Co-Op Bank refuse credit with Excellent rating

Mr_McGoo

I have had an account with Co-Op Bank for many years. I don't use it much, but I now want to bring it into use for a particular project with £1K - £2K flowing in and out each month. I need a credit card, as well as the debit card, and so I applied for one. It was refused on the grounds that Experian supplied an unfavourable report, and they advised me to contact Experian. I paid my £2.50, and got the report. Score 999, 6 positive factors, 0 negative factors, Excellent.

I told the Co-Op this, and asked what the real reason is. Ever since I have had robotic responses, initially treating my request to think again and maybe check with Experian as a simple complaint, presumably to divert the problem elsewhere, and now just a dismissive message saying, in effect, "computer says no".

It's the mindless, robotic nature of their communications that has got under my skin. Is there no-one there at all capable of reading an email and taking effective action? Have all the managers quit? Are they all on drugs, like their ex-Chairman?

So I'm off the the local branch to raise hell in front of as many of their customers as possible, and using as many forums as possible to spread the word; the Co-Op bank has a big, empty hole where customer service should be. Avoid it like the plague.

The_Boss

Oh dear, that would be very unfortunate if you did that.

This is because you don't have a credit score, as credit scores do not exist. You're believing a useless meaningless number sold to you to make money (although if you paid £2.50, presumably this was a statutory report and does not come with their worthless scores). It is the data on the report, not the made up score that matters as lenders would not see this.

So feel free to call Experian and unleash hell/scream to as many of their customers who are missold these fradulent "scores" without realising etc

I hope you get the chance to read this, to read the sticky at the top of the forum that you missed and other threads on this board before you go through with your proposed actions.

Did they actually tell you it was refused because Experian supplied an unfavourable report? This would be very odd, as usually applicants are advised that they use CRA data in conjunction with the data you record on your application form, as this application form data also plays a crucial part in their decision.

DevCoder

1. Your score means nothing, Ive seen bankrupts with a score of 999. Lenders do not get to see this score.
2. It sounds more like you do not fit into their current marketing for lending, they don't have to lend and so will choose to lender to people who meet their criteria (which is confidential and kept internal, as its their "strategy").
3. Are you sure there is nothing on your credit report? No missed payments? Are you on the electoral roll?

My final bit of advice is to just get on with life, going and making a scene is only going to get you being asked to leave the premises at best. Find another lender who's lending criteria you fit into.

Thrugelmir

Mr_McGoo wrote: »

Score 999, 6 positive factors, 0 negative factors, Excellent.

What else is on the report?

Experian don't lend money they just collect data.

Mr_McGoo

Just to wrap this one up, I eventually got to someone with a shred of common-sense in the Bank. She investigated, and this is what she told me;

I have tried to call you to explain why your visa application initially declined.

On checking the application, it failed to score as your address differed slightly to the address held with Experian, a Credit Reference Agency. In view of this the application didnt match the address held with Experian so it appeared that you had no external debt, hence no lending history.

However, on a manual review of your application I was happy to agree the facility for you subject to verification of your income which is regulatory requirement.

The first notable point about this letter is that it exposed the absolute lie that was presented when the application was refused.

The address mis-match was, apparently, that one word was on a different line in the Experian format than in the Bank's format, which was totally unavoidable due to the badly designed layout of the Co-Op Bank's online application form.

Quite apart from which, I have never seen such a load of stupid rubbish as that message. What the hell is

the application didnt match the address held with Experian so it appeared that you had no external debt, hence no lending history.

supposed to mean? Apart from monthly current CC debts, I don't have any external debt. For that matter, what is "external" debt, as opposed, presumably, to "internal" debt?

I do know that the information held by Experian is (a) 50% wrong and (b) only about 50% of what they should list.

Now, I'm a persistent old codger who won't take "Computer says No" for an answer. Necessarily, being half-retired I have time to pursue things. But it took weeks, many phone calls, many messages and quite a lot of rudeness to get someone to deal with the matter properly.

And all I actually sent as income evidence was the annual letter advising the amount of the State pension I get (< £10K!). I now have the card as a result.

Voyager2002

I found the extract from the letter perfectly clear...

Mr_McGoo wrote: »

J
Now, I'm a persistent old codger who won't take "Computer says No" for an answer. Necessarily, being half-retired I have time to pursue things. But it took weeks, many phone calls, many messages and quite a lot of rudeness to get someone to deal with the matter properly.

And all actually sent as income evidence was the annual letter advising the amount of the State pension I get (< £10K!).

Had you not been rude, you might have resolved it with far less time and effort. About five years ago I was refused an account because of an adverse entry about me made by the Co-op bank. Resolving the matter took less than a couple of hours, and they paid me a small amount of compensation (even though it could be argued that the problem was my fault).

Mr_McGoo

It was a long time before I started being quite rude; not swearing etc, just saying what I thought about their "processes".

What depresses me about the responses on this thread is peoples' willingness to accept that when they are treated amazingly badly by banks (and other institutions) it's really their fault, and that people like me who shout to the rafters in protest are well advised just to shut up and play the game in the banks' way.

Of course the letter was clear; the point is that it described a robotic response to a stupid computer error, as though that's perfectly OK. It isn't.

THAT'S WHY the banks and institutions do nothing to improve.