To ask why I am constantly turned down for credit?

[whiskyowl]

OK, let me preface this by saying this is the very definition of a First World Problem. I have been really abjectly poor in my life (homeless) and I know how lucky I am to be able to type every word of this post. so please don't think I'm stealth boasting or anything like that. The problem I'm about to describe is, at best, an inconvenience and a bit of a social embarrassment. I fully realise that, compared to many families, we are super lucky.

I've just been turned down for credit for a kitchen in Ikea. This happened the last time DH and I applied for credit a few years ago, for a mobile phone contract. We had an almighty battle to get any company to take us on! It is inconvenient and a headache when this happens. It would be really useful to get this credit, because we're spending a lot on building work at the moment, and it means we'd have more readily available money for our contingency.

We are good with money and scared of debt. We have a good credit score on Experian - 999/999. We are lucky enough to be in a position to pay every bill on time, including all credit cards. We have never been late for a mortgage repayment. We have savings. (They are locked up for a bit, which is also why this 0% credit deal would be really useful). I have never had CCJs, or any bills that are outstanding (as far as I know).

Yet DH and I really struggle to get credit. We had to fight for days to get a mobile contract for him (which is why I know my Experian score - I had to send it to them as proof) and now this Ikea problem looks similar. It takes days and a big fight for us to get credit and it's super-embarrassing in store when it happens.

Please, oh wise Mumsnetters, why is this happening and what can I do in future to stop it? Is there something on my record I am unaware of, and if there is, how do I find and correct it?

TIA for advice!

yellow - I don't think that's right, because next to 999/999 it says "excellent"!!

RIGHT, really going to have G&T and a pizza now.

The only other thing I can think of is the more you apply for credit the more likely you are to be turned down. Have you applied for credit a lot recently?

I don't know if it's the case but maybe each time you're rejected it makes rejection on the next application more likely

wish - The Noddle thing has a CIFAS section and it says "no CIFAS warnings". That's all I have!

You'll never see anything higher than category 2 Cifas on your credit report. It goes up to 6 so potentially could be that.

I don't know if it's the case but maybe each time you're rejected it makes rejection on the next application more likely

Would only happen if you applied for a lot of things at once. A hard search only stays on your report for 12 months.

Well yes, that's what I'm wondering - whether OP has applied for a lot recently?

@whiskyowl, i work for a Credit Reference Agency so feel free to pm me.
Enjoy your pizza and G&T

Did you apply for the loan OP or did the person instore do this? I have know people to be turned down for credit in store but when they later reviewed the application there had been typos made by the person keying the details - Could this have happened at all?

Do you have any large overdraft facilities or credit limits on your cards? Even if you don't use them , sometimes just having them available can go against you.

OP you need to check all 3 - equifax, callcredit and Experian. MSE credit club is Experian, noddle/clear score are call credit, register for both of them and request a statutory report from equifax for both of you.

Aah, if DH is 'Dr' on his bank account, but he's applying for the credit as 'Mr', that might well be it.

Have you tried looking on Check My File? Its not free but worth the payment to see all of your credit info. I think it covers three lenders and shows you a lot. You are also able to message them any questions so it may be a good place to start.

I had a linked address once (very similar road name about 10 minutes away) which I’d have had no idea about otherwise. This was down to a well known credit card provider linking us It didn’t cause me any problems but I’d have never known had I not signed up.

I regularly sign up for their monthly package and then cancel after a couple of weeks as it’s the cheapest way

Good luck and I hope you manage to get the lovely new kitchen

It could be that the loan is too small in comparison to your disposable inco,e. I know that sounds crazy but it happened to me.

I applied for a loan from the bank I'd been with for years. I was turned down. I investigated why. I was basically told "why do need to borrow that amount when you earn X?" A nice member of staff explained it's because the bank thought I could pay the loan back too easily....might even choose to re-pay it early.....they wouldn't make enough from me!! I was told this isn't an unusual reason to get declined.

We had to take out the loan in my husband's name, through another institution. He earned half what I did at the time. He secured the loan with no issue.

Sometimes being able to very easily afford the credit you are applying for counts against you.....worth considering?

If that is true MsDugong, maybe it is worth the OP applying for the kitchen finance instead of her DH?

Providing that her income would support this of course, which it might even if it is low or from sources other than paid work because they often ask for household income in addition to own income when applying for credit. Of course there is also the potential Dr/Mr/Professor issues that may be a factor.

yellowfairy my Experian score is 999/999 and I can assure you that doesn’t mean a bad credit score. Where did you get that idea?

OP one thing I’ve read is that if you have never had a debt and paid it off, your credit rating won’t be as good as if you have because companies like to know you can manage a debt.

The different names yet married thing has caused us an issue in the past. The credit card company refused to believe we were married and would only consider our marriage certificate if we paid a solicitor to take a copy!

But if the loan was only in your dh's name I don't see why it would cause a problem.

The title thing actually could be it.

Tell him he needs to start boasting more :)

The title of Mr and Dr will not be the issue. I won't bored you with the logistics behind it but there's a program each credit referencing agency use that pins your data to you. A different title would not impact that.

You could call experian and see if they have any advice. If you're very good with money then the banks don't see you as a risk, no, but they don't see any ££££ either. If you're very very good and paying off straight away then essentially you're not making them any money.

Apologies if I have overlooked but if it's a joint app what is your partnership credit like.

From May 25th next year, GDPR comes into law. You have the right to have any application decided by a human, not a computer. This human should tell you why it has been refused, if that happens. It could be that their credit checking company is showing an item with an alert. It could be the previous occupants were bad debtors. You need to find out which company they use and check them. Experian is not the only one.

You have perfect credit scores and no history with anyone that shows they will make any money out of you. That is probably why.

How much 'available' credit does your DH have allocated to him?
For example if he had 2 credit cards with 10-15k limits plus a mortgage his affordability might not be as good as you think.
Although he pays the balance each month, he could max them both out and struggle to make all those repayments plus the mortgage and then the kitchen on top.
If you have high limits but don't use them bring them down.

Have you been shopping around for credit?, if a search has been done with your name they will show and if there's a few it can adversely affect things

I got turned down once despite having a good history. It transpired that when I’d cleared balances on cc’s but kept them open, the available credit added up to a significant sum. On advice I reduced the credit limit to a minimal amount on each one and just left a couple open, unused. That sorted it.

We just got our kitchen on finance from Ikea. We have no mortgage and no debts bar an overdraft which we use most months.
The computer declined our application immediately but the man rang the bank and didn’t really say anything, just got a manual override instantly. Don’t know if that’s any help to you?