Sainsburys Card applications

rnem170

I tried to apply for a Sainsbury's zero fee transfer card and was offered just 20 months with 28.9% APR after last week. I declined that offer.

Today I applied for a normal card (0% on purchases) and was offered 2 months, again at 28.9% after the period. Again I declined.

What could be going on. I'm over 50, I own my house (no mortgage), only have a small number of card accounts - and have never missed a payment (and never paid interest). Clearscore rates me at over 530/700 (area average 477).

The only question which I think might have affected me is my current bank account which is only 6 months (as I switched in June). Any ideas why I would be offered deals for people with bad credit? Seems very odd.

Is it worth calling them? Has anyone else had bad offers?

A4445

I don’t think it was such a good idea applying twice for the same company. You clearly don’t meet their criteria for their best offers. Plus having two hard search searches isn’t going to help. I’d suggest leaving it 6 months and try a different lender.

[Deleted User]

You're not getting bad offers. You're getting good ones but declining them.

People with poor credit don't get 20 month 0% deals.

However, the repeated searches are now depressing your chances. Leave it a few months and then apply elsewhere.

While you're doing that, check your three credit files but disregard the scores and ratings they give you.

Carrot007

rnem170 wrote: »

What could be going on.

Let's look into that...

rnem170 wrote: »

I'm over 50, I own my house (no mortgage)

So you are old(in the not a stupid youngster way), so less risk averse. So unlikly to make them money.


You have no credit history in regards to a mortgage. This is a bad point (though maybe you have some in the last 6 years?)

rnem170 wrote: »

only have a small number of card accounts - and have never missed a payment (and never paid interest)

So you never pay interest and you wonder why credit card companies are not really interested?

rnem170 wrote: »

Clearscore rates me at over 530/700 (area average 477).

And? What does some made up score mean? (Which is not good by their scoring system anyway).

maxximus75

20 months at 0% with no fee........... thats not such a bad deal?

[Deleted User]

The problem is you kept declining the offers.

So they will get less and less

rnem170

Hang on a minute... they are giving me an interest rate and period for someone who is a bad credit risk. That's my issue here.

Unless I'm very much mistaken - the way to get a good credit score is to have cards and pay them off. To have a mortgage and pay that off, or, to have small amounts of debt and to be seen paying that off and not default on anything, and not to have any CCJs etc.

I can only think that they don't like how long I've had my main bank account. If that's the case, then that's a word of warning to users of this site who regularly switch accounts to get the best rates. I've certainly not been declined opening any other bank accounts and such ever. It's just Sainsburys for their card.

[Deleted User]

rnem170 wrote: »

Hang on a minute... they are giving me an interest rate and period for someone who is a bad credit risk.

No, you're not

Bad credit risks don't get 20 months at 0%. They get rejected from Sainsbury's and get a 49.9% Vanquis card.

If you genuinely want to understand your risk, look at your files and forget about the pretend scores.

Red-Squirrel_2

rnem170 wrote: »

I've certainly not been declined opening any other bank accounts and such ever. It's just Sainsburys for their card.

You haven’t been declined by Sainsbury’s either.

PixelPound

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

You haven’t been declined by Sainsbury’s either.

Exactly, the OP declined because wasn't given the top headline length. If OP had accepted 20 months 0% no fee, then that should have been accepted with the aim of applying for something else in 19 months time.

To OP: No point phoning, this isn't an irish EU vote "sorry wrong answer try again" and you have had two hard searches so a third application or even an application elsewhere would be affected as it won't show that you were offered and declined them. It's never good advice to make multiple applications to the same company in a very short space of time.

msallen

rnem170 wrote: »

Hang on a minute... they are giving me an interest rate and period for someone who is a bad credit risk. That's my issue here.

As explained above - no you're not.

Unless I'm very much mistaken - the way to get a good credit score is to have cards and pay them off. To have a mortgage and pay that off, or, to have small amounts of debt and to be seen paying that off and not default on anything, and not to have any CCJs etc.

As explained above the "score" doesn't mean anything, and even if your credit history (not score) indicates that you are very unlikely to renege on a credit agreement, that is not the same thing as being an attractive customer to Sainsburys

I can only think that they don't like how long I've had my main bank account. If that's the case, then that's a word of warning to users of this site who regularly switch accounts to get the best rates. I've certainly not been declined opening any other bank accounts and such ever. It's just Sainsburys for their card.

So you can still only think the same as you started this thread thinking, having taken absolutely no notice of what the responses have said. I have to wonder why you bothered posting in the first place.