Should I try to switch again after being refused

CptBlack

I have two current accounts, 1 with Barclays and 1 with Halifax.
I tried to switch from Barclays to HSBC and from Halifax to First Direct. Both were rejected, HSBC on a credit score and waiting to hear from First Direct.

I have an overdraft with Barclays about £500 overdrawn, however just moved that to a 0% credit card deal with BarclayCard. I have 2 other credit cards with 0% deals totaling about £6k. This is what I assume is affecting my credit score. I've never missed a payment with these cards.

My query is, should I try to switch again now (I'm looking at the TSB Classic Plus) because I want better interest to pay off the CCs, or will I likely be rejected again? Does anyone know how strict the TSB scoring is in comparison to HSBC/FD?

Thanks

jonesMUFCforever

How much interest will you get on any current account which will seriously dent a credit card debt of £6k?
If you have the money why not pay the cards off?

If you don't have the money to put in a current account to get interest then your post does not make much sense.

CptBlack

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

How much interest will you get on any current account which will seriously dent a credit card debt of £6k?
If you have the money why not pay the cards off?

If you don't have the money to put in a current account to get interest then your post does not make much sense.

Fair point. I've recently cleared a large amount of overdraft and moved debt to the 0%. I've also paid of a loan so I think I should be able to save about £200 a month, plus the £100 switching bonus. The interest at 5% on that over a year should be worth doing if possible? Or is there a better way

LplateSaver

Don't you want to keep the halifax for the free £5 a month and I think Barclays does something similar?
According to what I read on here HSBC/first Direct are the pickiest so (depending on how many searches you've notched up) you'll probably have a better chance of being accepted at tsb.

CptBlack

LplateSaver wrote: »

Don't you want to keep the halifax for the free £5 a month and I think Barclays does something similar?
According to what I read on here HSBC/first Direct are the pickiest so (depending on how many searches you've notched up) you'll probably have a better chance of being accepted at tsb.

Thanks for the comment. I calculated the benefits of switching would be slightly better. I have only had 2 bank account switch searches recently, but I will get the £2 record check from Experian to see what else there's been and go from there.

Archi_Bald

Have you checked what your credit files contain? The score is not important, but the status of each of your accounts is. Any defaults will work against you.

The total credit already available to you might also be a factor in their decision, even if you were not applying for an overdraft.

CptBlack

Archi_Bald wrote: »

Have you checked what your credit files contain? The score is not important, but the status of each of your accounts is. Any defaults will work against you.

The total credit already available to you might also be a factor in their decision, even if you were not applying for an overdraft.

I last checked a couple of months ago and there were no defaults as expected. I will check again in case there's an error but I know there haven't been any defaults. I assume it's the total amount of credit. Ironic that I'm being refused by trying to pay off the debts but I understand the banks reasoning!

HSBC specifically mentioned a score but as I understand it, it would be their own scoring, not Experian's so I'll get the £2 report as you suggest.

Thanks

Roseanne1

CptBlack wrote: »

I last checked a couple of months ago and there were no defaults as expected. I will check again in case there's an error but I know there haven't been any defaults. I assume it's the total amount of credit. Ironic that I'm being refused by trying to pay off the debts but I understand the banks reasoning!

HSBC specifically mentioned a score but as I understand it, it would be their own scoring, not Experian's so I'll get the £2 report as you suggest.

Thanks

If you register with Noddle, you can get a look at your credit report for free, it is quite detailed.

https://www.noddle.co.uk/