Credit Rating

[Abitrary]

9/10 times your problems will be solved simply by making sure you're on the electoral register. If you actually become an MP then you will actually solve that last 1/10 of your problems, whatever the problems are.

 

[dellzeqq]

I'd never bothered about it either until recently when 3 refused me a Nokia N96 (£15 p.m. contract) phone blaming my credit rating.

I've always been good with credit, never defaulted on anything, etc. and got a bit incensed at the idea.

I asked them why they'd refused me and they said it was nothing to do with them, it was the credit reference agency they used - Experian. The 3 sales person said I should ask Experian why they'd refused me, so that's what I decided to do.

I popped onto the Experian web site and filled in all the info for the free credit check, which, whilst interesting, didn't actually give you your credit score!

The score is what they use wen advising retailers etc. so because I was so mad about the whole thing I decided to pay £6 for the full report, including the all important score. (In signing up for the full report, you are also automatically enrolled into the monthly credit checking program at around £5 per month - so don't forget to cancel your Experian account if you don't want to stay.)

The score itself ranges from around 600 points to a maximum 999. My score? 993 - Excellent!!!

I called 3 back and tried again telling them I had an excellent credit score and was again refused, and again advised that Experian will have told them (3) that I was a bad credit risk.

This prompted me to call Experian as I couldn't understand how they could report an Excellent cfredit rating, then tell 3 to refuse me the phone.

After 10 mins on the phone with Experian I found out that they (Experian) never actually tell a retailer whether or not to do business with someone, they only report on the score and other details on the credit report such as current debt a person has on their books.

The lady at Experian then asked, "Are you, by any chance, trying to get an expensive mobile phone on a really cheap monthly contract?"

"Erm, yes" I said.

"I thought so", she said. "We get a lot of this. The phone companies seem to oversell the offers and then blame people's credit as a reason for not offering customers the deal."

I decided to have one last go and called 3 back. After half an hour taking to another sales person, and trying, but failing to speak to a manager, I was told I would need to speak to their credit control department. I asked for the phone number, but they didn't have one. Email address? No, sorry. I'd need to write to the credit team at a postal address. "In this modern day of telephones and email, I can only write to them?" - yes. (A well developed tactic for putting people off the scent no doubt! Especailly as you couldn't expect a reply in less than a week!).

Their loss. I bought the phone elsewhere and am now both assured of my credit worthiness, and assured that 3 won't be getting any of my money anytime soon.

The thing is, if they'd said to me, right at the off, "Sorry, we've suspended that offer due to oversubscription ..." I could have accepted that and it would have saved a great deal of agro.

Cheers,
Shaun

PS. Oh yes, forgot to mention, 3 don't even use Experian for credit checks - Experian confirmed they'd had no enquiries from 3 - but it seems that they train all of their sales staff to say so, and none of the sales staff could tell me who they actually do use!!

good heavens above, man, are you trying to tell us that 3 is a lying toerag of an organisation that no sensible person should trouble themselves with? Hint well and truly taken!