turned down :(

feduptoo

I moved into my current private rented home 2 years ago. I will soon have to move out because the owners want to move in. No problem, there's time and its amicable. I have good references and my bank account is in order. When I moved in all checks were done and in order. Recently I checked Experian and it was excellent. No checks because I haven't applied for anything. I was advised to take out a credit card because I have no debt. Bills are always paid in full when they arrive. My mobile is PAYG . She said that to have a card and pay up every month would improve my score which was 98 or something. It would be better when I apply for a new tenancy.

I looked on here for the best card and applied for one of the cards for bad credit (even though I have none) . I was turned down because either... I had made too many applications (NOT) my bank account is poor (NOT, have overdraft but unused) I have defaulted on payments. (again NOT). It was Barclays and I filled out the form here first which said I was 80%likely to be accepted.
I am retired, on the electoral roll. My previous address wasn't asked for. I am stumped, why on earth would I be turned down for a card that is given to people with bad credit history?

BTW I am in no way or form criticising anyone with bad history, been there done that burned the t shirt many moons ago!

DCFC79

Ok your score given by experian and the ilk is worthless. What matters is what's on your report eg defaults etc, just a theory but I reckon it might be because you didn't fit the criteria for the lender.

hcb42

Not sure the advice you were given was that good, no point applying for credit if you dont need it.

It could be any reason under their terms as to why you were rejected, it might even be as you are not a home owner.

I would concentrate on the new tenancy, when you find the one, you have a good reference from prev landlord/agent presumably, which might go just as far as an experian score

feduptoo

Thank you for the replies. I probably don't fit as you say, I ticke boxes to say I wouldn't be withdrawing cash and would be paying by direct debit, so they know they won't be making any money from me, lol. The lady that recommended it was trying to get me to stay when I called to cancel once I'd seen my report. She said people are sometimes turned down because they have a clean report, no records of regular payments. All my payments are on the dot, rent, council tax, gas, electric, phone etc but none show up. There were some from my old address which are marked as settled but none from this one.
A friend applied for a tenancy with a large estate (not HA) and was turned down because of the credit report. He had no bad credit either and had good refs, it was just the report.
I am now worrying because most landlords now use agents and they charge a huge fee to make credit checks, that fee is not returned if tenancy is refused. I am ok financially but only because I am very careful and can't afford to dole out money for nothing. It all seems like a huge gamble now!

Wilkins

Have you tried your own bank for a credit card? They know you best.

Tixy

so they know they won't be making any money from me, lol.

Credit card companies make money with every purchase you make. So if you had been accepted for a card and used it they would have made money from you.

In relation to a credit check for rental/tenancy purposes - they only check the public information anyway - that is all they are able/allowed to see, so having a credit card or any other consumer credit account would have made no difference at all.

All a rental credit check of your credit file shows is if you are on the electoral roll, if you have any CCJs in the last 6 years, or if you have been declared insolvent in the last 6 years.

feduptoo

That is a relief to know Tixy, thank you for that. What is the point of a credit rating? I thought everything was supposed to be logged on there for anyone who could be connected financially could check if you were a good payer! That is the impression I got from the lady at Experian too, that I would might not be accepted because I have no credit history. I did have a credit card years ago and paid it off. I prefer not to have one now but it never occurred to me that I would be turned down if I applied. And this was one I found here for people with bad credit!

I bank with Cahoot, it's online banking and don't think they do credit cards. Can't find anything online to say they do, no forms or info whatsoever.

feduptoo

Will it be on record that I applied? On here it says not to keep aplying if you are refused. I've never been refused anything so it's a bit of a learning curve for me, lol.

marty2be2000

Yes, if they did a credit search then it will be on your file that you applied. It will not show that you were declined however.

feduptoo

I am becoming more confused, it was Equifax that was used to check me out. I just tried to access my report. There is a button right at the very bottom of their page to access the £2 report, they are required by law to provide it. I used that option because I don't want the hassle of trying to cancel after signing up for a 'free' one. Twice it said my card had been declined to re-enter details, then the 3rd time said I hadn't filled in all fields with*.
All were filled in correctly, the only box not ticked was one which says the card details will be stored for further purchases. I don't want them storing my details and it did NOT have the * beside it to say it's mandatory. Now thoroughly cheesed off!! :mad: