Failed Credit Check - How to investigate without more damage

[Creditconfusion]

Long time user, changed name and posting here for traffic as I'm in a bit of a panic.

Was offered an incredibly mobile deal from my TV provider who I have been with for about 15 years. Have been with my current mobile provider for over 5 years. I was shocked to find out I failed their credit check.

For background, I rent my property, I have no credit card, I don't miss payments on anything and I'm panicking about why I failed as I am looking to get a mortgage soon. Is there any way I can check SPECIFICALLY why I failed? For example if it's because I don't have enough proof of credit would this show somewhere?

Check your credit report with Experian first.
Then check the details of the application because the same thing happened with me and the phone company had used the wrong date of birth for the credit check I was livid as they properly messed me about.

I have Noddle and they give you tips about how to increase your score and what to do. Currently mine is saying if you have £15k available to you (in credit limits but not used) it betters your score! I don’t want to have that much but it’s interesting

Good advice here, also if you have a partner and live together, their credit score could affect yours and vice versa, financial association. You will see your financial associations on those websites mentioned, I use Experian and Credit Karma.

You need to check that everything is in order there, no weird forgotten unpaid bills, address is correct etc, also get a credit card, move a few recurring payments on it, like Netflix, and set a DD to pay it off every month, then you don't need to worry about losing control and spending too much.

@Menora

I have Noddle and they give you tips about how to increase your score and what to do. Currently mine is saying if you have £15k available to you (in credit limits but not used) it betters your score! I don’t want to have that much but it’s interesting

Noodle is now Credit Karma.

OP sign up for Credit Karma and Clearscore. They should be free. They will send you emails reminders every month and you can just check that 2 of the 3 credit reference agencies have your details correct.

I use the website Credit Karma as its free and you can see all of your credit details. They show your score but also give tips on what you can do to improve it in each area. Takes out the guess work.

I didn't realise the proportion of available credit you are currently using has an impact. I used to keep my credit limits very low, because I don't need a £5k overdraft facility when I might dip in to it by £10 once every 3 months or so. But sticking to a £50 overdraft limit was damaging my credit score.

I'm not entirely sure @ConfessionsOfAChocoholic is correct.

I had no credit score - no credit cards, everything paid in full, no store cards and name not on electoral role or bills (was living in a hostel, and no ER due to previous DV).

It was a freaking nightmare getting a mortgage. I used a broker in the end and they helped me get a credit score but it did mean getting a CC and having my name on ER and things. Plus a load of letters went in with my application.

As long as you're on the electoral roll at your current address I wouldn't worry too much. I failed the credit check for a cheapo mobile contract with O2 years ago, but got a mortgage fine a couple of months later. Had no credit history and still have never had a credit card or loan (other than my mortgage). All companies have slightly different criteria, so you'd be best going through a whole of the market mortgage broker when the time comes. Even factors like how often you move address, change jobs can influence whether a company offers your credit.

When I worked in retail banking years ago, the advice was to avoid applying for any other form of credit for at least three months after being declined.

When we do AML checks on new clients, our searches will "pass" someone if they meet a pre-requisite number of searches - i.e. X number of credit files, X confirmations of address, etc. It is therefore highly likely (as ridiculous as it sounds!) that you don't have enough credit.

I use Credit Karma and have a very high credit score. It's recommendations for increasing it even higher? Get my credit card limit increased from £8,000 to at least £15,000! Thank heavens I'm not a spender, but it might come in handy when we come to replace our kitchen!

One thing to help with a credit score is to take out a small credit card (even if you don't want it or need it or like credit cards), make small purchases and regular payments. This will help build up your score.

Household bills in your name and paid on time will help.

Sometimes people have a low score because they don't have credit/debt to show they can repay it.

Yeah it’s credit karma but I put in noddle still takes me to the page 😂

Another one for Credit Karma. I would also suggest a CC where you spend a small amount each month and pay it in full by DD, just to build some history.

But FWIW, I have heard of people with perfect scores (but little history) be denied accounts for what should be normal stuff.

I failed a credit check recently because my married name hadn’t update with equifax, so they couldn’t identify me

If you've never been in debt or had any credit then you'll find it more difficult to get credit. It's a catch-22 situation. You should apply for a credit card and use it each month and then pay it off in full every month and that will increase your credit score and ability to get further credit/mobile contract etc.

I once was refused on the verification phone call because I didn't know an exact amount for my overdraft or a car loan. In future I'd have my bank app open for that check. My overdraft is a random amount like 1250 and I said 1200. It's obviously an important check in terms of validation etc but it's information which comes readily to mind when you're not given a time for the call.

I failed a recent credit card check because, although I am on the electoral roll, I'm not on the main one. This is because I was in a dangerous professional role until I retired two years ago. I live within a five mile radius of people who would still like to kill me. I am not being melodramatic. One person drove into a shop window as I walked past it. I saw him in the reflection and jumped clear. That person's child was adopted. He can't read or write, but a number of his extended family can. I live off the grid, and would prefer not to be found.

I actually don’t think you need to use the credit card that much - I don’t. But I have one with a limit over £6000 with a balance of £20. Apparently that is what they can look for and over £15k is better. But to get a higher limit you need to use the cards over time!

Is it Vodafone by any chance? I failed their credit check earlier this year for broadband even though my credit score was near perfect. No evidence of them even running a check has shown up on my credit file so no idea what happened.

@Jargo what you have described is a very thin credit history. Your broker never helped you get a score, you can't apply to a particular agency for a score, they are assigned (randomly) by the different credit reference agencies (CRA). The score may be calculated through an algorithm created by the CRA, and it may mean something to them, but banks and credit providers don't look at your score, they make a judgement based on the details obtained from your credit file. The broker may have helped you sign up to a CRA who then assigned you a score based on their algorithm, but it is meaningless to all others, a marketing gimmick that they use to sell you products. The CRAs don't lend money, they are essentially a broker of financial products.

Experian gives a score out of 999, Equifax scores out of 700 and Credit Karma is 710, there is no one formula.

I had this with sky, despite being a customer of theirs for years, couldn’t get the phone deal as failed check.
Had never failed a check before, I can’t exactly remember what happened but I’m sure I tried like a week later and it worked as I’m with them now