www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

I should have known that I’d have problems with an “ethical” bank as this is clearly an oxymoron.

Last week I applied over the phone for a business bank account with the Cooperative bank, after spending 50 minutes on the phone my business was rejected , the guy on the phone could not tell me why but said I would receive a letter detailing why. Today I received the letter, it seems I was rejected because something showed up with Experian, they suggested I contact Experian and pay £2 to find out why I was rejected.

I contacted Experian who said that I have to pay £99 to get a company credit report. After telling them that this was extortion they suggested I contact the coop, so I called the coop and told them that they told me to get a credit report from Experian for £2 when in fact it was £99 (£2 is for a personal check and £99 for a company check). It fell on deaf ears as the coop worker could not tell me exactly why my application has been rejected, although she said she would feed back this information to the relevant people.

Being rejected for a bank account is understandable if you have bad debts, but nor my company or myself has any bad debts whatsoever. Perhaps this is why I don’t qualify for one of their bank accounts, they might want someone that is going to go overdrawn on a regular basis so that they can sting them with bank charges and interest.

I have decided to stick with Santander, even though they block my card and send me automated messages if I buy more than 3 things per day

Under the freedom of information act they have to tell you for free if they are holding information, I think that applies to the Coop as well.

Have a chat with your Solicitor, although they'll probably want £500.00 to write a letter.

Should say Experian are only a credit agency, so attack the co-op

experian do a free check just cancel in time not to pay
http://www.experian.co.uk/

* Monthly fee of £14.99 applies after the 30-day free trial, new customers only. You may cancel anytime during the 30-day trial period without charge. Trial period starts on registration – further ID verification may be required to access the full service which may take up to 5 days.

My credit score is the pits, because I haven't had credit in the past

Not sure how it works, but it seems the more you borrow the better your score, assuming you pay it back I suppose.

When I purchased the Honda a few weeks back they were practically begging me to have it on finance.

i had 2 or 3 loans 30 odd years ago when i first bought this house for essentials like furniture and too replace the flat roof
i never buy anything with an ongoing cost like interest product cover rental fees i always pay in full if the option is available

i pay my line rental up front for the year and it works out as £9.50p a month

big-all wrote:experian do a free check just cancel in time not to pay
http://www.experian.co.uk/

* Monthly fee of £14.99 applies after the 30-day free trial, new customers only. You may cancel anytime during the 30-day trial period without charge. Trial period starts on registration – further ID verification may be required to access the full service which may take up to 5 days.

There is no way I am signing up for anything with these people-


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... omers.html

ultimatehandyman wrote:

big-all wrote:experian do a free check just cancel in time not to pay
http://www.experian.co.uk/

* Monthly fee of £14.99 applies after the 30-day free trial, new customers only. You may cancel anytime during the 30-day trial period without charge. Trial period starts on registration – further ID verification may be required to access the full service which may take up to 5 days.

There is no way I am signing up for anything with these people-


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... omers.html

yep funny enough a few years ago i signed up for the free trial and was unhappy at what seemed excessive questions so cancelled my free trial without completing the whole process

I still think they (coop) are legally required to tell you, why you was rejected and any information they hold. Worth asking.

Noodle do free credit reports,I signed up with them last year and they are just as detailed as the other companies but are totally free with no need to cancel after 30 days.

ultimatehandyman wrote:

big-all wrote:experian do a free check just cancel in time not to pay
http://www.experian.co.uk/

* Monthly fee of £14.99 applies after the 30-day free trial, new customers only. You may cancel anytime during the 30-day trial period without charge. Trial period starts on registration – further ID verification may be required to access the full service which may take up to 5 days.

There is no way I am signing up for anything with these people-


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... omers.html

I've been on their 9.99 thing for a year plus now - it's saved me a whole load of headaches. When I'm out and about, it's amazing how easy it is for people to clone cards and stuff. Get messages/alerts for anything shifty going on.

BG

Experian p1ss me off too. They are capable of holding INCORRECT information on you that can affect anything you want to do financially yet they are IMMUNE from prosecution for doing so. Anyone else basically 'slagging you off' would be liable for being sued to the teeth if they 'lie' yet Experian get out fo this by saying they are only repeating what they've been told i.e. they don't independently verifiy ANY of the data they hold against you.

And THEN they charge you to find ot just who it IS that's cocking up your credit reference! To me this is just extortion.

You don't have to apply on-line for the information. By LAW they must reveal all the data they hold on you for a nominal fee (£2) so WRITE to them and demand a copy of the details they have on you under the Freedom of Information Act. You must state your application is under the FoIA else they WILL try to charge you the £99 fee.

Include your £2 fee (cheque) and tell them you HAVE included it to cover the costs.

Useful info on credit scoring/rating

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/ ... edit-score

steviejoiner74 wrote:Noodle do free credit reports,I signed up with them last year and they are just as detailed as the other companies but are totally free with no need to cancel after 30 days.

just joined noodle via asda web site
credit rating 5/5??
well yes i owe nowt own my own house with no debt attached bank account in credit but no excess as i move it to get some interest even if its only 1.75%

off course because i have had no credit for 20 years i am a bad risk lol
i actually tried yesterday to get an asda credit card to get what i thought was 3% cash back but i was refused lol but it was only 1% so not that bothered

big-all wrote:i actually tried yesterday to get an asda credit card to get what i thought was 3% cash back but i was refused lol but it was only 1% so not that bothered

Even APPLYING for credit (and getting refused - for whatever reason) is recorded and can count AGAINST you. It's a vicious circle - probably designed to ensure you are a 'credit risk' and therefore inflate the interest you'll be charged if/when you ever take out a loan.

The system is rigged against us all.

kellys_eye wrote:

big-all wrote:i actually tried yesterday to get an asda credit card to get what i thought was 3% cash back but i was refused lol but it was only 1% so not that bothered

Even APPLYING for credit (and getting refused - for whatever reason) is recorded and can count AGAINST you. It's a vicious circle - probably designed to ensure you are a 'credit risk' and therefore inflate the interest you'll be charged if/when you ever take out a loan.

The system is rigged against us all.

yes i understand that and it doesn't bother me
i have more than enough in the bank to cover any eventualities
even though i am spending an average 30-£40 a week from my saving on top off my railway pension if i do no work till i get my state pension in 63 months i will still have around 15-18k in the bank