Declined due to Rating - Rating is 999/999

mayfield_uk

Hi guys,

I applied for a Sainsbury's credit card last week and have just received a letter declining me. The letter is the usual stuff about obtaining information from Experian about my credit history etc. I have checked my credit rating with Experian and its 999/999.

I'm a little confused why I have been declined, am also annoyed that this will have left a mark on my credit rating now if I want to apply with someone else. I'm a little unsure what to do here as the letter doesn't really give me any options to query their decision (somewhat understandably).

Am I able to get them to reconsider?

Thanks for your help!

DCFC79

mayfield_uk wrote: »

Hi guys,

I applied for a Sainsbury's credit card last week and have just received a letter declining me. The letter is the usual stuff about obtaining information from Experian about my credit history etc. I have checked my credit rating with Experian and its 999/999.

I'm a little confused why I have been declined, am also annoyed that this will have left a mark on my credit rating now if I want to apply with someone else. I'm a little unsure what to do here as the letter doesn't really give me any options to query their decision (somewhat understandably).

Am I able to get them to reconsider?

Thanks for your help!

You have been declined because they have the option to do so, don't beat yourself up over it as its one of them things.

Re the thread title you haven't been declined due to your rating, if only lenders went by the rating but they don't, only you can see the rating.

Is there an entry on your credit file ? Why not check it

Even if there is an entry, it will just be a search was carried out.

You can apply for somewhere else if you like.

You can see if you can get them to reconsider but why should they accept you ?

Maybe they used all 3 credit ref agencies and decided to not want you as a customer.

agrinnall

If you'd been declined by Experian you might have a valid complaint, but as they don't issue credit cards the number they provide is there solely as a means of extracting money from gullible people who are prepared to pay them for it.

bertiewhite

I think the OP is asking how Sainsbury's can claim they have declined if, in the same letter they say they check using Experian yet the same credit scoring company tells the OP they have a perfect score.

amfan

bertiewhite wrote: »

I think the OP is asking how Sainsbury's can claim they have declined if, in the same letter they say they check using Experian yet the same credit scoring company tells the OP they have a perfect score.

I would imagine they are saying that upon checking the credit history via Experian they have decided not to offer credit. That does not mean that the 999 score the OP has is what Sainsburys saw or used as their basis. A 999 score can be given when there is absolutely no credit history whatsoever, in that instance Sainsburys may decide that there is not enough information in Experian to go on, yet according to the magic score they would feel they have a perfect credit rating so should be entitled to all lines of credit.

OP - have you looked at what information is within your credit file on Experian or have you just looked at the score?

[Deleted User]

mayfield_uk wrote: »

I'm a little confused why I have been declined, am also annoyed that this will have left a mark on my credit rating now if I want to apply with someone else.

You've been declined because you didn't meet their criteria. They're not interested in Experian's opinion about you, only the data.

Use an eligibility checker to get an idea of who may accept you for your next application. It's not a cast iron guarantee, but is better than just picking a lender randomly.

mayfield_uk

Thanks for the responses. Have applied with Barclays and was approved. Their system of applying and getting approval within a minute is amazing compared to the week it took Sainsbury's to do the same.

To clarify, I've got a decent credit history and after checking my rating with Experian (listed as their source on their letter) I couldn't think of a reason why Sainsbury's would decline me.

The line "If your circumstances change, we will be more than happy for you to reapply" suggests there was something. I wasn't sure whether this meant there was a mistake that could/should be corrected, a sign that there is an issue somewhere I wasn't aware of or just something else outside my control not to worry about. I had falsely assumed that good credit rating and history = pretty much guaranteed offer.

Is a little frustrating that you don't seem to get anymore information from them - have checked everything I can on my file and its all ok.

Guess there is something there they aren't happy with - no problem now. Barclays offer a great balance transfer card/account anyways.

Thanks for your advice everyone! :T

PeacefulWaters

How long between the Barclaycard application and the Sainsbury application?

eddddy

CC companies typically won't discuss why they've rejected you.

This article in the Telegraph suggests that some CC cards reject applicants with good credit records, because they are unlikely to be profitable.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/borrowing/creditcards/10191773/Perfect-borrowers-rejected-by-credit-card-firms.html

For example, if it's a reward CC and the customer pays off it in full each month, there's very little scope for the CC company to make any money out of you.

pcman1985

You were declined because you did not meet their criteria, you were not declined because of a number given to you by Experian, only you and Experian see that number. The lender would have not seen it when they checked your credit file.

Ignore the scores and just focus on the information on your credit file.

RG2015

eddddy wrote: »

CC companies typically won't discuss why they've rejected you.

This article in the Telegraph suggests that some CC cards reject applicants with good credit records, because they are unlikely to be profitable.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/borrowing/creditcards/10191773/Perfect-borrowers-rejected-by-credit-card-firms.html

For example, if it's a reward CC and the customer pays off it in full each month, there's very little scope for the CC company to make any money out of you.

Quote from the Telegraph article.

"Lenders create a secret formula based on the type of customer they want. The applicants’ details, including credit scores obtained from referencing agencies such as Experian, Equifax and Call Credit, are fed into the formula to produce a “yes” or “no”."

If lenders cannot see your credit score then this shows that the Telegraph are including lies in their article.