Credit Crunch Credit Card Declines?

EmptyCouch

NickX wrote: »

This has been discussed in some detail on the stoozing board.

Generally, I would say that provided you can JUSTIFY the figure that you give then you should be ok. This is only if they query it which they have never done with me.

So, I would say add your bonuses - if they are variable then take an average over the last few years. Also add interest from savings and investments, any state benefits that you may receive, and any income that you make on the side for instance from selling stuff on eBay.

I am self-employed and do not have a fixed income, so have to provide them with a estimate based on previous years trading - never had a problem though.

Thanks for the help, greatly appreciated.

I've also lowered my credit limit (as you can see for earlier posts) so I have less available credit to me. But I was just thinking, this takes me closer to my limits on my cards, will this look bad and will it effect my limit? Should I have just kept them where they were?!

YorkshireBoy

EmptyCouch wrote: »

I've also lowered my credit limit (as you can see for earlier posts) so I have less available credit to me. But I was just thinking, this takes me closer to my limits on my cards, will this look bad and will it effect my limit? Should I have just kept them where they were?!

IMHO, and if your salary (income ) will stand it, it's better to have some 'headroom' so as not to appear maxed out on any credit searches made.

EmptyCouch

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

IMHO, and if your salary (income ) will stand it, it's better to have some 'headroom' so as not to appear maxed out on any credit searches made.

!!!!!! - as I cleared one card with balance transfer to Virgin at 0% for 6 months and then lowered the limit by £1200, so I'm now at probably 98% or something similar. I guess I have a spare card with nothing on it now, but it will look like I've maxed my Virgin one won't it?

YorkshireBoy

EmptyCouch wrote: »

I guess I have a spare card with nothing on it now, but it will look like I've maxed my Virgin one won't it?

It'll depend on how any lender scores your CRA data. For example, they may look at your aggregate situation, or they may drill down to individual card level...who knows?

On balance, it's probably best to have some headroom on all your cards...I would have thought?

MissMitch

Hiya,

I have applied for 3 cards in the past 3 months and been declined all of them, despite having a rating of "good" with Experian, and never missed any payments of any kind. I think my problem is that I've been a bit of a card tart for a few years, going through several 0% deals.

I've actually decided that it's a good opportunity to sort out a lingering debt (just over £5K) and say goodbye to credit for once and for all. Thankfully, I've been quite loyal to my Halifax One card and often had a balance on it that means they earn something from me, so I approached them for a BT offer and they gave me 6.9%, which gives me some breathing space to start repaying in earnest!

Just for info, the cards declined were Barclaycard at 0%, HSBC @ 2.9% and Goldfish at 4.9%.

EmptyCouch

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

It'll depend on how any lender scores your CRA data. For example, they may look at your aggregate situation, or they may drill down to individual card level...who knows?

On balance, it's probably best to have some headroom on all your cards...I would have thought?

I guess that depends, as I don't want to use my Virgin card anymore I just want balance transfer to another card and start to pay things off, but I can undersand that it doesn't look gret to be nearly maxed out. I wanted to clear the headroom to discourage the chance of additional spending!:p

The decrease was voluntary and now it could potentially count against me!

clio

Egg didnt give me a decent limit[£1000 and from what ive read they are stingy to say the least.

Nick or anyone
Surely if you have allready stated on previous applications your income, wont it flag up that your income from previous apps is different from this higher figure etc etc!!!!

YorkshireBoy

clio wrote: »

Surely if you have allready stated on previous applications your income, wont it flag up that your income from previous apps is different from this higher figure etc etc!!!!

When you apply for credit, the lender shares your application data with fraud prevention agencies. If the job title/occupation/employer is the same, yet your 'salary' is suddenly £5K more than a similar application you made last week, then yes, it could flag an 'issue' worthy of further investigation.

However, they really should give you chance to explain away any discrepancy(ies) before placing a CIFAS marker on your file.

This is why it's crucial to thoroughly check the application form. If it asks for income, then you've a free reign (within reason), whereas if it asks for salary, then that's all you can quote...unless there's a box for 'additional income', where you could enter your bonuses etc.

EmptyCouch

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

When you apply for credit, the lender shares your application data with fraud prevention agencies. If the job title/occupation/employer is the same, yet your 'salary' is suddenly £5K more than a similar application you made last week, then yes, it could flag an 'issue' worthy of further investigation.

However, they really should give you chance to explain away any discrepancy(ies) before placing a CIFAS marker on your file.

This is why it's crucial to thoroughly check the application form. If it asks for income, then you've a free reign (within reason), whereas if it asks for salary, then that's all you can quote...unless there's a box for 'additional income', where you could enter your bonuses etc.

I could been promoted or miscalculated or not counted something since previous applications.

The reason I ask is my bonuses aren't level every month. Q1 bonuses were fairly tame in comparison to Q2 and Q3 which will be much larger, so my last 3 months statements won't support what I'm telling them I'll earn over a year.

I've always included my bonuses, I was just wondering if that was right. Like if you apply for a mortgage and you want to include bonuses you have to be able to prove that you've been earning X amount over a set period, like 3 years for them to be counted. I guess as bonuses aren't guaranteed, its a contentious point, as if something happens and I can't work, I may get paid leave but I wouldn't be earning bonuses, so that may provide a risk to a lender. But I wasn't sure if that was the same or different as I'm not asking to borrow hundreds of thousands but asking for a potential limt of under £10k.

I guess depends on the specifics of income or salary. So people who work entirely on commission must find it hard if an application asks for salary!

EmptyCouch

clio wrote: »

Egg didnt give me a decent limit[£1000 and from what ive read they are stingy to say the least.

Clio, would you normally receive much higher limits from other lenders?