Bad advice from MSE on improving Credit History!!!

CashmanDan

After stumbling across MSE's article on what to do and NOT to do to improve credit files, I found myself on a credit card eligibility checker.

MSE explained that applying for a credit card and being refused detrimentally affects your credit file and that,

"We do a 'soft' credit search which YOU can see, but lenders CAN'T, so it has no impact on your future creditworthiness - and lets you see the chance of you getting the card without applying for it."

MSE goes onto explain that a result below 50% and applying for that card is done so at my own risk, however, anything above 70% and i should apply with, believe it or not, a 70% chance of being accepted!

After entering my details i was amazed when a plethora of cards/companies said i had a 90% chance of being accepted.

On this advice, i applied fr a santander card, only 5 days later to be sent a letter saying i have been refused based on information from experian and that i should contact them should i disagree,

After paying 15.99 i now see my credit rating as 'poor' so where did MSE pluck 90% chance from? Out f thin air?

Even now, i done the eligibilty checker and again, and I'm receiving around a dozen companies from santander to barclaycard offering me 90% chances of being accepted!! What a joke.

I suggest anyone assuming MSE are accurate with their checker think again and apply blindly, as you would be doing so any way.

Furious is an understatement :mad:

HatAndScarf

CashmanDan wrote: »

After stumbling across MSE's article on what to do and NOT to do to improve credit files, I found myself on a credit card eligibility checker.

MSE explained that applying for a credit card and being refused detrimentally affects your credit file and that,

"We do a 'soft' credit search which YOU can see, but lenders CAN'T, so it has no impact on your future creditworthiness - and lets you see the chance of you getting the card without applying for it."

MSE goes onto explain that a result below 50% and applying for that card is done so at my own risk, however, anything above 70% and i should apply with, believe it or not, a 70% chance of being accepted!

After entering my details i was amazed when a plethora of cards/companies said i had a 90% chance of being accepted.

On this advice, i applied fr a santander card, only 5 days later to be sent a letter saying i have been refused based on information from experian and that i should contact them should i disagree,

After paying 15.99 i now see my credit rating as 'poor' so where did MSE pluck 90% chance from? Out f thin air?

Even now, i done the eligibilty checker and again, and I'm receiving around a dozen companies from santander to barclaycard offering me 90% chances of being accepted!! What a joke.

I suggest anyone assuming MSE are accurate with their checker think again and apply blindly, as you would be doing so any way.

Furious is an understatement :mad:

So you didn't know you did not have a good credit history before spalshing out £15.99 on a credit report?

What was there specifically on that report that you didn't know of?

Is it perhaps an error on the report? If so, you you get that addressed.

Bravestar

CashmanDan wrote: »

...After entering my details i was amazed when a plethora of cards/companies said i had a 90% chance of being accepted.

...

Even now, i done the eligibilty checker and again, and I'm receiving around a dozen companies from santander to barclaycard offering me 90% chances of being accepted!! What a joke.

So there is a 10% chance you would not be accepted, and that was the end result. How is that a joke? :huh:

Doing the same thing again and again, hoping to get a different result? Now that is a joke!

Either that or paying £15.99 for a credit report. :eek:

You can check your statutory files for just £2, but there is an MSE article that explains how how to check your files for free.
(and possibly earn cashback too)

:cool:

Experian_company_representative

CashmanDan wrote: »

On this advice, i applied fr a santander card, only 5 days later to be sent a letter saying i have been refused based on information from experian and that i should contact them should i disagree

Hello CashmanDan,

I would be more than happy to run through your Credit Report with you so we can establish why you were refused, if you would like to [EMAIL="uksocialsupport@experian.com"]email me[/EMAIL] with the following details (Name / Dob / Address including postal code).

If you feel the information showing on your credit report is incorrect please let me know and I can query this information for you.

Kind Regards
James Jarvis

YorkshireBoy

CashmanDan wrote: »

...where did MSE pluck 90% chance from? Out f thin air?

Maybe they based it on your Equifax and/or CallCredit data?

You did read the eligibility checker's T&Cs didn't you? I mean, you ticked the box to say you had!

Does your Experian report show the 2 soft searches?

phona

Experian_company_representative wrote: »

I would be more than happy to run through your Credit Report with you so see the establish why you was refused

Never take financial advice from an alleged professional with this standard of grammar.

OP, there are lots of threads on here with similar stories. The checker is intended as a rough guide only. If memory serves, it uses CallCredit data. Since they're the smallest CRA they may be missing some data that turned out to be the reason you were declined.

Kimberley

phona wrote: »

Never take financial advice from an alleged professional with this standard of grammar

They do have permission from MSE to offer advice so they are legit and we all make mistakes in our grammar at times

d70cw6

lawyer up. Martin must pay.

mcpitman

It isn't bad advice from MSE, it's your misunderstanding of "chance".

90% success = 10% fail.

phona

Kimberley wrote: »

They do have permission from MSE to offer advice so they are legit and we all make mistakes in our grammar at times

Yes, they're legit and I know we all make mistakes. "why you was refused" is a small (acceptable) mistake, "...with you so see the establish why you was refused" is just garbage.

If someone doesn't proof read a short post, why would you trust anything else they're saying?