Having issues applying for a new 0% card after stoozing on old card, what am I missing?

trif55

Hi, I've got a First Direct card with 20k limit it had 0% for 18 months that ended in Jan, I paid off around 10k in Nov & Dec after doing minimum payments before that and investing my pay. I tried to get a card in Jan but got generally rejected or low limits like 3k or 12 months 0%. The paid off  is now reflected on credit agencies as of Feb, I only have a few hundred outstanding balance and credit scores well into the top bracket still. However Virgin Money's 20 months 0% Card says 0% chance of acceptance, doesn't give any indication why it would have rejected me, I also re-applied to M&S' 18 month card which rejected me in january and it didn't give any indication straight away, just said they'd review it manually and email me, all seems very odd? What do I need to change to improve my chances? Thanks

cymruchris

Lots of variables that could be having an impact. You've got a decent limit on that card - however you took it out when the world was a different place. Credit generally appears to have become less easy to obtain in the current climate, and that's not likely to change significantly in the next month or two. You say you've kept an eye on the repayment history on the various agencies - so I'm guessing you've scrutinised them all closely to ensure there are no hidden adverse entries that you weren't aware of?

It could be that you have other debts/cards that might have an impact - it could be your repayment patterns - it could be your time at a current address - it's all guesswork really. If everything on your files is spot on, then there's nothing much further you can do for the moment - other than taking one of the lower limit cards and building up a higher limit through good financial management. 

Do you have lots of other credit facilities? And do many of them carry a balance?

trif55

Thanks for the reply, the only one I can think really is the repayment pattern, because I paid only the minimum for about a year while carrying £5-£10K then paid it all down right at the end. 5 years at current address. Nope no other debt or credit in my name currently whatsoever.

I did think maybe card companies are massively risk averse currently, I was reading the thread about people having their credit limits cut to near their balance, from £10K down to like £800 so I guess they're trying to reduce their risk

[Deleted User]

Sound like your credit history is a little limited with the single card, which although giving you a high score with the CRAs, gives you a low score with lenders. 

Get another card or two and make sure that you're using it regularly and clearing in full each/nth.  Don't just rely on credit for managing debt.

cymruchris

It could be that - but then again it might not be. You still have the FD card? You didn't close the account right? Keep popping a few transactions on there and paying off in full by DD each month for the foreseeable - and either take on one of the new cards at a lower limit and build it up over time, or try another eligibility checker a few months down the line. 

trif55

Thanks both, I've never had any debt I couldn't pay off, just taking advantage of the 0% rate, I guess the lack of history on other cards and minimum payments have them worried.

Long term as this 0% stoozing seems to be a hassle when it comes to getting another card I was thinking about getting a cashback card so I'll see if I can get one of those and just leave it on direct debit and use that for most things and put the odd thing on the FD card so hopefully I'll have better history eventually