Wanted to buy a new camera and lens for my upcoming India trip, decided I'd do it on '6-months interest free' finance so I could defer the payment till next year (doesn't cost anything extra, apart from a £29 fee to settle before the end of the interest free period, so no worries).

Just heard back and I've been declined 🙁 , which is a real suprise. Been in the same job for 4 years, earn a decent enough wage, always pay my credit card bills on time (though do have a couple of grand sitting on a 'low interest' balance transfer card, which I'm paying off), been in the same flat (privately rented) for 2 years now (though have moved around a little bit in my 5 years in London.

No children, married, combined household income of £60k+, good UK credit history… why'd the bastards knock me back?? 🙁

why'd the bastards knock me back??
Cos you'll pay it off according the schedule and they'll not make any money out of you. Don't sweat it.

are you on the electoral roll?

I had the same thing as you last year. I decided to get one of those experian credit reports to find out and it was because i'd recently moved and wasn't listed on the electoral register for that address. (even though everything else was fine!)

been in the same flat (privately rented) for 2 years now (though have moved around a little bit in my 5 years in London.

There is your answer. Same happened to a friend when trying to get a new bike.

been on the electoral roll (at me current address) for the past 18 months or so (actually got called up for jury duty last month!)

still disappointed, was looking forward to my camera 🙁 maybe I should just use some savings… though my wife will kill me!

If its a flat, particularly if its a house thats been subdivided in the past, check that the address you're giving matches the address as its stated on the electoral roll / council tax bill.

I've had credit check bother in the past and its always been down to there being an ambiguity as to how the address can be stated, for instance:

"Flat 3" versus "Flat 03" versus "Flat 0/3"
or
"Top Left" Versus "Flat 3/2".

For me it didn't matter whether all the existing accounts, credit agreements, utilities etc were using on version of the address, it was the one that the electoral roll used that mattered, because if that didn't match its as if you're not on the roll.

I had to get in touch with experian and get them to merge / disabiguityalize* the address versions and agree a specific expression of the address to use with future apps.

Annoyingly the last 6 address I've had 5 had variable ways of giving the address, so when some credit checks need you to go back several years its a mine field!

* yes really

do have a couple of grand sitting on a 'low interest' balance transfer card

This could well affect things.

When did you last check your credit score with Experian/Equifax or similar institute? Please don’t assume that your credit report is in any way an accurate reflection of your financial history. Trust me they can be way off the mark, deleteriously influencing your score and consequently making you less attractive to lenders. I checked my Experian Credit Report in June to find I was linked to another person as an alias name, and as such I inherited their poor credit history. Essentially the credit company were saying that we were one in the same person as a result of information supplied to them by a catalogue company. I don’t use catalogues and have never used alias names and didn’t know who the other person/name was. I disputed the accuracy of their report and it was removed within a few weeks as the catalogue company couldn’t justify their ludicrous and arbitrary claim. It really fecked me off that this could be done without any consultation with me.
Whilst I don’t doubt the information you have given I find it very difficult to believe, given your solvent circumstances that you should be refused a loan of this nature.

yup, check your credit report

you can pay £5 a year or something for them to email every time there is a significant change or search whic in my opinion is a very good thing to keep an eye on

creditexpert.com

depending on how you give the address in a sub devided house, it could be someone else in the same building that's not doing you any favours.

You failed the lender's credit score. Being married and in the same, owned address for more than three years have the greatest weighting on a scorecard (IIRC) and you don't tick either of these boxes. Pre credit crunch you would have perhaps been OK but most scorecards have been re -written in the last 12 months.

The Experian credit report is a waste of time and most banks/lenders don't use it, Equifax is the most popular but also Call Credit. http://www.checkmyfile.com is pretty good if you want to check your credit rating

Consider yourself lucky you haven't be declined interest from your disappointed fiance!

Why do you have savings and credit card debt…

Why do you have savings and credit card debt…

'tis a safety net in case of redundancy etc, we could use it to pay off the credit card, but then we'd be screwed if the missus lost her job (she's the big breadwinner, lucky me 🙂 )

Worth bearing in mind that being turned down on a loan/credit/card application will adversely affect your credit rating.

I know… that's another reason I'm disappointed 🙁

What Skidartist says. My current place is a big building (an old church) that about 20 years ago got divided up into flats with one entrance, plus our bit with a separate front door.

Technically ours is "flat 1" (the rest being 2-9) but the sign outside doesn't say that so we normally use the name instead so that post and deliveries actually arrive. The council somehow have both versions on the electoral roll too, which causes all sorts of confusion for credit checking.

Moving about doesn't help either. Worth getting a copy of your reports (get the statutory one for £2 each – they'll try to flog you other services) from Experian and Equifax just to check that everything on there is correct and in order.

Maybe the tenants before you had bad credit details so
just maybe the address is black listed.

I'll get a copy of my credit report I guess… is it worth doing anything more than the statutory one?

Not really unless you think there actually is a problem.

I've lived in 2 places that had bad previous tenants who'd left big debts, and neither affected me, I seem to have moved every 2 years for the past 9 as well!

is it worth doing anything more than the statutory one?

Yes and no. All the raw info is in the statutory one, but presented in as opaque and off-putting a way as they can manage without handing you a piece of paper thats on fire.

If you've had one of the more jangly ones you could easily decode them, but you might be left with a lot of questions seeing the statutory version for the first time

also bear in mind that some places use these low interest / buy now pay later schemes to get people in. You then spend ages speccing your sofa / hi-fi / camera and then when you apply for the rate you don't get it. IIRC only something like 60% of people who apply actually need to be given it so they can set the required score quite harshly.

Then knowing that your heart is set on the goods, they'll offer you a standard credit agreement instead.