Halifax In Branch Scoring

leezo34

Hi all
I'm a newbie here!
I'm in the process of trying to improve my credit score.

I've held a Halifax reward account with a 250 OD since August 14. (Prior to this I had the easycash ac for 5 years which was used as my main a/c for four years)

In branch today I asked about the a credit card facility ( I already have a Barclaycard initial which I have used uber responsibly due to the awful interest rate I haven't paid Barclay's a penny in interest and settle in full every month)

Now to my question..

Halifax (very helpful i might add) said in branch that at this moment the system can't offer me a credit card, but they have me on their internal system as being eligible for a personal loan (this could be of interest in a couple of months with some things I have coming up)

The lady said my risk score was a 3 and the system was saying I was eligible for a loan of repayments of up to £400 per month (I need nothing that high!!!!) APR dwasnt great as they said it was tailored to my my personal circumstances.

She said the risk of 3 was quite good?? And she had seen 9 appear there in the past for other customers...what is this?

My credit file isn't great but improving. I have Car finance, a 3 mobile ac, The Barclaycard, Car insurance, Allianz insurance all paid on time by DD each month from my Reward A/C

ALSO me and my GF have an Easycash AC which we use as a Bill paying AC every month, which we use for rent,council tax, water,gas,electric, broadband,TV licence, all of these are also paid by DD.

In a nutshell Halifax can see EVERYTHING that I have coming in and out, but why no credit card but they are SAYING they can offer me a loan, and all I need to take in is my debit card.

She also told me when I'm ready for the loan NOT to apply online as the underwriting criteria is different and not based on their internal scoring. And I should do it in branch.

Can anyone shed any light on a risk status of 3 ? No credit card offer but they can do a loan ? And could this offer still be pie in the sky!!

I know I've rambled a bit but wanted to give you a clear situation of my position!!

Many thanks for any help!!!

Gaz83

Lenders don't make public their internal scoring systems, so no-one will be able to give you any more information unfortunately.

DCFC79

I dont think anyone on here can enlighten you on the criteria for a credit card.

leezo34

Cheers,I understand that things like that would never be made public, just found it a bit odd that she said also that a credit card is a higher risk lend than a personal loan?!
And it seems strange that they are offering the loan when I've struggled to high heaven with other lenders in the past!

DCFC79

leezo34 wrote: »

Cheers,I understand that things like that would never be made public, just found it a bit odd that she said also that a credit card is a higher risk lend than a personal loan?!
And it seems strange that they are offering the loan when I've struggled to high heaven with other lenders in the past!

Does sound odd but maybe that's Barclay's for you.

wacko911

If u have joint account with your GF then i think your credit files are linked, while you might be building up a good credit record she may have bad things on hers.

leezo34

Cheers for the replys all, her credit file is superb, so deffo not that. What do you mean maybe that's Barclay's for you? Thanks

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

leezo34 wrote: »

What do you mean maybe that's Barclay's for you?

Possibly speed-reading the OP and saw "Barclaycard" and "Barclays" without then seeing that you went to Halifax.

pinkdalek

You may not be eligible for their credit card because you have not passed their own internal credit scoring.
You said you have a Barclays Initial Card, which in fairness is aimed at customers with little/no or a poor credit rating. Halifax maybe does not offer that service to that section of people. Therefore Halifax can't provide you with a credit card based probably on their policy and that they don't offer cards to customers with poor credit.
If you are looking at credit cards, why not try a comparison site which will then give you an indication of who will offer you that service.

Halifax may be able to offer you a loan, but the APR is still high, this is because your credit score must be on the lower end of the scale. It must therefore be Halifax's policy to offer loans to a wider range of people.