High income, no debt - why won't Barclaycard increase my limit?

Tirian

BrimfulofSascha said:

It looks like you have just paid off your mortgage which will have made your credit score tank (odd but true). 

The BNPL isn't about value to income, from a lender point of view it is seen in the same way that pay day loans are seen, so it has another negative effect on your credit file.

Do you have any car finance, or a mobile phone contract, something that lenders have charged interest on.

From your point of view you seem like a safe place to store the banks money as you are good to pay it back. From the banks point of view you are a poor investment because they can't make any money from you. This is why Barclays don't want to lend you money, they can make more money elsewhere. Have you tried other card providers? have you tried the search tool on this website?

No car finance. 

Mobile phone contract for myself and one child, but they are for usage only, I buy the phones up front.

Can't think of anything else that would be interest bearing.  I pay single payment for insurances.

That is odd about the mortgage, particularly as I will still have the history of regular payment on it, but if that's true then I guess it will be a factor.  Perhaps they're worried that I don't have enough motivation to keep a clean credit record if I don't need to remortgage!

I don't particularly want to stack up credit cards, three feels like more than enough to me, and I'll probably close at least one of the others anyway.

I forgot to mention that I do have a work credit card, I hadn't really counted that as it's paid by work and I assume it doesn't contribute to my credit scoring ..?

Tirian

Grumpy_chap said:

Tirian said:

Sooo ... I need to pretend I have a lower income than I actually have in order to get a higher limit? If so That would really emphasise how perverse the whole system is! Would be quite funny if it actually worked. Don't think I'll be trying it though.

No.  
If you are anything other than wholly truthful it will backfire in a messy way.

Don't worry, it was a joke 🤣 

Tirian

TheSpectator said:

What is true in this saga ia that OP is drip-feeding info. The 2 other credit cards have now been thrown into the mix - what are the credit limits on these and what are the balances - you say you pay in full every month but what balance do you accrue? 

Not "drip feeding".  Just didn't think especially relevant since they (a) don't carry any balance and (b) don't have high limits.  Can't remember off top of head.  In fact, checking again I only have one - the other is closed already, I counted the work credit card by mistake.

Probably accrue £2,000 or so per month.

Tirian

born_again said

So you have 2 other credit cards (no limits mentioned) & you are expecting Barclaycard to give you a limit that is 20%+ of you annual salary.

Sorry but that is never going to happen. 

While you may have historically paid other cards in full. As a lender Barclaycard have to look at why a new customer is wanting to increase their limit so soon. Especially to such a high % of their income.
Especially when they can see  BNPL lending as well.

Red flags all round I'm afraid.

FCA would have a field day on affordability here 😶‍🌫️

No, nearer to 10% actually.  And I it's one other CC actually.  I counted the work credit card by mistake when I flipped through the wallet.  I did have another personal one but I closed it 

And I have had way higher % of income as limits in cards in the past, while on lower income and with higher outgoings 

So yeah, not an FCA field day at all.  Sorry to disappoint you.

Tirian

TheSpectator said:

What are the credit limits on these

So, just gone and checked and this may be the reason in fact, or part of it.

Hadn't realised that the other CC has given me a limit of £20k 😲

Never used anywhere near that.   So I think the pathway will be close that one, or possibly ask them to reduce the limit (I like to have a backup credit card just in case .. ) wait til the PayPal credit is paid off next month, maybe pay down the Barclaycard a bit and spend it back up to near the limit again and then see if they'll raise the limit in a few months.

born_again

Tirian said:

No, nearer to 10% actually.  And I it's one other CC actually.  I counted the work credit card by mistake when I flipped through the wallet.  I did have another personal one but I closed it 

And I have had way higher % of income as limits in cards in the past, while on lower income and with higher outgoings 

So yeah, not an FCA field day at all.  Sorry to disappoint you.

Covid put paid to many high limits & Barclaycard was one of the worst for dropping limits in a big way.

I'm not disappointed in anyway at all. 🤷‍♀️

Just laying out the facts when viewed from the other side.

Good luck with what you decide to do. 👍

EnPointe

TheSpectator said:

What is true in this saga ia that OP is drip-feeding info. The 2 other credit cards have now been thrown into the mix - what are the credit limits on these and what are the balances - you say you pay in full every month but what balance do you accrue? 

indeed, it looks like th Op is seeking validation for  their belief that they are being hard  done to 

Wyndham

callum9999 said:

Wyndham said:

Tirian said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Tirian said:

DullGreyGuy said

If you have a high 6 figure salary, so c£800,000 why are you using high street bank lending? 

If you have £60k in savings why are you considering a loan for renovations? If you have such a high salary and no housing costs how have you only managed to save less than 10% of your income in a lifetime?

What sort of limit are you hoping for?

You have a lack of history of using lending responsibly, people seem to think that having no lending is a good thing from a banks perspective, it isnt. It makes it a risk, they want to see you having had lending and paid it all off on time to show a track record of good behaviour. 

Whilst its almost certainly a machine decision, based on what you have said I could see what an underwriter would have concerns as it raises more questions than answers

I do not have £800k income.I have substantially over £100k, and I count that as pretty damn high.  Sorry if you don't.

How I came to be in my financial position is not relevant, nor is it any of your business. It is what it is.

The need for a loan is the normal reason - the renovations will cost more than the cash that I have.

I have an excellent history of using lending responsibly, not quite sure why you have invented a different scenario for your response.

Unless you have something helpful to suggest, then instead of making up non-existent scenarios based on false assumptions, maybe you could just keep quiet?  Thanks.

In the event that you actually have anything meaningful to say or suggest, the limit I would be looking for would be approx £25k - £30k

You said a high 6 figure salary... 6 figure salaries range from 100,000 to 999,999, "high" would normally at least be in the top third range. Any six figure salary is high but you didnt say "I have a high salary, it's in 6 figures".

Anyway, rude people dont get help, it's bad enough dealing with those that drip feed information.

Intelligent people ask questions if they want more information, rather than inventing their own facts, and then getting snooty when they get called out on it.

I can see how the "high six figure" could be interpreted different ways - I don't see that it makes any difference to the question I was asking - but I have clarified.

Anyway I think I'll live without your kind of "help", so no loss to me.

And now you are just being rude. It costs nothing to be nice.

@dullgreyguy has been around these forums for many years and has certainly helped me out in the past with good and helpful advice.

This exact attitude is why I stopped using the forum for years, and now only pop back now and again. 

While certain people, or their fan clubs, may like to think they get to run the place because they've been around for a long time, it's a public forum and the public using it aren't required to bow down to the self-appointed Gods of the site. 

They responded perfectly reasonably to a bunch of made-up nonsense (even accounting for their egregious crime of mistakenly placing the word "high" in the wrong place in the sentence), and received yet more rudeness in return - so your cries of "how dare you be rude to the person who was rude and judgemental to you!!!!!!" seem rather ridiculous.

If you find it so distressing answering these questions then simply don't reply at all. No-one is forcing you to help. 

I'm not in anyones fan club. I suggest you reread the second part of what I wrote....

"@dullgreyguy has been around these forums for many years and has certainly helped me out in the past with good and helpful advice".

I was commenting that I had found that particular poster to be helpful, and knew that from posts over many years. Maybe I also misplaced a word in the sentance

Tirian

EnPointe said:

TheSpectator said:

What is true in this saga ia that OP is drip-feeding info. The 2 other credit cards have now been thrown into the mix - what are the credit limits on these and what are the balances - you say you pay in full every month but what balance do you accrue? 

indeed, it looks like th Op is seeking validation for  their belief that they are being hard  done to 

No, just looking for helpful advice to achieve a desired outcome - one which would be beneficial to me in terms of managing my finances in the most prudent way.  So, errr, kind of the whole point of these forums really.

It's curious that there are so many people here determined to jump into wild assumptions about my situation, my motives or my background with absolutely nothing to base any of it on.  

I won't feel "hard done by" if I don't get what I'm after - thankfully it's not something I need.  But just as the banks' goal is to get the best outcome for them, mine is to get the best outcome for me. 

All these assumptions and accusations reveal more about those making them than about anything else.  

maxximus75

I would suggest looking elsewhere such as MBNA, Virgin, NatWest and possibly Nationwide who are usually generous with credit limits but is dependant on individual credit assessment.

When you apply they will do a soft search and show you an estimated credit limit…. If it’s acceptable and proceed further, they will hard search.

Just because Barclays won’t extend you further credit it doesn’t mean other lenders won’t…. They all have their own internal reasons, don’t take it personally.