Is it possible to be declined credit for having credit that is too good?

by Elsewhere 21 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Elsewhere

  The other day I was making substantial purchase and wanted to take advantage of the advertised "12 months no interest" deal. I have excellent credit, however my application was DENIED.

  The girl at the checkout couldn't tell me why, only that it was denied. Today I received a letter saying that if I write to them they will send another letter telling me why I was denied the line of credit.

  At first I was afraid someone stole my identity and trashed my credit, so today I ran my credit report and it came back just fine.

  I've started wondering... can creditors analyze one's past credit activity to identify people who don't rack up large amounts of interest payments? As an example... I'm in the habit of not making large purchases unless I already have the money saved up and sitting in an interest bearing account. Once I have the money I'll go buy the product and sign up for one of the "No Interest for XX months" deals. Then I'll keep my money in the interest bearing account while the months go by and I'm not making any payments. Then at the last minute I pay off the balance in full, close the credit account and keep all of the interest money for myself.

  Basically, when I purchase something like that, I end up making money off of it.

  Do you think that pisses off the creditors?
• 

  MsMcDucket

  Give me a couple of your credit cards, and I can fix that for you.
• 

  Pwned

  closing accounts hurts your credit score. do you know your score or did you just check the report?
• 

  Scully

  Your best bet is probably to contact the company and find out why they declined your application. Maybe there's another person with a name similar to yours that doesn't have good credit, and the person made an error typing in your name, or something equally stupid.

  It doesn't make sense for stores to offer "no interest for XX months" to draw people into the store and then refuse a credit application to someone with an excellent track record. Stores usually offer financing through another company - meaning the creditor pays the store for the purchase but then the creditor collects payment from the consumer (you) - perhaps it has nothing to do with the store itself, but the company that finances on their behalf.
• 

  Satanus

  You really need a girlfriend.

  S
• 

  watson

  I have heard that if you have too many open accounts, even with zero balances, it may count against you because you have the potential to go too far into debt compared to your ability to repay.
• 

  Elsewhere

  I have heard that if you have too many open accounts, even with zero balances, it may count against you because you have the potential to go too far into debt compared to your ability to repay.

  I have very few open accounts.
• 

  aquagirl

  i worked as a credit analyst for 6 years for a huge credit card firm,and it sounds to me like there was an error made in your ss number.if you have a good credit score,and no bankruptcys or late pays,most creditors will be screaming for your buisness. just cause you havent messed up on your credit in the past is no reason to believe you might not in the future on some joyful occasion..thats the way the cc companies think.as long as you can steam up a mirror,there is a potential to make some money off of you....sounds like you ar handling things well tho,keep it up!!!!
• 

  J-ex-W

  It still may be a matter of the total credit line of available to you, combining each of those cards. And yes, they DO prefer cash cows--I mean credit consumers whose spending habits bleed into their pockets.
• 

  Elsewhere

  I've already printed up a letter that I will send off tomorrow. I'm very curious what they will say.

  Has anyone noticed the CC offer showing in this thread? 0% interest and 5% back. They are counting on someone to sign up and then miss a single payment so the interest rake can be jacked up as high as possible. I consider that to be predatory lending and should be illegal. So long as banks continue to take advantage of people like that, I will continue to take the CC companies for all I can.