Declined Credit for Vodafone Contract - Advice Please

monkey84

Happy Friday!

I am looking for some advice please. I have recently got married and last week tried to take out a 24 month Vodafone contract through thesmartphonecompany.com in my married name. I was refused credit, and presuming that this was due to the fact that I did not yet have a credit record in my new surname, I reapplied again with my maiden name the next day. I have now been refused credit a second time. I have checked my credit record on both Experian (my score is good, the only negative being that I have had quite a lot of expenditure on my credit card recently as I have just paid off the wedding invoices. All of the credit card bills were paid in full on time), and on Equifax (my score is excellent). I tried the Experian report in my maiden name and the Equifax one in my married name.

Given my credit scores, I am therefore at a loss as to why both my contracts were refused and am unsure whether Vodafone would give me a reason. I also don't know how to proceed from here. If I try to take out a contract with another provider, is it likely that I will be refused again due to the 2 Vodafone credit searches in quick succession? Neither of these searches seem to have appeared on my credit records yet.

Thanks for any help you can give. I was looking forward to getting rid of my old phone!:)

DCFC79

monkey84 wrote: »

Happy Friday!

I am looking for some advice please. I have recently got married and last week tried to take out a 24 month Vodafone contract through thesmartphonecompany.com in my married name. I was refused credit, and presuming that this was due to the fact that I did not yet have a credit record in my new surname, I reapplied again with my maiden name the next day. I have now been refused credit a second time. I have checked my credit record on both Experian (my score is good, the only negative being that I have had quite a lot of expenditure on my credit card recently as I have just paid off the wedding invoices. All of the credit card bills were paid in full on time), and on Equifax (my score is excellent). I tried the Experian report in my maiden name and the Equifax one in my married name.

Given my credit scores, I am therefore at a loss as to why both my contracts were refused and am unsure whether Vodafone would give me a reason. I also don't know how to proceed from here. If I try to take out a contract with another provider, is it likely that I will be refused again due to the 2 Vodafone credit searches in quick succession? Neither of these searches seem to have appeared on my credit records yet.

Thanks for any help you can give. I was looking forward to getting rid of my old phone!:)

Forget what your scores are as no 1 sees them.

Lenders, phone companies see what's on your report, are there negatives on either report ?

Id stop applying for a contract and pick 1 of 2 routes, 1 is to use current phone or buy a phone outright eg 1 at £100 and go Sim only or 2 choose a different contract with voda or another network eg a cheaper contract.

Marktheshark

They did you a favour, just look at some of the issues people on here have had with that provider.

monkey84

Thanks for your help. The only negative on either of the reports is the high usage of available credit recently. Perhaps I will try another network. I'm just nervous that the more credit searches that are run, the worse this will look to future lenders. Is that a legitimate worry?
Also, do you think it really does make a difference in which name I open the contract? Am I better off doing this in my maiden name and then contacting the provider to amend the details to my married name?

Marktheshark

Look at Giffgaff pay as you go, unless you need an overpriced phone on credit, then nobody beats value they offer.
500, anyone any network minutes and 1gb 4g ! for £10 and free giff gaff calls.
Buy your phone, order a sim and from £10 a month and its a winner.
No contract = no problem

monkey84

Cheers, I'll look into them. Is the coverage good?

Marktheshark

It runs o2 network for calls and the same data as everyone else, 3g in bad areas and 4g in good.
For £10 a month or 12 gets 2gb, it is unbeatable and you dont need no contract or credit.
No unexpected bills as well, run out simply buy a new goodybag on the app with two clicks.

monkey84

Sounds good. Thank you

Ben8282

Before you do anything you have to sort out the name problem.
The name you use must correspond and you must be consistent in the name you use.
If you plan to use your married name then change ALL credit agreements and any bank accounts with an overdraft facility to that name. If you want to leave savings accounts or something like that in your maiden name that's ok.
Make sure your electoral roll entry is updated.
Wait for everything to filter down to the CRA's and update.
Then apply again.

I'm sure you would like your new phone now but really it's better to wait and don't go making lots of applications and getting turned down as you may damage your ability to get credit if you do.

You say you checked 2 of your credit reports. You checked Equifax in your married name. You checked Experian in your maiden name. This would imply your marriage is not as recent as your original post implies and that the CRA's already have your married name. Based on the above, I am wondering if this is not a name problem at all. Perhaps this was an expensive phone with high monthly payments. If so,it could be there is some question as to your ability to afford the payments at the moment.

m4rc

You do need to use your legal name and stick with it, as Ben says get EVERYTHING changed and don't apply for anything in your old name. I believe this could be seen as fraudulent, it's no longer your name, it's not that different to me choosing a name and applying for credit but keep using my real name too.

The issue is possibly that some stuff is in one name and some in the other, applying for credit in both will only make that worse. Wait for a few months for everything to update - electoral roll is essential - and you may well find that was the issue and you can get he credit you were after.

It's a bit annoying but in the long run it will be the best way, you don't want issues if and when you go for a big purchase, mortgage/remortgage etc, much better that you realised when applying for a mobile!

p00hsticks

m4rc wrote: »

You do need to use your legal name and stick with it, as Ben says get EVERYTHING changed and don't apply for anything in your old name. I believe this could be seen as fraudulent, it's no longer your name, it's not that different to me choosing a name and applying for credit but keep using my real name too.

Plenty of women these days retain their maiden name after marriage - there's nothing illegal or "fraudulent" about it. as other posters have pintec out, the key is to be consistent and use the same name for everything.