to think you should not be refused credit just becuase you usually pay for everything up front...

[MrsMellowDrummer]

I've just tried to order a new phone (on contract), and found out that I've failed the credit check.

I've never missed a mortgage payment, or in fact any payment for anything. Never been in debt. Never had any kind of financial problem whatsoever, and am currently (and have been for years) financially stable.

The only issue I can think of is that any credit we have used (very little) has been arranged in my husband's name. We have a joint credit card, but he is the holder. I don't use store cards, and we generally pay for things up front. Have never had a phone contract before - always payg, mainly because I didn't use it enough to warrant a monthly charge.

What I don't get is how does that make me a bad risk for a phone company for heaven's sake?

Fuming now, after a really frustrating phone conversation with the phone company who obviously think I'm a liability and don't want my business. Grrr. All I want is a phone - clearly I'm being unreasonable...?

Can you get one by putting down a security deposit?

I am foreign so when I came to live in the UK as an adult woman I had no credit rating. My first contract phone was got by paying about £100 deposit (refundable) for the first 6 months in case I didn't pay.

After 6 months of paying by direct debit I had built up a "rating" with them and I got my deposit back.

I decided then to build up a rating "on purpose" and started with a storecard (the easiest kind of credit to get - Dorothy Perkins, thank you!) and used that "on purpose" and paid it back in time etc then built up from there.

Now I get offered credit cards with ridiculous £12k limits and I dont even have a job

But you have to do it strategically...

If you use the interweb should be able to register uysing your DHs credit card. Done a few phones recently vioa Quidco, with money off then go to say Car Phonewarehouse and get the deal you want - mnay others are on there too. You should be able to get the deal you want and get the phone sent to you.

People are often scared of credit cards but as long as you treat them with caution and always only soend on them what you can afford at the month they offer lots of benefits. DS1 at Uni now and told him to get one and spend a bit on the card each month but then make sure it gets paid back. Then some credit history opens up many new doors.

Phone companies are usually quite easy to get credit with, but going into the shop is normally a lot easier.

I had no problems with 02, even though I knew my credit rating at the time wasnt that great.

Your heading actually says what is wrong with this country! It's crazy we are the same not wanting debt but knowing that if we don't we have no credit rating worth talking about.

Try the 3 network, they are pretty good if you order online.

If you are not on the electoral roll that goes against you.

My DH and I had terrible problems getting a mortgage, we were told it was because 'in credit terms you do not exist'. We'd never had a loan (except my student ones which don't count apparently), no mobile phone contracts, no credit cards, no purchases on credit. It was a nightmare, we earned good salaries but no one would lend us because we were 'high risk'. We had to wait a year and in the meantime got credit cards, mobile phone contracts and bought a car...they then decided we were trustworthy enough to pay back a mortgage.
I am now very careful to maintain my credit report by using and paying off my credit card every month.

Hmmm.

Quite a lot of those things are things I could do. I would quite happily put down a deposit - the phone company didn't suggest this to me though.

My husband could sort it out for me in his name (we had thought of that already), but that's not going to help me in the future if I need a phone in my own name for any reason is it? Also, I just have this bolshy "why should I" feeling about the whole thing. I haven't done anything dodgy financially in my whole life. Why should I be reliant now on my husband to bail me out?

I could start opening up store cards to improve my rating. But the point is I don't want one. I've always paid for things up front. If I can't afford something, I don't buy it.

I can look around for other networks I know, but had found a really good offer that I wanted to take advantage of.

I completely agree with you Ziggiz. I was brought up not to rely on credit. There's something seriously wrong with the country's attitude towards debt at the moment.

How completely rubbish Guacamole.

It's consumerism gone MAD.

Has ever been thus, but situation is worse now due to much more stringent risk assessment. About ten years ago I was managing credit card accounts for a major bank and had to turn down a very famous person (aristocracy, on quite a few TV programmes) for a card. Didn't go down too well.

Mobile phone companies etc generally do very basic credit checks so they are more prone to making these decisions. Surprised to read Guacamole's post though. Mortgage companies usually run much more in depth checks that shouldn't rely on a person's credit history alone but provide more extensive information. Would have gone to a different provider myself but admire her patience.

Yes, I've been hit by that. Next or Vertbaudet or someone didn't want me cos I didn't have a good credit rating. Cos I pay upfront, don't take loans, don't default on my mortgage etc. It's very silly.

YANBU. My orange contract is in my husbands name. Like you ive never been in debt or missed a payment deadline, i earn good money- more than my husband but because i have no credit card and a joint bank account/morgage i seem to be invisible.

Actually I should clarify, we couldnt get a mortgage for the amount we wanted, we wanted £220k and the highest offer we got was £160k, not enough to buy the house! We went through a mortgage broker and had 10% deposit (which was good in those days). Our mortgage broker agreed it was crazy but hey ho and said based on salary alone we should have easily met their requirements. Like I said, at least now I exist financially speaking.

Think of a credit card as free insurance and 90 days of free interest. Free insurance since you have more legal rights if you buyt using a CC than upfront. If you have the money keep it in your account and then pay it all off - a standing order that pays the full amount is easy to do. If you use a credit card wisley you can make your money go further. Just play them at their own game.

Just guessing, but if you are a SAHM and don't have an income of your own that could be the other reason. Best bet is to get it in your DH's name for now.

To build up a credit score (if you do have an income of your own) apply for a credit card (Tesco one is good cos you get clubcard points and can convert them to airmiles). Do the grocery shopping on it and have it set up to direct debit the whole balance every month so you never pay interest or get a late payment fee.

You can keep an eye on the balance online and you get two weeks notice from the monthly closing balance to when the take the money.

It does make sense that they don't want to offer it to you because not having a credit history means that they'd be gambling that you were a good payer and they don't want that risk. I think it's fair that a company has the right not to provide a service in advance of getting paid if they don't want to. We all pay in the end for people who default and (if you want to take it to extremes) a company with more bad debt write-offs has lower profit so less money to pay staff and might even have to make redundancies. We all get protected when they are cautious.

This happened to me a few years ago. It is stupid, but they need to see you have a history of honouring/repaying any debts.

Agree with getting out a credit card with an interest free period, pay it all back in time (then cut it up) and job done.

You'll have to wait a while to do all this though!

I can see it must be frustrating for you, but for them, you are an unknown/unquantifiable risk. Someone who has never used credit responsibly has no evidence to demonstrate that they can do so. It's a bit like asking for insurance or trying to place a bet on something that you have no information or knowledge about.

As for 'why should I?' re getting a store card or credit card etc. well, because you are asking the phone company to give you credit, I guess they are saying the onus is on you to prove you can manage it?

I'm not indifferent to what you are saying though, it must be really annoying, I can just see it doesn't make good business sense for them to take a punt on someone they have no financial data for.

D

Yes, I am a SAHM Happycamel (mostly), although I run my own small business too. Again, there has never been any debt associated with that.

I take on board what you and Deliaskis are saying, but I guess my frustration stems from a feeling that I should be able to prove that I am a financially responsible person without having to take out what would effectively be "pretend" store cards and credit cards.

Have had all my finances going through the same bank account for the last 25ish years. Have never been overdrawn. Tax returns all done and dusted as they should have been. Plenty of regular internet shopping transactions, and electronic payments for this and that. Paid every bill ever presented to me. I just feel as if I'm being asked the wrong questions. Of course it is any business' prerogative to refuse my business on grounds of their choosing, but I'm clearly being penalised now for what I personally would see as financial prudence/caution. And I know I'm not a risk for their company - why can't I prove it?

[fed up with the modern world emoticon]

We had huge problems getting a mortgage offer years ago- I was 25, dh 21 and neither of us had any credit rating at all. Sadly, we wouldn't have the same problem now.

Sympathise - I was mystified when I treid to buy a dress online form somewhere like Littlewoods - wanted just to pay on a credit card (ehich was a nopiton offered), not take out their poxy 'credit' but for some reason they would not authorise the payment... Odd becasue I buy stiff every day online, but presumably they have some arcane credit scoring system that has weeded me out.

A few years ago I had one phone company turn me down for a contract (I think it was Virgin) but then I got accepted for O2 - might be worth trying a different network.

MrsMellowDrummer have you tried getting a contract with Virgin?

I've got the worst credit rating in the country probably, [bblush] and I managed to get a Blackberry Torch on contract last week. My trusty Nokia broke a few weeks ago and I've bee stuck using a 10 year old phone since. I tried most of the networks with no luck. But was accepted with Virgin straight away. Just had to pay £4.99 delivery and it came the next day.

Apparently they have the highest acceptance rate of people with bad or in your case no credit.

*been stuck

I had a similar problem of no credit rating as I had no debt history at all but got a contract with O2 on the condition I put down a £50 deposit

Dh had this. What had happened was that a CC he had about 8 years ago, that thought was totally paid off... wasn't! But they had been sending reminders to the wrong address, so he didn't know that he still owed about £10.

Luckily he got it sorted, but it had totally ruined his credit rating :(