Good Credit Rating, first credit card refusal.

Kapsimo6

Hello and thank you in advance for any advice, I am a big fan of this site but this is my first post.

I am 34 years old, married and in full-time permanent employment with a known/reputable company who have recently given me the opportunity to start traveling internationally for business.

For this reason I am hoping to obtain my first credit card to use for expenses only, I plan to set up a pay in full direct debit each month as this will be coming direct from my employer.

Having obtained full details of my Experian credit report I made some amendments and now have a very high score (over 900). I am aware this is no guarantee or credit however there really is nothing more I can do to improve this.

The card I applied for was Barclaycard freedom rewards - this was rejected and I was told on the phone that they are unable to specify why. They listed a number of factors such as electoral roll, income etc all of which are up to date and look 'good'.

Through internet research I have deduced that the most likely factors that have affected this decision are:
1) I do own my own home and have lived in 14 rented properties over 17 years.
2) I have never had a credit card before (although I have overdrafts now paid in full and a student loan).
3) The card I applied for is a rewards card, this is not a good choice for first card.

As I am unable to change the first 2 factors I am hoping that if i re-apply for a 'starter' type card perhaps I will be more successful. Of course I do not want to apply for too many cards too quickly as this will affect my currently near perfect credit report.

I have attempted to research this however all starter cards appear to be aimed at students/young people with low/no credit rating. Needless to say I would like to get the best deal I can but do not want to aim so high that I am rejected again.

Anyone with any advice would be very much appreciated.
Thank you for your time,

Jenny.

shiningfaery

Hi Jenny

Before you get too hung up on the actual credit score given by the CRA...disregard this completely it means nothing as potential lenders do not see this and give you their own score based on their own criteria which you will never see or know.

What you need to look at are what accounts you have on all 3 of the CRA's and if there is none or only your overdraft then that would most likely be your problem so a credit builder style card would probably be more realistic.

For example I have just recently taken a new credit card after not having one since I was 18...I took an aqua card and pay it in full every month so I dont pay their high interest charges and as a result 3 months after having the card they have offered to increase my limit. There are lots of threads and articles in here about credit ratings and beginner cards to look at..happy reading

Michaela

dotdash79

Have you spoken to your bank?

The thing with a credit builder card is that it's low limit to begin with so might not cover your bills.

Do this first to see if you can get a credit card (it's not perfect but it will give you a good idea.

https://creditcards.moneysavingexpert.com/?bad-credit

Oh stop paying for the experian credit score, if you wish you can pay me£10 a month and I can give you a number from 1 - 999 if it would make you feel better.

dotdash79

Also you don't have a good credit file as you have no history of managing credit you are a unknown risk. You could be amazing or you could be like a .com business in the late 90's.

Kapsimo6

Thanks for all the advice, this certainly makes me think I'm on the right track thinking that I need a starter card - even if it starts at a low limit, hopefully I can build on this as you say.

Fortunately I have not paid Experian anything as I cancelled the free trial service within the required 28 days. Personally I am glad I did this as they had not matched my maiden name to me married name so my history went for 2 years worth to 34.

In regards to speaking with the bank I did actually plan to do so but this site advised against it saying they only push for their own products. With such limited knowledge I was concerned that I would be led into something that was not necessarily in my interest - hence approaching this forum.

Thank you for the link, that has certainly given me a good idea of what i should be looking at.

Many thanks again.

dotdash79

I only said speak to your bank as you have had a current account with them for a number of years so can see how you manage your account so might give you a better deal.

You might be pre-approved for a card and have a decent level of credit.

Kapsimo6

Thanks dotdash,
I have only had my current account for 3/4 years sadly but you are quite right that they have often sent me pre-approved notifications for loans and credit cards.
I will indeed make an appointment.
Thanks again for the advice.

dotdash79

Do it via phone or online banking, saves a load of hassle

marty2be2000

Have you thought about asking your employer if they can provide a company credit card for your expenses. Three years ago my employer provided one as I was running up in excess of 2K per month in expenses travelling around the country for them.

Kapsimo6

Thank you all for your help,
I just received the call I have been waiting on from Barclaycard and it seems that after putting this forward to a human assessor instead of computer they have changed their mind and approved my application after all.
Thank you all again for taking the time to reply,
All the best,
Jenny.