Loan denied - and no info why.

Davypops | 08:44 Sun 22nd May 2011 | Personal Finance

17 Answers

My Halifax Credit card is up to £9000 and I've been paying the min. every month, never missed. Now they've told me they're cancelling it but still want the monthly min. (@25.9% !). Also I have a Halifax Loan unsecured which started at £6000 4 years ago and is now only £900. (again never missed a payment). So... I applied for another loan from Halifax to pay off the credit card and was told there was a 'note on my file - no more loans'. When ask Why? the answer is do not know, can't help you. I feel really angry, locked into 25.9% and I've been the best customer I can. Any thoughts people? If I apply for a loan from somewhere else, am I already 'bad news'? My credit file is OK and unblemished (except that I have £18,000 of debt inc. the Halifax one). Thanks all.

should I have been informed?

housing benefit and council tax relief

Answers

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pretty_snowdrop

Best Answer

18:04 Sun 22nd May 2011

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boxtops

You have to ask the Halifax - I can think of no reason why they should suddenly cancel your credit card when you are paying responsibly. A couple of our card issuers have reduced our credit levels (we were not using all of it) and we could see the sense in that, on a risk exposure basis. As you have an existing card, IMO then they must tell you why they are suddently cancelling it - it sounds to me that if they are not cancelling it, just putting a block on you using it any more. The interest rate is very high, more that we pay on our Halifax card. Have you undertaken a credit check with somewhere like Experian? That might throw up if there is incorrect info on your credit record.
Lots of the card providers are now being far more responsible for trying to help customers reduce their balances and not add more debt.
If you apply somewhere else, I couldn't say yet whether the declined further loan from Halifax will show up as it may just have been dealt with internally - but yes it might. I suspect that Halifax have looked at your income, seen you paying regularly, but decided that enough is enough. I am sure that you are not alone - these sort of worries apply to all of us carrying balances on our credit cards. Paying the minimum will take you more than 20 years to pay off (I saw that on the TV the other day) so I can see why they don't want you to have any more credit.

buildersmate

Although you say you have not missed any monthly payments, reading the above leads me to believe that you are on the slippery slope to eventually defaulting on your loans. Many people who takes out a loan simply to pay off another loan is in that situation - (with the exception of those who are doing it to get lower interest rate on their loan - which maybe is what you are trying to do).
If you have property, perhaps you can take a secured loan against that - to benefit from the lower interest rates a secured loan enables.
Try seeing CAB to see if they can advise you.

yelenots

Hi....I have a Halifax credit card too, the same amount owing and I pay the min amount too. About 6 months ago I tried to get a loan from them to repay it as I am sick to death of the balance never reducing and I can never see it ending! I got refused with no explanation as to why! I have been with the Halifax for 25+yrs, got a mortgage and savings and my salary goes into my account too. I feel very disappointed that they would not help me out when I need it! Help me know how you get on!!

TonyV

To be honest think they are trying to be responsible lender

factor-fiction

If you are only paying the minimum each month then interest is possibly accruing at a rate that is not much less than the amount you are repaying, and it will take maybe 50 years to pay off the balance at this rate. It's not surprising to me that they feel they cannot lend you any more.
You do sem to have a lot of debt so you may find it difficult to find another credit card at cheaper rates, but it is worth checking your credit file and then shopping around for a better deal.
You also might want to have a blitz over the next 12 months on repaying some of this expensive debts by forgoing a few things such as nights out and holidays or selling a car. It's not easy but it's worth it in the longer term

dasherman

If your balance is £9,000 and you're only paying the minimum monthly amount then I'd guess the balance is going up regardless of whether you're still using the card or not. Therefore the Halifax are merely trying to ensure they get their money back before they let you borrow any more.

pretty_snowdrop

Davy, call the Halifax tomorrow and ask to speak to someone in lending or credit approvals. I work in a bank and often the note on the file is to warn staff not to sell these products to customers( because they know you have high levels of debt), not that you can't actually have a loan. In my experience the bank would rather you have a £9000 loan than £9000 on a credit card so hopefully there will be a way forward (they will use the loan to pay of your credit card then cancel the card). Other factors such as credit rating and account conduct will be taken into consideration when they make their decision. Halifax will be your best bet at this stage, other lenders will be wary because of the 18k debt. Good luck x

Hymie

Barclays are offering 8.9% (un-secured) on loans from £8k – £25k (over 7 years, I think).
It helps if you already bank with them, as they can see the state of your finances. But there is nothing stopping you from applying on-line or calling in for a chat with one of their staff.

Check out Martin Lewis on Moneysavingexpert.com who has details of loans available at less than 7% (un-secured) from a few lenders.

boxtops

I do agree with others - I am sure I heard of someone who was able to convert a credit card balance into a fixed rate loan at a much better interest rate, on condition that they didn't use the card until the loan was paid off.

Davypops

Question Author

Thanks to all for replies - "boxtops" - no the loan request from Halifax was dealt with internally. And Builders mate - yes am trying to switch to a loan for lower rate. And yelenots - Will let you know how it goes. I'm going in the branch today. Think I'll tell them you can issue a CCJ if you won't give me a loan then you'll get nothing (I live in rented prop).
*** Is it true that if they can't find the original agreement (it is prob 15 yrs ago) they can't enforce it? Thanks. Dave.

factor-fiction

How did you get on?
I don't agree with the approach you were considering of threatening to default. They may well call your bluff. if you are prepared to default now they might feel you would default ona loan too.
Good luck with pursuing the point about the agreement not being signed. I think that was a story put about by unscrupulous firms preying on the desperate and wanting a fee for fighting a CCA battle that few if any people won

Hymie

To have been allowed to build up such a debt level – I would suspect that your gross annual income is at least £20k. And therefore I would strongly advise against trying to get out of the debt by defaulting.

At 25.9% you will be paying over £2k per year in interest charges alone – therefore as others have said, you need to pay this amount off with a loan at a much more attractive rate (to you).

Paying off £9k over 5 years will cost you around £180 a month. Providing that you can manage this sum – you should be able to find a lender willing to take you on. You might think that telling the proposed lender the purpose of the loan (debt consolidation) would count against you – but that is not the case, since taking out the loan makes financial sense to you.

DTCwordfan

credit agency route - yes to unearth if there is untoward info flying around

if not, then consider switching to a low % loan and even some of the promo credit cards, but then you need to bounce at the end of the promo period as the rates then go through the roof.......would, for peace of mind, go for a lower % loan and tear up the H card to avoid the temptation.