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Application for credit card

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Hi
I currently have CC that I am paying interest on and want a new credit card with a big enough credit limit to do a balance transfer, so that i can pay the balance and and not the interest. however everywhere i go, even my bank, say I am not eligible for a new card.
Has anyone got any tips or ideas about what to do?

thanks in advance 

Dave

Comments

  • Ebe_Scrooge
    Ebe_Scrooge Posts: 7,320 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 18 August 2022 at 2:06PM
    Presumably you're looking at balance-transfer cards?  What's your credit history like?  Ignore the meaningless score, what do the underlying data say?  If you have very little history, or any negative markers (late payments, defaults, CCJ etc.) then that could be the cause of your problem.  Lending criteria across the board have become a lot stricter since Covid first hit.
    When you say "They say you're not eligible", what are you checking?  A lender's own eligibility calculator will tend to give slightly more accurate predications than generic calculators, though they are of course no guarantee of whether or not you'll be accepted.
  • Ah i see. I have no CCJ or defaults etc.
    my credit score is excellent, how do i check the underlying data?
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Newbie
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 18 August 2022 at 3:08PM
    Ah i see. I have no CCJ or defaults etc.
    my credit score is excellent, how do i check the underlying data?
    Unfortunately you don't have a credit score, whether excellent or not, lenders score you using their own systems and make a decision based on that.

    You can check the data on your files by using MSE Credit Club, Credit Karma and Clear Score, look for any negative markers like late or missed payments, defaults and so on

    It is also quite possible that lenders see your existing debt and don't want to run the risk of you running up another load of debt so don't want to lend to you. 
  • Financial Associations, and their credit history, can also have an impact on baja decision making, as well as time on electoral roll at addresses. 

    Just go through each segment of your report, piece by piece and make sure that there is no negative or incorrect information. 

    That's a start anyway 😊
  • alfred64
    alfred64 Posts: 5,024 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Ah i see. I have no CCJ or defaults etc.
    my credit score is excellent, how do i check the underlying data?
    Unfortunately you don't have a credit score, whether excellent or not, lenders score you using their own systems and make a decision based on that.

    Why then do they often refer to it?


    One factor we look at when deciding whether we can offer you a Credit Card is your credit score. Your credit score is a sign of your financial health, while your credit report goes into the detail of the last 6 years of your credit history. A credit rating is a way of showing your chances of being approved for credit.
  • Shanwick
    Shanwick Posts: 67 Forumite
    Second Anniversary 10 Posts
    The problem is that individuals have multiple "credit scores' each produced by a different source. The "credit scores" produced by the CRAs in the UK are not the "credit scores" used by lenders when evaluating applications. UK lenders may use in-house scoring system for the financial profile of an individual or may use a commercially available model for that purpose but they don't use the retail "credit scores" offered by the three CRAs.
  • Ebe_Scrooge
    Ebe_Scrooge Posts: 7,320 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    alfred64 said:
    Ah i see. I have no CCJ or defaults etc.
    my credit score is excellent, how do i check the underlying data?
    Unfortunately you don't have a credit score, whether excellent or not, lenders score you using their own systems and make a decision based on that.

    Why then do they often refer to it?


    One factor we look at when deciding whether we can offer you a Credit Card is your credit score. Your credit score is a sign of your financial health, while your credit report goes into the detail of the last 6 years of your credit history. A credit rating is a way of showing your chances of being approved for credit.
    Who do you mean when you refer to "we"?  That implies that you work for a bank/financial institution?  If so, you must surely be aware that the universal score dished out by the CRAs is not used.  Most lenders have their own algorithms, the data from the credit files are fed into it and an internal score is generated - which is based upon very different criteria which are specific to the lender's own risk model.
    Some (usually smaller) lenders do use a score from the CRAs - but that is a score generated based upon specific criteria supplied by the lender, tailored to the lender's requirements.  Again, this will bear little, if any, resemblance to the "general" score that you can see on your credit report.
  • alfred64 said:
    Ah i see. I have no CCJ or defaults etc.
    my credit score is excellent, how do i check the underlying data?
    Unfortunately you don't have a credit score, whether excellent or not, lenders score you using their own systems and make a decision based on that.

    Why then do they often refer to it?


    One factor we look at when deciding whether we can offer you a Credit Card is your credit score. Your credit score is a sign of your financial health, while your credit report goes into the detail of the last 6 years of your credit history. A credit rating is a way of showing your chances of being approved for credit.
    The credit score they are referring to is either their own rating system or they are coming up with a simplification for the majority of people who know nothing about the world of CRAs so people can understand. Banks 100% NEVER EVER EVER EVER look at the gimmick score that you see on the CRA sites, they only ever use their internal scoring system that you will never see. You can quote any website you like, that is not the actual process that underlies the application.
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