I'm not in debt, but I can't get credit

ElanSaving

I spoke to my bank (Barclays) a while back and they said I should improve my credit rating with Experian. So I spent 3 months doing just that, enrolled on the electoral register etc and got everything up to date.

They gave me an excellent score and I applied for one of the cards they recommended for me, however this company also uses CallCredit and so I was refused.

I then went back to Barclays on Experians recommendation but was again denied as they now use Equifax and not Experian. :mad:

Equifax seem to be unable to track ANY of the information that Experian hold, despite me sending them the PDF of my Experian report detailing my previous credit agreements. CallCredit I've not even began to deal with yet due to my frustrations with the previous 2 companies!

Do any of you guys here know how I can go about rectifying this situation? Do I need to hold hands with Equifax and CallCredit and spoon feed them until they manage to access the data that Experian already holds? Am I able to bypass these other 2 companies and apply for a card that only speaks to Experian?

Do I even need a credit card? I've managed my finances without issue for 10 years or so without one! But at some point or other I'd like to consider buying a house and I presume in order to get a mortgage I'd 1st need to have a good credit rating? Does this need to be with all 3 of these (seemingly incompetent) companies?


Any help would be greatly appreciated! As it feels like banging my head against the table would be more productive than talking to credit reference companies right now!

cheers

Elan


(sorry for ranty post, had to vent)

[Deleted User]

You can't tell other CRAs to take a data feed from lenders who don't report to them.

Get a sub prime card and use that responsibly for a few months, then try again for something better.

stator

If you're a good customer I'm surprised your own bank won't give you a credit card if you have a blank credit history. Usually they start you off with just a couple hundred credit limit.

It's always best to check all three credit reference companies, make sure there are no negatives on the report. Things like mobile phone contracts and sometimes energy bills show up. Unfortunately they simply can't get hold of each other's data, if BT chose to give their data only to Experian, then there's no way of CC or Equifax getting it.

Once you've got all your credit reports and made sure they are accurate try again with one more bank. Pick the one you have the most history with.

Voyager2002

Note that the so-called 'scores' that these agencies produce are meaningless. Don't waste your money getting them, since they don't tell you anything.

ElanSaving

I'm unconcerned about the scores, but companies like Vodafone, EE, Barclaycard and MBNA are all companies I've dealt with in the past and should certainly all be recognised by CRA's and yet Experian has that data and Equifax don't.

An Equifax employee guided me to supply the Experian report to them and stated that they'd be able to use it to cross reference and fill in the blanks, but I later received their standard copy paste reply on how they gather their information and a single line tanking me for the report and that they wouldn't use it.

How do I know the difference between having a poor credit rating or the CRA in question having poor information on me? It seems the latter is the case.

The chap at Equifax even asked me to go back to my bank and ask them to revoke the credit check they last performed on me... Is this even possible?

planteria

in what way have you dealt with MBNA in the past? a credit card? if so, and you paid the account in full, and on time, perhaps try them again..

d123

ElanSaving wrote: »

I'm unconcerned about the scores, but companies like Vodafone, EE, Barclaycard and MBNA are all companies I've dealt with in the past and should certainly all be recognised by CRA's and yet Experian has that data and Equifax don't.

What happened to the credit cards from Barclaycard and MBNA you had previously?

The chap at Equifax even asked me to go back to my bank and ask them to revoke the credit check they last performed on me... Is this even possible?

No.

Quimoi

I have accounts with Vodafone, Barclaycard and an MBNA CC and they all report to all three CRA's - whether you have these now or at some time in the past six years then they should show.

One thing to check would be that Equifax and Call Credit have your correct address history - if they don't have that then records may not be shown.

ElanSaving

planteria wrote: »

in what way have you dealt with MBNA in the past? a credit card? if so, and you paid the account in full, and on time, perhaps try them again..

d123 wrote: »

What happened to the credit cards from Barclaycard and MBNA you had previously?

I paid them off in full and then cancelled them when I moved to New Zealand in 2008. (I should add that I've been back in the UK since 2010 but I've been fairly nomadic searching for the right job!)

I've already tried applying with Barclaycard and was denied, do you think it wise to try MBNA? Or as suggested above should I just get a lowest of the low credit builder cards and work my way up?

Quimoi wrote: »

I have accounts with Vodafone, Barclaycard and an MBNA CC and they all report to all three CRA's - whether you have these now or at some time in the past six years then they should show.

One thing to check would be that Equifax and Call Credit have your correct address history - if they don't have that then records may not be shown.

Thanks, I'll double check that! If they even looked at the Experian report then they should, but they may have ignored it.

stator

Yes try MBNA if you've used them before. It's always best to try companies you've already got a relationship with.

Vodafone

Hi ElanSaving,

If you'd like me to look into why your Vodafone account isn't showing up on your credit file with Equifax, email me with your details via the link in our profile here.

All you need to do is copy and paste the link into your web browser and it'll take you to the Contact us form on our website. To make sure it reaches me, quote the code WRT135 - MSE in the subject line.

Once sent, you'll receive an automated reply with a reference number. Post back with this and I’ll check I've received it.

Kind regards,

Lee

Social Media Comms

Vodafone UK