Rejected for a Select account from RBS - worth appealing?

ChronicThinker

Just applied for a Select account at RBS, didn't really think much of it just looking for a crappy account to open so I can use it to switch to another bank and get a bonus.

Filled in identity information and uploaded a picture of my drivers licence along with some sort of "liveness" test. After a minute I received an email that said this:

Hello [MY FIRST NAME],

When you apply for a Select account we need to carry out a few checks. Unfortunately, having made those checks we are unable to proceed with opening your account at this stage.

If you still wish to proceed with your application, please email avureview@natwest.com. Please note that, upon review, we may still decide not to open the account. If you decide to contact us regarding this application, please provide your full name, postcode and date of birth. We will respond to your email within 5 working days.

As a reminder and in line with our Terms and Conditions, please click here for further information on Credit checks and how we use your information.

This email supersedes all other communication you may have received in relation to your application.

Thanks,

Royal Bank of Scotland

I think they did a credit check and decided I wasn't worthy of an account. Has this happened to anyone before? 

Never been rejected from an application to open a current account before. Is it worth appealing this decision? It's not terribly important to me but I'm annoyed I may have unnecessarily damaged my credit score and really want to rectify that from a successful appeal.

Thrugelmir

I'm sure many people have been declined for a variety of reasons over the years. No one will ever know. 

ChronicThinker

Thrugelmir said:

I'm sure many people have been declined for a variety of reasons over the years. No one will ever know. 

Really? Declined for a basic current account? It's not like I'm applying for credit or anything. 

[Deleted User]

ChronicThinker said:

Thrugelmir said:

I'm sure many people have been declined for a variety of reasons over the years. No one will ever know. 

Really? Declined for a basic current account? It's not like I'm applying for credit or anything. 

The Select is their standard current account (not a basic one) and they do credit check you.
You can either leave it as is or follow their instructions for a manual review/appeal. 

Thrugelmir

ChronicThinker said:

Thrugelmir said:

I'm sure many people have been declined for a variety of reasons over the years. No one will ever know. 

Really? Declined for a basic current account? It's not like I'm applying for credit or anything. 

Current accounts cost money to provide and service. Who knows what commercial criteria has been set currently. Certainly no need to chase volume. 

OceanSound

@OP: Check the credit reference agencies (CRA) RBS use, then access your credit report at those agencies. Maybe there is something untowards. 

If so, you can have these corrected. Although, must warn you, the process can be overwhelming. E.g you contact CRA, they ask you to contact lender..etc.

Btw, have you moved or use a 'new' address? I was rejected by NatWest in 2019. Pretty sure it was because I used my temporary address on application form. 

A couple of months ago I applied (to take advantage of the switching offer), used my usual permanent address, approved straight away.

Answer to your question, yes, it maybe worth. They may tell you if it was the internal criteria that caused the rejection or something garnered  from a CRA, or a mixture.

Edit: on re-reading the OP (email from RBS) it definitely seems rejection was due to something from CRA. the rejection mentions Credit checks. Worth following the link and  checking these then looking up your credit file.

Emily_Joy

It doesn't worth appealing, but it is a good idea to check the information the 3 main CRA hold about you for any inconsistencies. Anything like different addresses on electoral roll register and on the application form, even minor differences such as the house name and number and house number only, will cause the application to be rejected. Another possibility is that the data from your license was not in agreement with the data from CRA (for instance, the computer-read date of birth could be different to the actual one).

ChronicThinker

Thanks for the advice all, I've just had a look at my credit report and am mortified to find a number of mistakes.

RG2015

ChronicThinker said:

Thanks for the advice all, I've just had a look at my credit report and am mortified to find a number of mistakes.

I find Equifax/Clearscore to be unreliable. Credit Karma/TransUnion is generally good and MSE/Experian has always been spot on for me.

You should check all three CRAs.

The link below should give you all the information you need on getting credit reports.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score/

ChronicThinker

Yeah I downloaded and even paid for my Experian credit report, supposedly the biggest credit agency in the UK. I can't bare to think what's on the other two. 

Thanks for the link, I already checked it out. Might have a look at MSE's credit club but I worry it'll say the same thing if it's from Experian.

TadleyBaggie

You never need to pay to get your credit reports.