Refused credit...really?

Associate
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Laaaandan
Hi guys

a couple of days I went online to pick up a £10/month Simplicity deal with O2. After completing all the details etc, I failed the automated credit check! I've emailed the "if you think this in error" people and am awaiting an answer.

But could anyone else chime in with any experience? I'm slightly wary of posting all my details online but suffice to say I'm a 26 y/o male with a well-paying job in central London and have been there for nearly five years. I have a credit card which I occasionally use, savings etc and never miss bills. No car, don't own a home, only debt I've ever had is a student loan. What could imply "bad credit"?

One thing which I think could be slightly dodge is that my bank account - which I've chosen to register for Direct Debit - has it's address pointing at my work address not my home address, since the post where I live is flakey. Yet my "home address" given to O2 is my proper home address. Could this be the cause? Something related to mis-matched addresses or my bank account being registered to a non-residential property?

I'm at a loss! Any ideas?
 
Soldato
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I got refused due to mis-match of home address, I had moved but due to post code/address issue the details I gave varied from the address tied to my account. The flat number was the same but the street and postcode was slightly different. So I'd hazard a guess at the address thing being the issue.
 

Nix

Nix

Soldato
Joined
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If you never miss bills and look after your accounts then you're not going to be the more profitable customer to them are you?

Remember, it's not about you, it's about the profit they can make from you.

Alternatively, try again, it could be a mistake or something a little more sinister.
 
Soldato
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If you never miss bills and look after your accounts then you're not going to be the more profitable customer to them are you?

Remember, it's not about you, it's about the profit they can make from you.
What are you going on about? Its a phone contract with o2 not a loan shark.
 
Soldato
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02 turned me down a few years back and my credit score was good, just had to pay an extra £100 to secure the contract which was no biggie as I got it back.
 
Soldato
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If you never miss bills and look after your accounts then you're not going to be the more profitable customer to them are you?

Remember, it's not about you, it's about the profit they can make from you.

They make more profit by giving him a contract than they do refusing him :confused:

I always thought mobile phone operators were the most relaxed with their credit checks.

Edit - Just read your last post :)
 
Soldato
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Meh, skim read. Thought it was a CC.

As above. Wind your neck in.
Well put it down to a lesson learned. Reading before giving advice is generally the best course of action.

I'm sure it is a simple mistake somewhere, just wait to see what you head back from o2 and take it from there.
 
Soldato
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02 turned me down a few years back and my credit score was good, just had to pay an extra £100 to secure the contract which was no biggie as I got it back.

Something about this.
When i got my wife her iphone contratc from O2, we had £100 taken off a card and used to pay the first 3 months bills or else they took the first 3 months and then use the £100 for months 4,5 and 6.
My wife just reminded me this was as she had never had a contract with them before. I don't think they ran a credit check on me at that stage.
 
Associate
OP
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Are you on the electoral register? That's one of the first things credit checks look for.
Yeah I think so...I've definitely got a polling card for May 6th! Or is this something else?

I'm also a bit concerned that if I have to jump through hoops to get a £10/month contract approved then what's it gonna be like if I need to get something large sorted out, like a mortgage! Also - will I now need to check the box in any subsequent applications for things like this that say "have you ever been refused credit"?

And thinking about the address mismatch, the address my existing O2 account was registered on (no, no Laaaandan :)) was Maidstone so maybe there's beef there.

I wonder if I could just reapply and give my work address as my home address...at least that way I could get my new SIM card delivered there rather than at home where they apparently require a signature for the courier!
 

Nix

Nix

Soldato
Joined
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Posts
19,841
Well put it down to a lesson learned. Reading before giving advice is generally the best course of action.

Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realise that 13k posts was indicative of me not normally reading what I'm replying to. :rolleyes:

There was also absolutely no need for you to be a rude ****, so put that one down to a lesson learned too. Just for reference: it's generally a good idea to actually have the moral high-ground before you try and dish out advice (and I'm aware of the subtle irony here).
 
Soldato
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I got refused due to mis-match of home address, I had moved but due to post code/address issue the details I gave varied from the address tied to my account. The flat number was the same but the street and postcode was slightly different. So I'd hazard a guess at the address thing being the issue.

This happened to me. Went to get an iPhone from Tesco and their check refused me. I knew it was a system error, but they live by their systems and I don't blame them. I got the phone via a family member, went home and signed up to Experian.

No credit checks were performed on my account, so I can only assume that their system didn't find my credit profile due to a mismatch of data.
 
Associate
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Cheers guys for the info - I was actually feeling pretty annoyed by the whole thing (for some reason I was reminded of Cameron's speech in the paper today about "the great ignored") but I think you've shown that this is probably just a mistake! I'll see what they say when they reply to my mail...
 
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