New mobile phone contract failing credit check

cid_2

Truly baffling afternoon I've had. I'm trying to get a new mobile contract. I've tried with both Carphone Warehouse and Three, and both times it's failed the credit check. My Experian score, whatever that's worth, is 991 according to the MSE Credit Club. I have no debts, on cards or anything, haven't had for years and we've even just finished paying off the mortgage. The full Experian report flags up nothing unexpected, and the details in it are correct.

The thing I don't understand is that in the credit report (on the Experian site and the Credit Club) there are no credit checks showing up (other than the ones in the course of signing up for Experian and the Credit Club this afternoon - those are in 'Searches that do NOT impact your Credit Score' and 'Searches that may impact your Credit Score' is empty).

How am I failing a credit check from two phone companies when it looks like they're not even doing the check? It feels like I'm misunderstanding what's going on with my credit report as that surely can't be right. And surely a phone company doesn't turn down business on the grounds that my credit history is basically spotless.

If anyone has any pointers, tips or experience of this particular oddness, I'd be very grateful to hear it, and thanks in advance.

molerat

And what do your Equifax and TransUnion files show ?  Your score is meaningless, it is the content of your file that matters.

ItsComingRome

cid_2 said:

Truly baffling afternoon I've had. I'm trying to get a new mobile contract. I've tried with both Carphone Warehouse and Three, and both times it's failed the credit check. My Experian score, whatever that's worth, is 991 according to the MSE Credit Club. I have no debts, on cards or anything, haven't had for years and we've even just finished paying off the mortgage. The full Experian report flags up nothing unexpected, and the details in it are correct.

The thing I don't understand is that in the credit report (on the Experian site and the Credit Club) there are no credit checks showing up (other than the ones in the course of signing up for Experian and the Credit Club this afternoon - those are in 'Searches that do NOT impact your Credit Score' and 'Searches that may impact your Credit Score' is empty).

How am I failing a credit check from two phone companies when it looks like they're not even doing the check? It feels like I'm misunderstanding what's going on with my credit report as that surely can't be right. And surely a phone company doesn't turn down business on the grounds that my credit history is basically spotless.

If anyone has any pointers, tips or experience of this particular oddness, I'd be very grateful to hear it, and thanks in advance.

"Check your credit file" (or words to that effect) is the universal fob off reason.  It often may not even be something on your credit files that they don't like.  But as molerat says they could have checked Equifax or Transunion.

cid_2

molerat said:

And what do your Equifax and TransUnion files show ?  Your score is meaningless, it is the content of your file that matters.

I will try to find that out, but according to this - https://www.creditladder.co.uk/experian-equifax-or-both - at least Three only use Experian. Other sites suggest Three use Experian too. 

macman

'Spotless' credit history? Or empty credit history? Two very different things. Prospective lenders want to see a record of credit being taken, and repaid on time. Does yours show that?

cid_2

macman said:

'Spotless' credit history? Or empty credit history? Two very different things. Prospective lenders want to see a record of credit being taken, and repaid on time. Does yours show that?

Well I had a mortgage for the last 20 years that we finished paying off last month. We occasionally go overdrawn on the joint current account when we're not paying attention but I suppose that's not credit. I've always had a credit card that I use a bit here and there, but I do pay that off in full every month as well. Do those not count as having a credit history then?

Actually I do currently have a positive balance on the credit card - £69 because of a refund on an event that got cancelled. Could it be that?

[Deleted User]

The overdraft is very much credit, and something you should avoid using.

'Not paying attention' is a high risk characteristic, so I'd get on top of that sooner rather than later.

[Deleted User]

The overdraft, particularly if unauthorised, and going in regularly is a big red flag for affordability, almost certainly why you were refused. Also shows how much of a joke the scores are.

cid_2

It's not plausible that it's the overdraft. It's approved up to £500 and we've never gone anywhere near that. Today I got a text saying we're we're using £38 of the overdraft so I immediately transferred more into it. (It won't be an issue after this month as we'll carry on making regular payments into it but the mortgage will no longer be coming out.)

I'm running out of logical explanations (unless it's the positive credit card balance), which leaves me suspecting it's just a dumb system. I mean, at the root of all this is that I can blatantly afford a phone contract. But computer says no and all that, I suppose. 

ItsComingRome

cid_2 said:

It's not plausible that it's the overdraft. It's approved up to £500 and we've never gone anywhere near that. Today I got a text saying we're we're using £38 of the overdraft so I immediately transferred more into it. (It won't be an issue after this month as we'll carry on making regular payments into it but the mortgage will no longer be coming out.)

I'm running out of logical explanations (unless it's the positive credit card balance), which leaves me suspecting it's just a dumb system. I mean, at the root of all this is that I can blatantly afford a phone contract. But computer says no and all that, I suppose. 

What difference does the overdraft being approved make? Overdraft use is known to make lenders jittery, it shows you have no emergency fund or potentially a financial plan for if things take a turn for the worse.

kaMelo

Just buy the phone and get a SIMO/PAYG deal, you'll almost certainly save money in doing so and have more flexibility going forward.
As to the overdraft, using ANY amount of overdraft (not just going over your limit) is a bad sign. It shows you're spending more than you have coming it.