Unusual Credit History

[Deleted User]

Jellytussel wrote: »

Not sure I agree with you on that. Waiters and hotel clerks are on the whole tremendous snobs and I have seen them salivating over Amex Centurions and even my own private bank charge card. Flash an Aqua or CapOne and they instantly know to keep an eye on you as someone who will probably steal the ashtrays or not leave a tip.
But however entrancing it is to wander unchecked through a garden of bright images, are we not enticing your mind from another subject of almost equal importance?
Specifically the only question I have asked here, which is does anyone know of a mainstream credit card provider that will have a sensible discussion rather than just going by its computer algorithms?

Then you need to get out of the bubble and not drag yourself down to their level with social status.

And I answered your question in the last paragraph of my previous post.

Jellytussel

Well, no you didn't.
Your answer was that I should work it out for myself. Very useful, thanks for that.
Making this a no doubt fascinating but equally somewhat pointless conversation.
If anyone else has any genuine suggestions I would be delighted to hear from them.

[Deleted User]

Really?

Have you actually bothered with your own research or just come straight on here?

Pick a lender that stands out the most for you and looks flash enough, then call them and ask if they accept telephone applications.

Job done.

Takmon

Jellytussel wrote: »

Yes, I had a few years of sub-prime cards, perfect payment records on them, £10K total limits, but got annoyed when Aqua for no obvious reason reduced my limit and increased the APR so I cancelled them. As I say, I can easily get the sub-prime cards, my question is whether there is any mainstream card that will have a sensible conversation.
My record is not totally invisible as I have those now cancelled cards on it, the NW account, 3G payments going back 6 years, etc.

The simple answer to your question is "no" and that is because credit cards don't generate much profit for them from people who can afford to pay in full each month. So it's not cost effective for them to arrange meetings with customers and spend a lot of time on applications. The computerised approach is cheap and effective for them for the level of profit they will get from a credit card user.

It was a big mistake to cancel those cards because the longer you had them paying in full each month made it more and more likely for a mainstream lender to accept you. Your best bet is to apply for these cards again, use them and build up a good credit history which will eventually let you get a mainstream card.

Also make sure your on the electoral roll and check all your credit reports to ensure all the data reported is correct.

Jellytussel

The point of asking the question here was to see if I could get a helpful response, not to have a pointless conversation.
If you or others know of a credit card provider that offers that service, do let me know.
If not, I am at a loss as to why you are wasting your no doubt valuable time making pointless posts here.

Jellytussel

Okay, thanks, Takmon.
That makes sense.
I will leave Gary to his beer or whatever he is on.

Ben8282

Has it ever occurred to you that if you were to have your high salary paid into your Nationwide account as opposed to your account with this strange charge card issuing non-reporting private bank that you use, they would probably be falling over themselves to get you to obtain other financial products, including a credit card. with them.
If you go into a high street bank which offers private banking accounts with your few hundred k savings and deposit the required minimum with them in savings and investments, I am quite sure that during the meeting they could be approached with regard to the question of a credit card.
I am curious about this charge card with the high limit that you say the bank has given you. I know that Natwest have a (no longer available to new customers) private banking mastercard charge card product (which fortunately does not cause waiters and hotel clerks to saliviate over it) but these cards are reported and I doubt you bank with Natwest. As I am not familiar with any other such products perhaps you could enlighten us about this card.
Your comments about the reaction of waiters and hotel clerks are interesting. I could agree to an extent that, on checking into a really expensive hotel, it may be preferable to produce an Amex Centurion card than a Vanquis card but again you would not be using the Vanquis card on these occasions would you? Cards should be used as appropriate. Were you aware that Amex Centurion card holders are offered free additional cards in their own name in a variety of colours so that they can choose the card most appropriate for the occasion? Black for dining at the Tour d'Argent, Green for dining at McDonalds.
To return to your original problem of inability to obtain a credit card, your defaults are now several years old and settled. You claim to have held a good stable job for a few years and be earning a well,above average salary. You claim that you are maintaining your credit accounts in good order. Leaving aside the question of why exactly you choose to use this particular private bank that you do as opposed to a normal high street bank, why don't you try an application for a credit card and see what happens. How do you KNOW that the Nationwide computer will auto decline you?
Even if you are forced to lower your expectations and accept a credit builder card, you can always use it to build up your credit history in places where nobody will see it. Use it for pay at pump petrol purchases or at self service check outs in supermarkets. That way you will not have to face the embarrassment of being seen using it.

Jellytussel

Yes that did occur to me. After a year of paying in my ridiculously high salary to Nationwide I applied to them for a credit card and they said no, so in a fit of irritation I closed that account and went to a private bank. I then reopened an NW account a year ago for the sake of credit reference visibility. Both times they gave me a "basic" bank account then six months later fell over themselves to offer a real one. However, they seem to have no interest in having a conversation with me. All is automated at head office.
One thing that puzzles me is that NW readily give me an overdraft but not a credit card.
What I like about my private bank is that you can talk to them in branch rather than going through stupid algorithms. They understand how and why I had to default 5 years ago, my current circumstances, etc, and will trust me with a high limit charge card. And I could explain the same thing to any reasonably intelligent 12 year old in 10 minutes.
On your other question, a soft search on NW says declined. I doubt that a hard search would get a better result, so what's the point?
As I said at the beginning, this is a bit of a first world problem. I don't even use cards all that much, just take out a pile of 50s from the local cash machine each week.

[Deleted User]

The more you post the more and more this sounds like a troll post.

Make an online application and if declined ask for a manual review.

Job done.

Jellytussel

As I have told you, Nationwide will not accept any review of an online credit card application, even though I bank with them
If you have any useful suggestions, feel free to offer them, I cannot say that any of your posts here in this thread have been in anyway useful and some of them have been offensive.