Am I Secretly Credit Blacklisted?

justsayyes

I lived overseas for a number of years so my credit file is obviously quite thin. However, I am on the Electoral Roll and my home phone landline is registered to my name and address. I have no CCJs or defaults or late payments and I am not on CIFAS.

I earn £35k a year and have no debts. I cannot get a store card, mobile phone contract or even a mail order catalogue account. Somehow I managed to get a £250 cheque guarantee card and £5000+ overdraft limit on a bank account I opened a couple of months ago - but that's it. I've been turned down for everything else.

How do I build credit, when I can't get credit in the first place?

I am ready to buy my first home and was recently trying to get a mortgage. I couldn't get any mortgage approved due to "low credit score". Because of all the mortgage searches, I now have 9 credit searches on my Experian file in the space of 2 months and 10 credit searches on my Equifax file in the past 8 weeks.

I've conducted myself well at the bank who gave me the £5k OD limit but even they won't consider me for a credit card, "due to credit score." I was even turned down for a Capital One classic card.

I looked at my credit files from all 3 CRAs just 2 days ago. The only credit account I have reporting is the bank which reports as Credit Limit £5500, Balance £0. Aside from that the reports are empty apart from that they confirm I'm on the Electoral Roll and then show the searches that have been made on me. No negative info or unpaid bills or CIFAS warnings whatsoever.

Will I ever be able to buy a property or get a pay monthly mobile? I don't intend to apply for any more credit products or mortgages now. How long should I leave it? 6 months? The problem is that my credit score is not going to be growing because I am not building any credit - since nobody will give me any!!!

Does anyone have any tips at all?

benf90

To answer the thread title (am I secretly credit blacklisted?) - No, there's no such thing.

However, no credit history is in many ways just as bad as having a bad history.

Now that you have an overdraft and that is showing on your credit file then this will help to show that you're able to manage credit effectively etc. But, it'll take time.

You've probably been automatically declined credit due to:

1. A lack of history.
2. The high number of applications you've made in a very short space of time.

You mentioned the Capital One Classic card... have you thought about appealing against the declined application? You may be able to get the decission overturned when somebody makes a decision rather than the computer, especially if you make it clear about your earnings and that you have no debt etc.

I'd leave it 6 months as a minimum before you think about applying for anything else.

It may be worth having a read through the following guide on here, it explains things better and in more detail than I have.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/credit-rating-credit-score

justsayyes

Thanks Ben.
Has anyone here had success with appealing against a decision at Capital One?
Would I need to just write them a letter asking them to manually go through my application?
Also any ideas why my bank would approve me for such a high OD limit (I didn't request such a high limit, they simply told me that was what I automatically qualify for) and then turn me down even for their most basic credit card?

RDMD

justsayyes wrote: »

Thanks Ben.
Has anyone here had success with appealing against a decision at Capital One?
Would I need to just write them a letter asking them to manually go through my application?
Also any ideas why my bank would approve me for such a high OD limit (I didn't request such a high limit, they simply told me that was what I automatically qualify for) and then turn me down even for their most basic credit card?

I applied online for a Capital one card online late last year and got a letter in the post saying I have been declined. I left it. A month later going through this forum I read of others who appealed and later had their application approved. I decided to give it a shot wrote capital one a basic letter to enquire why I have been declined. They replied and asked me to call. The lady who answered said all they needed was for me to confirm my telephone number and income. And that was it, the application was approved and I got a £6000 credit limit.

Its worth you trying to appeal against their refusal.

Your bank probably gave you such an OD limit probably beacause of your income(I think)

All the best!

RDMD

justsayyes

RDMD wrote: »

I applied online for a Capital one card online late last year and got a letter in the post saying I have been declined. I left it. A month later going through this forum I read of others who appealed and later had their application approved. I decided to give it a shot wrote capital one a basic letter to enquire why I have been declined. They replied and asked me to call. The lady who answered said all they needed was for me to confirm my telephone number and income. And that was it, the application was approved and I got a £6000 credit limit.

Its worth you trying to appeal against their refusal.

Your bank probably gave you such an OD limit probably beacause of your income(I think)

All the best!

RDMD

Gosh how strange! If all Capital One needed was to confirm your telephone number and income I wonder why they didn't just ask you for that information in the first place!

RDMD

justsayyes wrote: »

Gosh how strange! If all Capital One needed was to confirm your telephone number and income I wonder why they didn't just ask you for that information in the first place!

Yes that was strange as I had given this information on application. I think they just gave that as an excuse.