Declined Halifax Credit Card

duncansby

I recently switched my current account to Halifax, so I applied for their Purchase Credit Card. I was declined. I then got my Experian credit score as I was quite worried having never been declined for a credit card before. My score was 999 Excellent with no negative factors.

I therefore wrote to the Halifax and received a generic letter back saying credit score was only one factor, and also took into account income, residential circumstances etc. I own my home outright having lived there for 18 years, and am steady professional employment. The only other borrowing I have is car loan

Any ideas why they turned me down and why they won't tell me why?

I understand that they are not obliged to issue credit cards

[Deleted User]

Your score is fictional, so you can safely ignore that.

It could be anything. Income, other debts, repayment history, financial associates, electoral roll, etc, etc. They rarely give specific reasons as it opens up the possibility of applicants giving incorrect information. Also, their lending criteria is confidential.

duncansby

Thank you - how do you mean my credit score is fictional? The report listed all credit cards, loans, mobile phone agreements I had had in the past

19lottie82

duncansby wrote: »

Thank you - how do you mean my credit score is fictional? The report listed all credit cards, loans, mobile phone agreements I had had in the past

Yes, but these prior credit agreements don't have anything to do with your "score". Your "score" is generated by a computer at one of the three credit history companies.......... They will all be different, and potential lenders will never see it / them.

jonnyenglish

For what it's worth, a couple of months after opening a Halifax Reward account into which my salary was paid I went into my local branch and asked one of the customer service advisors if I could apply for a Clarity Credit Card as I wanted to take advantage of the monthly £5 reward for spending £300/month on the card.

The advisor checked and invited me to view my account details and profile on the bank's computer system which stated that I would not be eligible to apply. After discussing my financial situation with the advisor he could not pinpoint the reason why I should not be allowed to apply but stated that I should wait a few months so that the bank could monitor how I maintained my current account and then reapply. Sure enough, four months later I have just applied for the same credit card online and I have been accepted. :j

I don't know how recently the OP applied for their current account but it may be worth waiting another six months or so after they opened their current account and then reapply for the credit card.

Now whether I receive the £5 reward payment for spending £300/month on the Halifax Clarity Credit Card as I applied online is a whole other thread!:)

Jonny

chanz4

it maybe because your new to the bank

duncansby

I think you are right in that it may have been too soon after switching accounts ( it was only a week )

Djene

I think the main reason is just because your new to the bank. I switched to Lloyds Bank in April this year, opening a Club Lloyds Current Account and a Club Lloyds Saver. Only a few days ago did an offer for a credit card appear on my online banking. Which I applied for and got. So that was a 7-8 month wait of DD, Salary etc to be offered a cc.