Rejected for credit

[losingthewilltoday]

New here so be kind.
I’m at a bit of a loss; I’m 24, I have a very good well paid job, I bought my own house single handedly end of last year, own a car, pay credit card off in full every month, have lots of normal monthly outgoings (all the usuals; Internet/council tax/phone contract/gym etc) with plenty of money left over each month. No kids/no partner so bills etc are very low, no debt apart from student loan which I repay. (And no, no bank of mum and dad).

I phoned a company up to change mobile contract (wanted to add a new tablet on there too) as I’d seen a great deal. Went through all the options available, even got a few quid off as I already use that provider for internet service.
I was all ready to go to get set up - but I was rejected due to my credit score! They said I’d passed the intial checks but didn’t have enough credit history with that provider to give me the deal!

In essence, they wanted me to take out a sim only deal for a few months (despite already using the provider for internet) just so I could have payment history with them so I could buy a 3 year plan with them!!

I’m furious because I cannot find a better deal anywhere else and I’m ready to throw my current phone out the window at any given second.
Please, please can someone suggest a reasonable explanation or options I may have going forward? Am I losing the plot?!

Have you actually looked at a copy of your credit report recently? That's the first place to start, just to make sure there nothing on there you don't recognise.

If not and your credit rating is good then it's very unusual for a mobile phone provider to refuse you a deal due to lack of history with them specifically. I often change providers at the end of every contract period and have never experienced this.

One thing you could do is request to understand how the decision was made i.e. was it a system generated/automated decision. If it was then you have a right under GDPR to challenge it and have a human review that decision.

This happened to me one. The phone company asked if my mum could be a guarantor as that would solve the problem of my bad credit score. I’m almost 50 years old! Made no sense. I’d probably forget about it to be honest

You just bought a house. Is it mortgaged?

Covid - I've been rejected things I've never had a problem getting before

Just buy the tablet outright?

They have given you a reasonable option frankly. After the 3 months are up just ask for the same or a similar offer with them. You might be able to snag a Black Friday offer.

What is your credit score? I’m the same age and have a maxed out score with all the providers as I have had a good credit history since I was 18. That’s just from my credit card.

As you had a mortgage relatively recently, the searches and new account can knock your score down briefly. Obviously check your report and get any errors corrected.

I feel like I’m stating the obvious here but you get a credit history by using credit. If you typically buy things on your debit card than although you’re financially comfortable/responsible, you won’t improve your credit score. You have to prove you’re good with credit.

I’ve not seen a report since November’19 when I purchased my house - but I definitely will be taking a look now. Yes house is mortgaged but never underpaid/defaulted/delayed and payments, the mortgage is far less than I used to pay in rent!

The provider actually said they can’t go into detail as they use a third party provider to do the financial checks - all seemed very BS and they refused to put me through to anybody else. I will definitely call back tomorrow and pray I get put through to somebody else. I’m just now worried my credit score will be affected further by keep ‘applying’ for this contract.

I’m just more annoyed that I can’t take my business elsewhere as no other deal compares to it ☹️

Yes house is mortgaged but never underpaid/defaulted/delayed and payments,

It doesn't matter. It is normal for a credit score to drop when you take on a mortgage. You have increased your debt. The score is made up of many factors and the amount of debt you have is one of them. 100% this is due to your recent mortgage.

Do you have any other credit. Having manageable credit is essential for getting more credit. Well managed credit cards with high spend limits paid off in full each month is the strongest indicator of being credit worthy as well being a homeowner. You tick one of the boxes but maybe not the other?

Just use the ClearScore app as it will show you the negative factors immediately

If its that good a deal, it might be too good to be true... advertise deal to get people in the door but then refuse the vast majority on the grounds of some arbitrary credit score 'issue' and suggest they buy something else (sim only deal) in the meantime in order to qualify later, old trick.

Don’t buy anything on contract. You will pay more than it’s worth whatever the deal. Get it on very and pay it off over a few months or just put it on your credit card and pay it off ASAP.