To think it's impossible to find out reasons for credit refusal and it's a mystery how scores are decided upon?

[theduchessstill]

I have twice been refused credit in the last 6 months. Once in Ikea when I wanted to spread £300 worth of payments and I tried to get a Halifax clarity credit card to use abroad and was refused.

I have had a mortgage and several credit cards for 10 years and have never missed any payments. I have 4 credit cards due to balance transfers over the years but only one has anything owing on it now. I have cleared about 6k over the last couple of years and have never been behind on anything. I also have a fixed loan thing I got when I had to replace my car. I owe a tiny fraction of what I could potentially borrow.

I paid £2 for the Experian thing - that was a waste of money! It told me nothing I didn't already know but just listed all the things I have /have had over the years. I recently added to the mortgage to but ex out, but that hadn't happened at the time I was refused and didn't show on the report.

My credit rating is 'fair' and I don't understand why it's not better. My ex is still linked to me on the report and I know he has debts all over the place and bailiffs have been threatened, so I don't know if that's it.

I'm pissed off because no one actually tells you anything. Both times I was refused they advised contacting Experian, but nowhere does it actually say why my rating isn't better.

What a useless thing...

Do you still have the credit cards with zero balances open?
If so when they do they checks they will see that you have that amount of unused credit to draw on and it may take you to the maximum you'd be granted.

Equifax is often more helpful, reading that report alongside the Experian one might give you more insight.

Lenders are always cagey about their criteria as by definition it is a discriminatory tool and likely to upset whoever they have decided qualifies as an 'undesirable' in their eyes.

Are you on the Electoral roll? This is such an important part of your credit rating and an 'easy win' to up your overall score if you're not already on it.

DH (works for Experian) says you need to file a notice of disassOciation (or something like that) to separate yourself from ex. You can only do it if don't have any joint accounts left.

Look on Experian website, there are hints about how to improve your credit rating. You may need to close down the unused credit cards, too.

You already have 4 credit cards - as zaalitje says, you could max them all out tomorrow and owe £12k. Close them down before you apply...

www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score

Did they tell you it's your credit score which is the issue? There are other reasons you might have been declined...

Don't apply within 6 months, because lots of applications brings your score down too.

But it's the link to your ex.

The two things that scream out at me is

1 - you have 12k of credit available on cards. It doesn't matter that you're not using it, it's still a concern for many potential lenders.

2 - your financial association with your ex. If he has lots of debt / defaults, this could have a serious impact on you. As you have already been advised, you need to file a notice of dis assocation with all the major CRAs straight away.

pickle your score is non existent, no one sees it (including potential lenders) apart from you and the credit referencing agency that gives it to you. It's literally meaningless.

But the score broadly influences whether credit is offered or refused, surely? I'm not saying it's a number, but an algorithm lenders use to determine whether to lend. It's the word used as short hand for statistical likelihood of default. (DH is part of the team that writes some of the score cards)

Kind of, Pickle, each lender has its own algorithm. Experian/Equifax use a fairly generic one, but each lender's is tailored to their preferred client base.

The score on Experian etc is indicative of what a Lender might score you as, but by no means any guarantee of accept or decline of an actual application.

E.g. some lenders will decline on the basis of any adverse (credit history) at all in the last 6 years, some are a bit more flexible on adverse, but will require you to have been at the same address for a long time...its impossible to say with any certainty who will be accepted or not.

It will be the financial association with your ex. Same happened to me my own credit score was perfect but the link with ex stopped me from getting credit a few times. You have to prove that you are no longer financially linked to sort it I think that Experian can do that for you if u ask how.

Why are you applying for credit when you have 4 cards with no balances?

That’s why you’re getting declined, but it also doesn’t make sense you’re applying for stuff when you have available credit ...

Oh and your ex probably. I need to learn to read properly lol

Well it does make perfect sense when you compare the terms and conditions..

I will cancel the cards I no longer use and apply to be disassociated from ex.

Still think it could be made a lot clearer though and consumers are kept deliberately in the dark.

You are still financially linked to your ex so his poor choices financially ie having debts will affect your credit rating.

I found the Experian report really helpful. If you click into it it explains what is positively and negatively impacting your score.

I think the Clarity is known to have a fairly strict criteria for acceptance, do you have a Halifax account?