the end I struggled so much that I had to actually get my wife to apply for one and then add me afterwards.

The branch manager told me to print off credit reports from the main credit agencies and she would look into it for me. They couldn't find anything, not a single missed or late payment, every single account ive ever had satisfied in full, overpaid on my mortgage every month since I took it out, current account always in good status, 6-10k in savings...

In the end she just told me sorry she couldn't help. So last month I wanted to get a credit card, just to put work expenses on as there is a 2 month delay sometimes in getting it reimbursed. I applied for a Barclaycard with 0% on balance transfers and purchases for 14 months (moneysuper market indicated that 2/10) people were approved for this card.

To my amazement, got approved for it, and with a 4k limit not the standard 1.2k...

So... anyone got any ideas what on earth is going on

The_Boss

What are these 'credit rating' problems you speak of? How did you know this and what did you apply for?

matttye

You need to go through your reports with a fine-toothed comb to make sure there's no incorrect information. Something as simple as a different address format can cause problems.

quantic

The_Boss wrote: »

What are these 'credit rating' problems you speak of? How did you know this and what did you apply for?

I applied for a basic current account, the kind a 16 year old gets, with no overdraft, or benefits - it was purely going to be used for food shopping. The bank indicated that I had been declined and that while they couldn't discuss exactly what their system had said they said it was the same result as someone with very poor credit rating.

quantic

matttye wrote: »

You need to go through your reports with a fine-toothed comb to make sure there's no incorrect information. Something as simple as a different address format can cause problems.

I bought a repossessed house, the people who owned it before us had a lot of problems and defaults etc, (bailiffs) and payday people phoning etc when we first moved in plus LOTS of letters.

Don't know if this could have any negative effect?

The_Boss

matttye wrote: »

You need to go through your reports with a fine-toothed comb.

Kudos to you for the rare sight of this expression used correctly.

The_Boss

quantic wrote: »

I applied for a basic current account, the kind a 16 year old gets, with no overdraft, or benefits - it was purely going to be used for food shopping. The bank indicated that I had been declined and that while they couldn't discuss exactly what their system had said they said it was the same result as someone with very poor credit rating.

That was one product and one lender. There's no evidence of any problem particularly as you successfully applied for a card.

Do you already have a current account?

gb12345

quantic wrote: »

I bought a repossessed house, the people who owned it before us had a lot of problems and defaults etc, (bailiffs) and payday people phoning etc when we first moved in plus LOTS of letters.

Don't know if this could have any negative effect?

Credit problems relate to the person not the property, so unless you have been in some way financially linked with the previous owners (which shouldn't have happened), no one will see their details when they credit check you.

quantic

The_Boss wrote: »

That was one product and one lender. There's no evidence of any problem particularly as you successfully applied for a card.

Do you already have a current account?

I appreciate what your saying, I think the point they were making was that the product I was declined for had such a low requirement, that they could not understand the problem. She said she had only ever heard of 1 other person being declined for that type of account the whole time she worked there.

Odd considering I have been with barclays 25+ years, have had savings with them for 10 years and have had 3/4 loans with them, all of which have been paid back on time or early.

The_Boss

quantic wrote: »

I appreciate what your saying, I think the point they were making was that the product I was declined for had such a low requirement, that they could not understand the problem. She said she had only ever heard of 1 other person being declined for that type of account the whole time she worked there.

Odd considering I have been with barclays 25+ years, have had savings with them for 10 years and have had 3/4 loans with them, all of which have been paid back on time or early.

Do you already have a current account?

Also you are not considering that 'low requirement' could mean that you do not qualify for the account because of a positive history. I suspect you are placing far too much importance on what you were told.

Thrugelmir

Banks can set their own criteria as to the business they wish to accept. A requirement could be as basic as a minimum number of years on the electoral roll. So nothing to do with credit issues.