Isle of Man resident

LStrand

Hi all

I'm trying to get a credit card. My credit score etc is really good and the money expert eligibility test says ive got really good chances of getting certain cards. Only trouble is that when I apply I'm told I can't have it because I live in the Isle of Man!

Is there a way around this, or is anyone else having these problems? I know it can be done cz my friends have virgin credit cards etc., but they can't remember what they did to get them

jonesMUFCforever

Apply with a bank based in the Isle of Man - simples!

[Deleted User]

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

Apply with a bank based in the Isle of Man - simples!

Of which there are many inc almost if not all UK banks

Ben8282

I don't know about the Isle of Man but I do know that in Gibraltar, separate from any offshore business, both Natwest and Barclays (and previously Norwich and Peterborough) maintain normal UK branches to provide normal banking service to the local resident population. I assume that a similar situation exists in the Isle of Man.
Obviously if your credit score is really good as you say it is, then you must have obtained credit products in the past in order for it to have become really good. So how did you obtain these credit products?
Could you not ask your friends how they got their cards, or a work colleague or a neighbour or your family or somebody like that? Or you could even pop into your own bank and see if anybody there could give you some advice. After, perhaps you could post your info here to help others in the same situation.

agrinnall

Ben8282 wrote: »

I assume that a similar situation exists in the Isle of Man.

Yes it does.

This 2015 thread may be of help to the OP.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5187291

jonesMUFCforever

venison wrote: »

Of which there are many inc almost if not all UK banks

Yes but they are based ''offshore'' for fiscal reasons.
eg Nat west Isle of man is not the same bank as Nat West uk PLC.

kingstonchap

The Isle of Man is a separate country to the UK, though has a customs agreement under article 3. Essentially, it is a separate jurisdiction. Traditionally this allowed it to hide depositor's money and engage in secret money deals, money laundering and money deposits from evil dictators the world over. It could only do this by being disconnected from UK regulators and maintaining absolute secrecy. Recently it has been forced to clean up, and has suffered an economic crisis, much like Jersey and other jurisdictions. It has a very low and lean supervisory regime. A number of funds are totally unregulated and unsupervised. There have been numerous bank and fund failures such as Bearings, Kaupthing, Premier Holdings. There is little consumer protection. Depositor schemes in the UK protect £85,000, IOM protects only £50,000. The rules and risks than govern UK and IOM banks are very different to each other, so the banks in each must operate separately. And this is why you must apply for a credit card in the jurisdiction in which you live.

Ben8282

Please see previous threads regarding Isle of Man and CI residents.
Problem is, they never get back to the forum with the answer ......
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5653123

iomchap

The Isle of Man is in a much better situation than suggested here, Kaupthing failed due to the UK seizing the IOM operation's funds it had placed with its parent company in the UK and Barings came under difficulty due to the trading activities of Nick Leeson. Regulations are extremely tight under the control of the local regulator and have been for quite some time. What is mis-understood is that the Isle of Man as are Jersey and Guernsey, are international financial centres which also act as a conduit for business flowing in to the UK I would suggest that the banks themselves hold in excess of £20bn in the UK some of which will be utilised in lending to UK businesses.


The issue with cards was due to a mis-understanding of how the Credit Consumer Act would apply. This has since been resolved.