BOS student card - credit policy decline

401kill

Hi

Wondering if anyone can shed any light on my situation:

I currently hold a BOS student credit card, which I took out a few years ago when I was at uni. I would like to move on from this card as it has a low credit limit and a high interest rate.

BOS advised that the card cannot be upgraded, and that I cannot hold another BOS card whilst the student card is still active. They advised that I would have to close the account and wait a few months before re-applying for a card with them. I would prefer not to be without a card in case of emergency. They therefore suggested that I apply for a Halifax card instead, since they are now a separate bank.

When I spoke to Halifax, they advised that I was marked as Credit Policy Decline and that I should not proceed with an application as it would be unlikely to succeed. They were unable to advise what caused the CPD marker to be placed on my account. They provided me with a Halifax branded Noddle account and advised to check my credit file for errors.

I checked my file with all three CRAs and had a few minor address errors corrected, and an erroneous missed payment removed.

Two months later, I am still marked as CPD for credit cards - despite being graded 1A by the system and having reasonably substantial offers available for overdraft and loan products.

Could the advice re: BOS student card not affecting Halifax be incorrect? They are still Lloyds group after all.

Is there any higher authority I can write to within Halifax / BOS to request a reason for the CPD marker?

Failing that, are there any banks left where I can deal with a human being who is not beholden to an apparently unfathomable computer system?!

eskbanker

401kill wrote: »

Could the advice re: BOS student card not affecting Halifax be incorrect?

Yes, as per http://www.halifax.co.uk/helpcentre/legal-information/, "Halifax is a division of Bank of Scotland plc".

401kill

Thanks for the answer - looks like they haven't communicated the 2013 rebranding to their staff very well, as everyone I have spoken to at either branch have told me that Halifax and BOS were now separate banks within Lloyds Banking Group, and that they do not check whether you hold each other's products!

On that basis then, terminating the BOS student card is the only way to move forward with either of them.

jonesMUFCforever

Have you considered applying for a credit card with someone completely outside Lloyds banking group?
Anybody such as MBNA,Capital One, Barclaycard, Santander, NatWest, HSBC etc etc (other banks/credit cards may be available).

401kill

I applied for a Barclaycard a couple of days ago, and that was instantly declined due to "internal credit scoring".

I obtained a copy of my statutory Equifax report the same day and can see no problem with it, so I am appealing the decision. I met all the criteria published in the "this card is suitable for" section on their website and their eligibility checker gave a 90% chance of success (for what that is worth).

Candyapple

Are you on the electoral roll? If yes, is it showing on all 3 CRAs?

Do you have a current account or a basic bank account?

Ever been in or had bankruptcy / IVA or DMP / defaults?

Do you have any other credit products reporting on your files? I.e loans, overdrafts, other credit cards?

Are you working/earning a salary?

How much do you owe on debts vs your salary?

Do you have a student account with either Halifax/BoS?

401kill

Thanks for getting back to me!

Are you on the electoral roll? If yes, is it showing on all 3 CRAs?
All three CRAs show correct electoral roll data for the last 6 years. Moved into own place (private tenant) 17 months ago.

Do you have a current account or a basic bank account?
1 BOS current account (no arranged overdraft), 1 Halifax student current account (£250 arranged overdraft).

Ever been in or had bankruptcy / IVA or DMP / defaults?
Thankfully not!

Do you have any other credit products reporting on your files? I.e loans, overdrafts, other credit cards?
Electricity / gas / telecomms bills, unsecured loan for car finance. No other cards.

Are you working/earning a salary?
Working full time, salaried.

How much do you owe on debts vs your salary?
The outstanding on my car loan is approx 1/3rd annual salary (4 years left on the loan). Overdraft unused since January (paid off the last of my student spending). No balance on credit card for last 2 months. No other debts.

Do you have a student account with either Halifax/BoS
BOS student credit card, Halifax student current account.

Candyapple

If you have no other issues, it'll be because you have a student current account with Halifax that they won't allow you to have a credit card. I had the same problem years ago. Good credit history, working, no debts and whenever I applied for a card I was declined. I didn't understand it and one day when I went to the bank they asked if I would like to apply for a card, there and then I said yes but no point as I'll get declined; applied and it came back declined. The customer service rep checked their system and said that the only thing she could think of is that a) because my current account with them was a student account and b) my salary wasn't being paid into the account that this was leading to the decline. I changed my account over to a 'normal' current account, paid my salary into it and applied for a card 6 months later (you could only reapply after 6 months back then) and was accepted.

System

Or just get a credit card outside the Lloyds family?

What do you use it for?

401kill

@Candyapply - Thanks for the suggestion, I'll try upgrading my student current account to a normal one and see how that goes.

@Heng Leng - As stated above, I applied for a Barclaycard a couple of days ago, and that was instantly declined due to "internal credit scoring". I don't want to wreck my file with loads of hard searches when something is clearly wrong, so I'm going to appeal that decision, and pursue HBOS for an explanation of the CPD marker. In a few months, hopefully I will either a) win my appeal with BC, b) get the CPD removed by HBOS (or at least understand why it is there), or c) be in a position to apply to another provider.

EDIT: I mostly keep the card by for unexpected / emergency expenditure.

401kill

Just ran eligibility checks for MBNA and Nationwide.

MBNA can't find my details, so cannot quote.

Nationwide quote £750 @ 19.9% APR. Which sounds like it could well be a decline...