956 credit score yet 0% chance of approval for NatWest 0% credit card?

[surfing_australian]

See screenshots

https://ibb.co/BTyTgxn
https://ibb.co/wQV2Yx0

Experian credit score was from 3/4 days ago. Been doing bank switches since March collecting bonuses. I’ve done 4 so far including NatWest. Could this be a reason why i cant apply for their credit card?

Have 3 other credit cards i use, always clear the balance each month, not in debt.

Second screenshot is from MoneySavingExperts website,

 

[tatorgirl]

@surfing_australian I tried the same with a similar 0% card from Barclays, MSE said that I only had single-digit chances of being approved. I applied and I was approved immediately, no problem.

That of course doesn't mean that it will work in your case too.

 

[sashieng]

@surfing_australian You understand that your credit score is simply a meaningless number offered by credit reference agencies?

It is your credit history that counts, switching banks etc is likely to be a bit of a negative for institutions.

 

[soul_tsunami]

@sashieng I somewhat disagree with the rhetoric around credit scores that is prevalent on this sub.

In my experience the scores CRA’s provide are a fairly good representation of whether your credit history should be a concern to you or not.

What’s important to understand though is that your credit history is far from the only thing lenders take into account, e.g affordability, profile of desired customer for that product

 

[sashieng]

@soul_tsunami In your second para you are commenting on something that no one, as far as I am aware of, has ever mentioned, the posts have always been the disconnect between my excellent credit score and my inability to be accepted for credit.

As you comment in your third para, history (credit history, number of accounts, addresses, etc etc) are the be all and end all for the financial organisations.

 

[soul_tsunami]

@sashieng

In your second para you are commenting on something that no one, as far as I am aware of, has ever mentioned, the posts have always been the disconnect between my excellent credit score and my inability to be accepted for credit.

Well there’s naturally going to be a reporting bias - who has ever posted that they’ve been accepted for credit?

But more to the point, when people make those posts, they’re told to ignore the score and look at the history - which isn’t helpful if their credit history is spotless. What would be helpful is to be told that there are factors other than the history that lenders take into account, which is probably why they were rejected despite their perfect credit history.

As you comment in your third para, history (credit history, number of accounts, addresses, etc etc) are the be all and end all for the financial organisations.

This is wrong. Your income and expenses are just as important to being accepted for credit, and do not appear in your history.

Lenders may also be targeting different demographics with a product (particularly if it’s a loss leader), have risk profiles based on your job role etc.

 

[sashieng]

@soul_tsunami You've written lots and it is difficult to quote on my phone but...

Re no one posting about being accepted etc. Again tou are being a little disingenuous here, the point is that virtually everyone who posts (I cannot recollect another circumstance) is posting purely and simply because they have an excellent score but cannot get credit. They may have a spotless credit history (as you say) but if it is insufficient for a lenders requirement it doesn't help. I cannot remember seeing a post about the difficulty of getting credit whish doesn't comment on their score. Csn you?

Re your income comments, I was trying to cover the broad range of qualifiers involved in an institution making a judgement with my "etc, erc" reference, e.g. a number of other factors. I'm sure you understood that really.

 

[soul_tsunami]

@sashieng I’m repeating myself but your credit history (and therefore credit score) is not the only factor in being accepted for credit.

Being rejected for credit despite having a perfect credit score is not evidence that those scores are inaccurate or not useful - because, again, your history is not the only factor.

Yet the majority of the replies to a topic which mentions credit scores will misleadingly imply that all that matters is your credit history.

Re your income comments, I was trying to cover the broad range of qualifiers involved in an institution making a judgement with my “etc, erc” reference, e.g. a number of other factors. I’m sure you understood that really.

Sorry but this is serious mental gymnastics to try to avoid being wrong on the internet lol - I doubt anyone other than us is even reading this! Your comment was “history” followed by a bracket. Income, and the other things I mentioned, are not part of your history (and so also do not factor in any credit scores).

More generally I just think this sub has an overly simplistic view of credit scores being completely worthless, and comments focus more on criticising CRA’s than actually providing useful advice to the OP.

Credit scores are a broad interpretation of how healthy your credit history is - but a healthy credit history does not guarantee you’ll be accepted for all credit.

 

[sashieng]

@soul_tsunami For some reason you are ignoring the obvious, which I highlighted in my previous posts). Are you aware of any post on here where someone has commented on not getting credit with a perfect/ good credit history? No you haven't. Every post (as far as I can remember) is always about the credit score.

It is this aspect that is the focus, the reason for the responses.

 

[soul_tsunami]

@sashieng Literally nearly every single post an OP who has a good credit score also has a good credit history.

This post even, OP’s credit score reflects what they’ve told us about their history - almost perfect, but a few new accounts from bank switches having a small impact. You can see they’ve been accepted for a lot of other credit, just not this one product.

What they need to be told is that there are other factors beyond credit history, that the scores do not take into account. What is not useful and is actually misleading is a rant about credit scores, and being told that only credit history matters - as the most upvoted comment in this thread does.

 

[sashieng]

@soul_tsunami Ok, I cannot keep going round this circle.

 

[freedave]

@sashieng These answers piss me off. Yes the score may be meaningless in itself but a high score generally means you have a decent credit report.

 

[jstanley7]

@freedave They don't look at the number alone.

I worked for a loan comparison website in the distant past. The rules can get pretty complex looking at parts of the credit report.

Number of active credit accounts might be an issue if they have been doing lots of switches recently.

 

[freedave]

@jstanley7 I’m not saying they look at the number alone- or at all.

But if I log in for 2 seconds, a high number is indicative of a decent report.

 

[sashieng]

@freedave It may piss you off, but that is something you will need to learn to deal with.

The simple fact of the matter is that a high credit score does not mean you will be offered any credit. Surely the fact that the OP is in that situation simply underscores that fact, no?

 

[freedave]

@sashieng No but a high credit score is representative of a good credit report.

 

[ngabay]

@freedave I mean, as someone who was maxing out my HSBC student credit card for three straight years, it didn't do anything, at all. I was still able to open new credit cards and my credit report looks fine. Is there something missing?

My score was below 550 on ClearScore when I was applying. You also have people like OP with high scores being rejected...

 

[sashieng]

@freedave No, incorrect.

It is representative of a score the CRA apply to the credit and other factors (time at address etc etc) that they apply, nothing more nothing less.

 

[surfing_australian]

@sashieng I guess so, apart from the recent bank switches in the last 2 months, my credit history has been pretty good I'd say.

I'll try and apply directly for the credit card, if I get it I get it. If rejected, does that also stay on your credit history?

 

[soul_tsunami]

@surfing_australian The hard search will stay on your credit report for 12 months, not that you were rejected.

Having a large amount of hard searches will make you look undesirable to lenders, but a few shouldn’t be too much of an issue.