Credit checks

gunslinger13401

Hi
My friend is a single mother on benefits and has all her benefit paid into bank/ex building soc.
She as recently found the savings in buying online but she only has a cashpoint card.
I advised her to apply for a debit card so she filled in the forms and was told that it would take 10 days for them to decide whether she qualified. She asked what they meant by this and was told that she would have to pass a credit check.
She asked why and was told it was normal procedure. Why?

She has stated categorically that she does not want to borrow any money and she has insisted that no overdraft facilities are to be linked to her account. She has banked with this organisation for more than six years and has never had a problem with her account.

Is it just me that finds this outrageous. All she want is to be able to access her own money with a card that enables her to shop on line. So what justification do they have to run a credit check.

Perhaps someone else has had a similar experience or maybe you work in a bank and feel that this is justified.
Comment please.
Mike

Homework

There are previous threads about debit cards and how it is possbile to go overdrawn with them so there are assumed risks with them.

I feel the same, that it is your money with a debit card, but apparantly there are people out there abusing them so getting one is not automatic. I know we could not get one and then changed banks and got one.

Hopefully it will come through ok, asking for an account and saying you don't want the overdraft etc does not work as the account has a criteria based on the account and not what you want. Many banks have a basic account with a debit card that she could have when in receipt of benefit and hopefully she is with one of them.

The banks have a right ot protect themselves and have their own rules, if she has applied for an account that they consider needs a credit check then it needs to be done. A debit card was obviously not available on the account she had.

Balls_Of_Steel

gunslinger13401 wrote: »

Hi
My friend is a single mother on benefits and has all her benefit paid into bank/ex building soc.
She as recently found the savings in buying online but she only has a cashpoint card.

If she fails the credit check, point her in the direction of a prepayment debit card that can be used for online buying https://www.breadcard.com/index.aspx

zakalwe_2

She could also get a free credit check from Experian for peace of mind. Just as long as she remembers to cancel the account before the 30 days are up to avoid being charged

Homework

I found Clydesdale Bank/Yorkshire Bank very good. Maestro card. Bank of Scotland/Halifax do a Visa Electron card