Next 3 Year Interest Free Credit Decline

Yorkiek

I have a perfect credit score with Experian yet I was declined the advertised 3 years interest free credit by Next when wanting to buy a sofa recently. Next have have either been unable or unwilling to give me the reason for my decline despite my formal complaint to them. Experian said they knew no reason to decline. I have raised with the Financial Ombudsman to see what they say but to say I am hacked off with Next is an understatement.

GrumpyDil

And the ombudsman will reject your complaint.

Simply put as long as Next don't reject based on protected characteristics the decision is purely a commercial one. They will point you in the direction of the credit reference agency they use to encourage you to check your reports but aside from that you won't get anywhere with your complaint

TadleyBaggie

As you have discovered, perfect (or any) credit scores are meaningless.

Nasqueron

You don't have a credit score, perfect or otherwise, lenders do not use the score you see, they don't even see it, they use the data on the file and put in their scoring systems that you will never see. You don't meet the criteria for Next for whatever reason and the FOS will not change that, they will politely reject your complaint as they are not there to force a private firm to offer business to someone they don't want to trade with.

The people you speak to at the customer service team do not set the criteria so cannot advise you why you failed the check and the people who do know will not tell you as it would enable people to game the system.

It's quite possible you don't have a good credit history - do you use credit regularly e.g. spend on a credit card every month and pay off in full after the statement; have a contract mobile phone; on the electoral register etc?

Yorkiek

Thanks all, I wasnt sure what to expect from the Ombudsman but I am not hopeful now. I now have a hard search on my credit file courtesy of Next and they dont even have the good grace to tell me why I was declined. I have a 999 out of 999 with Experian and when I spoke to them they said they knew no reason why I was declined by Next who use them.
@Nasqueron I do use credit regularly, spend on credit card then pay in full monthly, have a mobile contract, on Electoral Roll, No CCJs, etc, etc 

Yorkiek

@GrumpyDil how do I know if I was rejected on a protected characteristic if they wont say I why. That could be the case as I am not a youngster or my conspiracy theory is that they declined me as my credit rating is good and I am unlikely to default.

Desmond_Hume

Yorkiek said:

@GrumpyDil how do I know if I was rejected on a protected characteristic if they wont say I why. That could be the case as I am not a youngster or my conspiracy theory is that they declined me as my credit rating is good and I am unlikely to default.

You’ve been informed several times now that the credit score is meaningless.  Feel free to complain if you believe they’ve discriminated against you. Hope you have proof. 

oldernonethewiser

Yorkiek said:

Thanks all, I wasnt sure what to expect from the Ombudsman but I am not hopeful now. I now have a hard search on my credit file courtesy of Next and they dont even have the good grace to tell me why I was declined. I have a 999 out of 999 with Experian and when I spoke to them they said they knew no reason why I was declined by Next who use them.
@Nasqueron I do use credit regularly, spend on credit card then pay in full monthly, have a mobile contract, on Electoral Roll, No CCJs, etc, etc 

Which is merely a number and of no interest to lenders who don't see it anyway.  They don't have to tell you why you have been declined, nothing to do with good grace I'm afraid.

dumpster_fire2025

Yorkiek said:

@GrumpyDil how do I know if I was rejected on a protected characteristic if they wont say I why. That could be the case as I am not a youngster or my conspiracy theory is that they declined me as my credit rating is good and I am unlikely to default.

If you have money to burn you could hire a solicitor and start a claim against them under the Equality Act but given you have no evidence (even circumstantial) that points to this it might be better to not bother.

Save the money and put it towards buying a sofa outright.

prettyandfluffy

It happens, they don't have to give a reason and they won't.  If you are set on this particular sofa you could apply for a credit card that offers 0% on purchases? However I don't think I have seen one offering 36 months.

TheSpectator

Yorkiek said:

@GrumpyDil how do I know if I was rejected on a protected characteristic if they wont say I why. That could be the case as I am not a youngster or my conspiracy theory is that they declined me as my credit rating is good and I am unlikely to default.

Why on earth would they want someone to default and not get repaid. As conspiracy theories go that's pretty ludicrous logic.