BE V-E-R-Y CAREFUL IF YOU APPLIY FROM A MORTGAGE/CREDIT CARD ON THE INTERNET WITH EGG.COM...

I've been rejected for a credit card and have been trying to get a reason since 20/11/99 - My credit ref is fine (been accepted for a mortgage by R.B.S. and got an MBNA card with #7K limit). The problem is thatr each time these companies do a credit check on you YOUR PERSONAL DETAILS ARE FINGER-PRINTED BY THE CREDIT REF AGENCIES LIKE EXPERION etc AND THIS REDUCES YOUR CREDIT RATING - according to a representitive at EGG - I am still awaiting a response from EGG as to why my application was rejected and re-asurance that the enquiries that they made have not in any way damaged my credit score. I will keep you posted as to what response I receive, positive or negative. Regards

ROBERT

-- ROBERT FALCONER-TAYLOR (blue.marlin@virgin.net), November 24, 1999

Answers

I was under the impression that details of applications you had made for credit were logged by the credit reference agencies.

If, for example, you applied for a credit card with MBNA and were accepted with a 7k limit, details of the search plus your account details would then appear on agency files.

If you then decide to apply for a card with Nationwide, when they search they will see that you have a card with MBNA which may affect their decision. If they refuse you and you apply for a Barclaycard, then Barclaycard would see that you already had a 7K credit limit and had also applied for Nationwide card. Its a way of seeing what you're up to and how far committed you are and also to stop fraudulent users.

Because they are an internet only card issuer, EGG might have a more stringent criteria than other card issuers. It might not have anything to do with you how good a payer you are, but maybe because you're not in the right type of job, or haven't been there long enough, maybe because you've only just got a new mortgage might have something to do with it. Its probable that EGG will not give you a full explanation of where you failed, credit companies rarely do, they will send you a form letter saying something like they use a process called credit scoring and this time you weren't successful.

If you've just got a mortgage, then I wouldn't bother applying for more credit just yet. Some mortage companies do credit check you again before they release the funds to make sure that you're not borrowing your deposit on credit!

On a personal note, I wouldn't bother using MBNA, although they give a low interest rate to start, its quite high compared to other cards, plus they don't give you an interest free period, interest is charged from the day you make a purchase. A good always-low interest rate card is Nationwide or even People's Bank, to name just two.

Pendle

-- pendle (pendle@amun-ra.demon.co.uk), November 24, 1999.

Hi, I have just received a letter demanding payment of a shortfall of over #21,000 for a property that I left in my ex partner's safe hands back in 1991. At the time, I informed the Building Society and instigated the paperwork for the transfer of the mortgage to him and his new wife. Obviously this paperwork was never completed. I didn't even know it had been repossessed or sold!! Funnily enough I have just applied for (January 2000) and been given an EGG credit card...!! I have had a new mortgage with a new partner for 18mths, the only credit I have applied for in 9 years is with EGG. Within a month, the debt collectors are on the case. Suspicious isn't it?

-- J Howe (judith.howe@geis.ge.com), February 14, 2000.

Quite true. My friend has had a bank loan with the Abbey Nat for three years and now wants to renegotiate it to reduce outgoings. His lender won't do it because of poor credit rating (same lender, same bank, credit cards, etc). They told him that he contacted several finance houses for the best rates and they all did credit checks on him. Frequent credit checks = poor credit rating. They told him to wait six months and try again.

-- kate faulkner (kate@icl.net), April 06, 2000.