Credit Approval Zero / Credit Score 100%????

scruickshank

Hi Guys, I am totally bemused by my situation.  I am a paid member of both Experian & Equifax and keep an eye on my credit score. About 2 years ago, my score did take a slight dip (one or two late payments on my company expenses related card) which resulted in Virgin Money (Credit Card) sending me a letter and freezing the card I have with them, not allowing other purchases and simply paying it off. I have other cards and don't want to come across a bit blasé but could pay them off in full but I use them for air miles / cashback etc. In the last 18months I have now got a 999 credit score with Experian and have tried with zero success to get Virgin Money to reassess my situation.  They have simply refused, written to me saying its their final correspondence on the matter and i'm being unfairly treated.   I also used the eligibility checker on this website and it came back with almost ZERO % chance of application success for EVERY balance transfer card request.  I do not understand.  I am 505 (Excellent) with Equifax and 999 with Experian and I appear to be getting treated like I have the worst credit rating ever.  My credit reports show NOTHING but good repayment history in the last 18-24 months and no CCJ's etc.   Its really frustrating.  Is the Financial Ombudsman the only answer?  Many Thanks, Scott. 

[Deleted User]

Unfortunately, nobody cares about the scores you've been given.  Until the CRAs start lending money, your credit scores will remain as much use to a lender as your horoscope.

What do you three files show? Debts, limits, history, and all in relation to your income?  THen check CIFAS. The fact Virgin blocked your card suggest you're presenting a high degree of risk.

The FOS isn't any sort of an answer, let alone the only one, as they don't make lending decisions.

Also stop paying for your credit reports and get them free instead. That will improve your financial situation markedly.

Hasbeen

As above stop paying and get free.
You are the only one who sees these "scores"

Have a read here 
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/check-free-credit-report/

Fighter1986

Your "Credit Score" that Experian sell you, which as others have alluded to, is utterly meaningless, as lenders use their own criteria and scoring model based on the actual contents of your credit history, they don't see this score that you're sold.

When a lender says "We use a technique called credit scoring" they don't mean they see the sane number you see when you log in to experian, they make up their own based not only on the information provided to them on your credit file, but also the information in your application and information they already hold on you.

Factors that can affect an application for credit that aren't part of Experian's "Score" model include:

Whether or not you're a homeowner
Whether you're registered to vote
How long you've lived at your address - and whether electoral role data backs this up
How long you've been with you bank
How long you've held your current job for
Whether a landline number was provided on your application
Whether you use your overdraft, by how much, and how often (Never using your overdraft is a big plus)
How often you open and close accounts (new accounts or an abundance of short lived accounts is considered negatively in some credit scoring models)
How old your newest account is
How many credit searches you've had performed against you in the last 12 months, how old the most recent was
Whether you have any lines of credit that you don't use, how many (having at least one line of credit that is unused appearing on your credit file shows lenders that you aren't desperate for credit)
How much you owe compared with your income (Having unsecured debts above 33~50% of your annual income is a negative)
How much you owe compared with your credit limits (Owing more than 50% of your overall credit limits is a negative)
How much you repay each month against your current lines of credit
Whether you're just paying the minimum
Whether you've made any cash withdrawals from a credit card, how many, and when

All of the above data is available to a lender when you make an application to them, but most of it isn't taken into account when Experian / Equifax / Trans Union / Credit Karma / Clear Score / Aunt Maud / Paul down the pub work out your "Score" you see when you log in to their customer portal. 

PRAISETHESUN

Virgin are under no obligation to provide you credit and as long as they withdrew your facilities in line with their T&Cs (that you agreed to during the application process) then you have no comeback here. If they do not want to reinstate your old account or provide you with new services then they do not have to. I'd move along and look elsewhere. Involving the FOS will be a waste of everyone's (including your own) time.

Also, as above, your scores don't matter at all - only the history does. Additionally don't pay for your reports as you can access them for free by requesting your statutory data from the 3 CRAs. Lenders in general are tightening up their criteria these days, so it's possible that you just don't tick any of the boxes that lenders want to see by having too much existing debt/high limits on your other cards

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

My imperfect score at the experian is 999. It proffers me a few things, then say I don't qualify! It is a marketing fool, sorry tool!

As for my score, I go round to Brenda's at number 58 and she counts the tea leafs. I find this more accurate!

cymruchris

There are a myriad of financial institutions out there - why are you so fixated on Virgin? Just close the chapter - turn the page - move on. No amount of jumping up and down is going to get you a Virgin account back now. Don't waste your time and energy. Find another account and not worry about it any further.

MEM62

scruickshank said:

 I am a paid member of both Experian & Equifax 

Why when all the information you need is available free?

finalfantasist

cymruchris said:

There are a myriad of financial institutions out there - why are you so fixated on Virgin? Just close the chapter - turn the page - move on. No amount of jumping up and down is going to get you a Virgin account back now. Don't waste your time and energy. Find another account and not worry about it any further.

Some people act like clingy exes with their previous financial providers who've given them the boot.  I don't really get it either.

etienneg

scruickshank said:

I am a paid member of both Experian & Equifax and keep an eye on my credit score.
... one or two late payments
... Virgin Money (Credit Card) sending me a letter and freezing the card I have with them
... I have other cards but could pay them off in full

To be honest, the above quotes don't show someone who is in good control of his/her finances.
Don't pay for what you can get for nothing.
Never make obligatory payments late.
Virgin credit is now history for you.
Why do you have balances on cards you could pay off in full? This means you are paying a lot of unnecessary interest, which is calculated each month on the whole amount of spending until it's paid off, not just on the amount you leave unpaid. Once you have made the purchase, you get the rewards (and s75 protection, if appropriate), so pay off the full statement balance by the due date every month. This is best done by setting up a direct debit.