Barclaycard: refused limit increase after 2 years

concernedSaver

I applied for a Barclaycard literally the day after I came to the UK (about 2 years ago), since I've been told how important it is to build your credit score and such. Was accepted with a £400 limit and a ridiculous interest rate. I immediately set up a direct debit and started using the card with no problem, except for this one time when I forgot to check my balance and overspent £2. I paid the balance off immediately by debit card, but I was billed the £12 fee the same. Apparently it didn't get reported to any CRA (I routinely check Experian, Equifax and Callcredit), they show a long row of payments with no additional notes.

Yesterday I asked for a limit increase to £1000, and got rejected immediately. It was so quick that I doubt they actually did a credit check, and simply assessed my history with them. I didn't even need the money, just wanted to increase the available credit shown on my CF.

Did anyone have the same experience with them? It might be worth noting that I'm fairly new to the country, my credit "score" is in the lower band of "good" but my CF are immaculate.

[Deleted User]

How recent is the overlimit incident?

concernedSaver

October 2014. At the time, given my inexperience with credit cards, I simply assumed the card would stop working after reaching the credit limit.

Edit: going through my e-statements I remembered I had another over limit charge, July 2015, for a similar silly amount. Neither this time BC reported anything to CRAs (is it normal?). I guess this answers my original question, and I guess my credit limit is going to be low for a looong time. That's really bad, since this card is the oldest credit account I have on file. I don't want to close it since I want to keep a consistent history of payments, but until I get a healthy credit limit there is no chance someone else will open a credit line for me.

SLZ

Are you using a barclaycard initial? If so, you'll have a hard time getting the limit increased. Call and talk about upgrading the card to a different kind such as the Platinum or apply for a different card with a different issuer if possible.

concernedSaver

Are you using a barclaycard initial?

It's a freedom rewards, which I think is different than the initial?
Anyways, please see my edit above, it's quite straightforward that going twice above the limit has hurt my chances with them.

It's a bit silly that they didn't report this over limit to any CRA, though...

No_6

get a NEW card from another bank

cheesetoast

Use the eligibility checker http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/credit-card-eligibility-calculator?_ga=1.170500456.91487349.1427224802 to see if you can get a card from a different lender.

concernedSaver

Thanks everyone for your advice. Turns out that Barclaycard is taking my over limit slips into account, although my general credit score is apparently good enough to get accepted for an AmEx gold charge card (which suits my spending better with no monthly limits and is supposed to be paid every month in full).