Frustration with Virgin Credit Card Refusal

smallzoo

I was with Experian ( creditexpert website ) and used their tool to check eligibility for a credit card. They said my credit file was just between good and excellent and offered me a number of choices showing 90%+ chance of getting a balance transfer card.

In this basis I applied for a Virgin 0% interest credit card. It was refused !. I chatted online and emailed experian and they said it was not their problem I would have to contact Virgin. I did this and the first letter I got back said I would need to contact the credit reference agency !!!

Anyway after numerous emails I eventually got a letter back from virgin apologising for the way they had responded and offered me £50 if I would accept their decision which was final but they could not disclose why I had been refused.

This where I am really frustrated, searching both experian and clearscore shows I have a good to excellent score yet I cannot find out why I was refused ?

Also I am concerned that this means the eligibility checker on martins website may also cause me a problem even though it shows me 100% eligibility on a number of credit cards

Any advice/help on this

fromtheshires

You could be the perfect customer and thats why they don't want you. Credit cards are designed to make banks money but if they don't feel they are going to make anything from you there is no business sense in giving you a line of credit. They may also just not have liked something that another company wouldn't mind if they saw it - who knows.

Experian only used your data to say you were 90pc likely to get the card. They are working off assumptions which have a margin for error. The only sure way to see if you are eligible is to actually apply but bear in mind that all credit checks are logged so too many in a short space of time may spook a creditor.

Superscrooge

smallzoo wrote: »

I was with Experian ( creditexpert website ) and used their tool to check eligibility for a credit card. They said my credit file was just between good and excellent and offered me a number of choices showing 90%+ chance of getting a balance transfer card.

In this basis I applied for a Virgin 0% interest credit card. It was refused

A 90% chance of being accepted also means a 10% chance of being rejected.

All these eligibility checkers just give an indication of the likelihood of being accepted. Even if they say 100% there is always the small chance of rejection.

I'm assuming you are on the electoral roll and aren't already using a high percentage of your available credit?

Marcio45

That comes to show that credit scores are not worth much, although they can give you some sort of probability.
The credit cards companies choose who they want to lend to and credit agencies like experian dont know all the criteria, so you always have to take it with a pinch of salt
I know that Virgin Money is very picky and you maybee fell on the 10% of people on your circunstances that dont get the product.
I, for one, have a poor credit rating on all CRA's (although never ever missed payments and more than ten years managing credit) and managed to open several mainstream credit cards and a car leasing in the last 6 months and also just got accepted for a first direct bank account (they are also supposed to be picky). The poor rating has probably to do with the many searches of all theses applications.
It just shows that all that matters is how you handle your credit commitments. Credit rating can give you an idea of where you are standing but it is very inaccurate at times. Proven times and times again.
Have you tought about applying somewhere else (barclaycard and mbna known to be a little easier to get). But if you already have 2/3 credit searches in the last 6 months better to wait a little longer.
Weirdly, although being accepted for many mainstream cards, MBNA never wanted my business.

smallzoo

Well..first thanks for the advice but it has left me just as confused. I am going to post another question about the eligibility checker as some of these comments have now concerned me about its findings..

chattychappy

smallzoo wrote: »

Well..first thanks for the advice but it has left me just as confused. I am going to post another question about the eligibility checker as some of these comments have now concerned me about its findings..

Oh I wouldn't take it so seriously.

Here's my experience.

I have had credit cards for many years and never had a problem getting CCs. Experian always seems to give me a score of 999 (and still does). I don't take the score seriously - I get it free with Barclaycard. I used to subscribe to Experian in order to get monthly reports and got the score as part of that, but cancelled when the price went up. (I used to pay £4.99/month for it, can't remember why.)

Anyway, I amused myself by looking at the Eligibility Checker. Despite Experian looking OK, it said I only had a 10% chance of getting a Sainsbury card. Other cards - no problem. So I applied and was rejected. A few months later, the Checker said I had a 90% chance (or whatever) of acceptance for the Sainsbury card. And sure enough, I got it. That initial application remains, to this day, the only time I was rejected for a CC.

I'm not sure I buy the "you could be too good to be accepted", as CCs make something even if you always pay your bill in full. I expect it's got more to with in-house targets for their risk profile. If they start suffering too many bad debts (or even too many applications), then they up their requirements a bit.

Volcane

Sometimes certain companies just don't seem to want you as a customer.

I have a similar issue with Amex. For reasons unknown I just can't get a card with them. All three of my credit files are correct and showing no adverse info, I'm on the elec roll etc etc but every time I apply ( 3 times in last 5 years) I get rejected.

Unfortunately there's nothing that can be done about it as ultimately it is up to them who they lend to.

Frustrating I know but you just have to accept it in the end...

Pincher

I was a Virgin Amex customer for years, and cancelled just so I can apply again to get the 0% BT deal, but I have been rejected three times in the last two years.


On the other hand, I did the same thing with Barclaycard, and they welcomed me back with £13k of starting limit.


Just pretend you are Mr. d'Arcy, in Pride and Prejudice, every other girl would jump at you, except Elizabeth.

chuckley

You have no right to any credit card.

Build a bridge and get over it.

System

Take the £50 and live with the mystery.
They are basically wanting you to go away.