Refused Student Account due to having TOO MUCH credit?

thwacks

Hi guys. I've been with Nationwide for a while now, and I recently tried to convert my FlexOne account to a FlexStudent account, lured by the fee-free overdraft for the duration of the course.
Everything was going fine, but I was rejected at the credit check. This was quite shocking to me, as I have a Nationwide Select Credit Card, with around a 1/2k limit, a Mastercard I keep as a spare in case I lose my card with around a 1/2k limit, and an Amex, with around a 10k limit, already, so I couldn't see why I was refused. I appealed the refusal, and I have been told they are unable to overturn the decision, as I have too much available credit, and possibly too much debt(?!), and they are a responsible lender.


I pay off my credit cards in full each month, and I mainly just use them because of the cashback rewards they afford me. I'd go for another student account, but I believe that as a second year student I've left it too late, so I'd only be eligible for an account at a bank where I already have an account.


Where do I go from here? I thought that having these credit cards would mean I would be more likely to be accepted for things in the future, and it has been improving my credit score on credit checking websites. I could really use the overdraft in the future as a safety net. I don't see why it's Nationwide's concern that I would be unable to pay off the Amex either, as surely that is Amex's concern (not that I'd ever spend too much on it anyway).



Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

BoGoF

What income are you going to have whilst doing the course?

thwacks

BoGoF wrote: »

What income are you going to have whilst doing the course?

I'm already in my second year of the course, so the income will mostly be the same as it is now. A combination of student loan, parents helping out, and part time "self-employed" (Deliveroo) work.


It more than covers everything that needs to be covered.

JuicyJesus

That's a lot of available credit to have as a student who also works for Deliveroo. As far as they're concerned you could whack £11k on your credit cards and however much your overdraft would be, and then you'd be !!!!!!ed. They also won't take into account that your parents give you money since this is even less of a guaranteed income than Deliveroo.

I'm very confused as to how you have three credit cards, one with the notoriously picky Amex with a £10k limit, while also having a FlexOne account which requires you to be 17 or under. But in short, they're quite justified in thinking you can't handle much more credit.

[Deleted User]

Do you "NEED" the overdraft?

thwacks

JuicyJesus wrote: »

That's a lot of available credit to have as a student who also works for Deliveroo. As far as they're concerned you could whack £11k on your credit cards and however much your overdraft would be, and then you'd be !!!!!!ed. They also won't take into account that your parents give you money since this is even less of a guaranteed income than Deliveroo.

I'm very confused as to how you have three credit cards, one with the notoriously picky Amex with a £10k limit, while also having a FlexOne account which requires you to be 17 or under. But in short, they're quite justified in thinking you can't handle much more credit.

You can keep the FlexOne until you're 23, it grandfathers you in.
I started with an Aqua card when I turned 18, built up credit, and eventually was able to get better rates through that. Amex offered 10k after the first year with them.


Fair enough, I wouldn't be able to handle all that credit were I to spend to the limit, but it just strikes me as odd as I've never had an overdraft, so they can see (since they're my main current account) how I handle my money.

thwacks

!!! wrote: »

Do you "NEED" the overdraft?

No, I guess not, but as it's fee-free and follows you until you finish university, I thought it'd be a good thing to have in case of circumstances changing.

BoGoF

So you do not have the income to justify £11k on a credit card and an overdraft. Seems a logical decision by NW

thwacks

BoGoF wrote: »

So you do not have the income to justify £11k on a credit card and an overdraft. Seems a logical decision by NW

Fair dos, cheers!

ArbitraryRandom

thwacks wrote: »

No, I guess not, but as it's fee-free and follows you until you finish university, I thought it'd be a good thing to have in case of circumstances changing.

That's exactly the bit they're worried about...

thwacks

ArbitraryRandom wrote: »

That's exactly the bit they're worried about...

Yeah that's fair, I was just wondering why I'd be worried about more than the typical student that applies who I imagine has absolutely no credit history.



Where should I go from here, reducing the Amex limit? It was pretty small until recently when they offered to increase it to 10k.