What name should I use to pass EE's Credit Check?

O-JO-J Posts: 18,807
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I want to purchase a phone, and I failed a few credit check they did on me, I'm really not sure what is wrong, I've called and talked with Equifax, and they don't even know why i've been rejected, my credit score is 451, has a green light, which means its Good, a few Amber lights on late payments, but that was 6 Months ago, and I just came out from a Virgin Media phone contract.

It's really confusing, My dad slightly misspelled my name, on my name registration, on my Birth certificate, my passport, my bank cards, driving license have the name "Ben" but I have always grew up spelling it Benn, and that's how it was at School, and that's how it is spelled on Electerol Roll.

What name should I use when they do another credit check?

So frustrating, so much hassle, I can't get a phone contract, I can prove that I earn enough to pay it on time.
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Comments

  • MC_SatanMC_Satan Posts: 26,512
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    Spell it as it is on the electoral roll.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 8,916
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    Go for William Henry Gates III. It should go through OK then.

    Is the guy in the shop wearing a fez and ushering you into a changing room with a caveman outfit?
  • O-JO-J Posts: 18,807
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    MC_Satan wrote: »
    Spell it as it is on the electoral roll.

    That's what I'm thinking, but isnt a credit check to do with the bank? on my bank Card, its spelled Ben? So how could they know?
  • MC_SatanMC_Satan Posts: 26,512
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    I think some check the electoral register. My bank card just has my initial, for example.
  • O-JO-J Posts: 18,807
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    MC_Satan wrote: »
    I think some check the electoral register. My bank card just has my initial, for example.

    I'm hoping it will work this time, If they do a credit check and it ruins my score even more, if I keep paying my bills and not miss any payments, could that raise it back up?
  • MC_SatanMC_Satan Posts: 26,512
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    benbenalen wrote: »
    I'm hoping it will work this time, If they do a credit check and it ruins my score even more, if I keep paying my bills and not miss any payments, could that raise it back up?

    Should do.
  • D_Mcd4D_Mcd4 Posts: 10,438
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    Theses companies are a pain at times.
  • viertevierte Posts: 4,286
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    Try having no missed payments for a year, 6 months isn't that long to have made payments.
  • TakaeTakae Posts: 13,555
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    benbenalen wrote: »
    What name should I use when they do another credit check?

    The one on the electoral roll.

    From their POV, your name on the electoral roll proves two things: a) you're living at your stated address and b) by being registered on the roll as a voter, you're committed to staying at that address. Your bank account, passport, driving licence and such won't do much because they don't necessarily testify to your commitment to your stated address.

    Also, if I were you, I wouldn't re-apply too soon because too many credit checks for the same thing may make some wary/suspicious.
  • cris182cris182 Posts: 9,595
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    benbenalen wrote: »
    I want to purchase a phone, and I failed a few credit check they did on me, I'm really not sure what is wrong, I've called and talked with Equifax, and they don't even know why i've been rejected, my credit score is 451, has a green light, which means its Good, a few Amber lights on late payments, but that was 6 Months ago, and I just came out from a Virgin Media phone contract.

    It's really confusing, My dad slightly misspelled my name, on my name registration, on my Birth certificate, my passport, my bank cards, driving license have the name "Ben" but I have always grew up spelling it Benn, and that's how it was at School, and that's how it is spelled on Electerol Roll.

    What name should I use when they do another credit check?

    So frustrating, so much hassle, I can't get a phone contract, I can prove that I earn enough to pay it on time.

    That might be why, 6 months isn't long enough to prove it was just a temporary issue
  • IqoniqIqoniq Posts: 6,299
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    benbenalen wrote: »
    That's what I'm thinking, but isnt a credit check to do with the bank? on my bank Card, its spelled Ben? So how could they know?
    Credit checks cover a wide range of evils. While a lot of it is financial, they also take into account how long you've lived at an address and whether you change address a lot, hence the electoral roll check. Part of the reason for this is whether you'll be easily traced if you default or do you constantly move around, and if so are you running from something/someone?

    If you've moved not long ago then I'd wait at least a year before applying for new sources of credit, and if you absolutely have to then make sure you can provide addresses for where you've lived for the past 3 to 5 years. Don't just make up addresses as they do see if what you say matches up with what their information says.

    Mobile phone companies used to be seen as a soft target when the competition was fierce a few years ago, and their checks just seemed a formality. Now, with advent of smart phones and whatever else (including immigrants trying to get phones and then disappearing before the first bill has even been paid - no I'm not saying all immigrants do this), they've become a lot stricter.

    Also, go through your credit report with a fine toothed comb. Sometimes there are accounts that aren't settled which have got lost in the ether and forgotten about. These can actually count against you even worse if they're tiny amounts, because if you can't pay say a £5 debt, are they really going to trust you opening up a credit line that could be worth over £500?
    Takae wrote: »
    Also, if I were you, I wouldn't re-apply too soon because too many credit checks for the same thing may make some wary/suspicious.
    Kind of. When you have a credit check done on you, it's recorded by the various agencies that deal with that. Along with that record is whether it was accepted, declined or referred (further checks needed and usually when you get asked to put down a deposit or something). It's similar to insurance checks, when an insurance company asks whether you've ever been refused insurance on a car/house/whatever. If you're constantly getting refused it actually affects your credit score because the systems see all these refused credit applications and it counts against you, because they wonder why.

    There used to be a common method of temporarily "spoofing" your credit worthiness by getting your reports from all the agencies and then disputing every negative entry on there. As they were in dispute they couldn't actually be used to calculate your credit score, and in the few weeks it took to resolve it you basically had an opportunity to get credit. There was actually quite a few companies that sprung up to take advantage of this loop hole and for a fee (usually around £70) they'd do the hard work for you. As far as I know this loophole has now been closed, and I don't condone credit fraud in any way.
  • KennedyCKennedyC Posts: 1,289
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    You can link another name on your credit record. I am linked with my wife. You can be linked with another spelling of you name.
  • Richard46Richard46 Posts: 59,830
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    Iqoniq wrote: »
    ''

    Also, go through your credit report with a fine toothed comb. Sometimes there are accounts that aren't settled which have got lost in the ether and forgotten about. These can actually count against you even worse if they're tiny amounts, because if you can't pay say a £5 debt, are they really going to trust you opening up a credit line that could be worth over £500?,,,,

    Accounts can go against you even if there is no debit at all. Credit Cards taken out and not used can appear as negatives on a credit score simply because nothing has been credited to them.
  • davidmcndavidmcn Posts: 12,086
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    I'm not convinced EE know what they're doing - I failed a check by them despite having a long and squeaky clean credit record (and several years as a PAYG customer with them!). Never had a problem with anybody else's credit checks, no idea what the problem was.
  • pburke90pburke90 Posts: 14,754
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    I applied for my EE contract and they said I failed the credit check, but couldn't tell me why. A few days later the SIM and phone arrived and when I phoned them to query why I had received them they told me it was an error on their system and in fact I had passed the credit check so they set the account up for me. Slightly confused by how it all happened but at least I got the contract sorted at the end of it all.
  • The WizardThe Wizard Posts: 11,071
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    Tell em to shove it and take your business elsewhere. Orange did this on me years ago and told me I'd failed despite having an excellent credit score and being a previous Orange PAYG customer. Went to O2 and got accepted no questions asked.

    Just remember it's their loss. They need you more than you need them. Loads more other providers out there if you're not good enough for them.
  • MTUK1MTUK1 Posts: 20,077
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    The Wizard wrote: »
    Tell em to shove it and take your business elsewhere. Orange did this on me years ago and told me I'd failed despite having an excellent credit score and being a previous Orange PAYG customer. Went to O2 and got accepted no questions asked.

    Just remember it's their loss. They need you more than you need them. Loads more other providers out there if you're not good enough for them.

    How do you know you had an 'excellent credit score' ?
  • gdjman68wasdigigdjman68wasdigi Posts: 21,705
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    benbenalen wrote: »
    I want to purchase a phone, and I failed a few credit check they did on me, I'm really not sure what is wrong, I've called and talked with Equifax, and they don't even know why i've been rejected, my credit score is 451, has a green light, which means its Good, a few Amber lights on late payments, but that was 6 Months ago, and I just came out from a Virgin Media phone contract.

    It's really confusing, My dad slightly misspelled my name, on my name registration, on my Birth certificate, my passport, my bank cards, driving license have the name "Ben" but I have always grew up spelling it Benn, and that's how it was at School, and that's how it is spelled on Electerol Roll.

    What name should I use when they do another credit check?

    So frustrating, so much hassle, I can't get a phone contract, I can prove that I earn enough to pay it on time.

    go on 02 simplicity....

    6 months later you can go on a full contract
  • viertevierte Posts: 4,286
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    MTUK1 wrote: »
    How do you know you had an 'excellent credit score' ?

    You check your credit report which tells your score and gives you a rating such as good, excellent etc
  • The WizardThe Wizard Posts: 11,071
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    MTUK1 wrote: »
    How do you know you had an 'excellent credit score' ?

    My bank told me when I went to arrange my overdraft that my credit is excellent. I've been approved for loans and got 2 credit cards, all of which I've never missed a payment on and have never had any issues getting interest free credit for things yet a poxy £20 a month phone contract was refused for no reason.

    They told me they couldn't allow me to have my phone as my credit check came back as not being good enough. Yet I had no problems being approved for 2 credit cards and getting interest free credit for a £2000 sofa. I told em to shove it. Went to O2 and got approved no problem. Never had any issues anywhere else. I know full well that my credit is excellent.

    If my credit isn't good enough for them then then ill take my business somewhere else. Their loss not mine.
  • MTUK1MTUK1 Posts: 20,077
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    The Wizard wrote: »
    My bank told me when I went to arrange my overdraft that my credit is excellent. I've been approved for loans and got 2 credit cards, all of which I've never missed a payment on and have never had any issues getting interest free credit for things yet a poxy £20 a month phone contract was refused for no reason.

    They told me they couldn't allow me to have my phone as my credit check came back as not being good enough. Yet I had no problems being approved for 2 credit cards and getting interest free credit for a £2000 sofa. I told em to shove it. Went to O2 and got approved no problem. Never had any issues anywhere else. I know full well that my credit is excellent.

    If my credit isn't good enough for them then then ill take my business somewhere else. Their loss not mine.

    You misunderstand credit scores and checking which is a common mistake. You can have an excellent score with one institution and a poor one with another. Each company scores totally differently from one another. You get a set number of points for each question you answer on an application form. The amount of points can change daily or weekly depending on the type of customer profile the lender is looking for. Passing one lender with flying colours means diddly sqat with another one. Also, nobody has a right to credit with a lender or a phone network. It's up to them who they accept.
  • MTUK1MTUK1 Posts: 20,077
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    vierte wrote: »
    You check your credit report which tells your score and gives you a rating such as good, excellent etc

    Those scores you buy from the credit checking companies mean sweet fanny Adams. Each lender will score differently on an application accidibg to their own internal scoring system. They are just a way for Equifax or Experian to extort money off gullible people.
  • PuckyPucky Posts: 4,504
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    MTUK1 wrote: »
    Those scores you buy from the credit checking companies mean sweet fanny Adams. Each lender will score differently on an application accidibg to their own internal scoring system.

    That and the information that is shared with them. You could be in debt to Sky for thousands of pounds and have the baliffs chasing you but Experian wouldn't know that as Sky don't share their data, so you can have an excellent 'score' but can't get credit.
  • The WizardThe Wizard Posts: 11,071
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    MTUK1 wrote: »
    You misunderstand credit scores and checking which is a common mistake. You can have an excellent score with one institution and a poor one with another. Each company scores totally differently from one another. You get a set number of points for each question you answer on an application form. The amount of points can change daily or weekly depending on the type of customer profile the lender is looking for. Passing one lender with flying colours means diddly sqat with another one. Also, nobody has a right to credit with a lender or a phone network. It's up to them who they accept.

    Maybe you're correct but I also have the right to tell them to stuff it and go somewhere else if my custom isn't good enough which is exactly what I did which ended up as their loss because I've been with O2 now for the past 7 years so that's 7 years of my money that Orange/EE haven't had by being picky.

    Fact is I know my credit is good because I've never had any bad debts and any time I've borrowed any money it's always been paid up on time in full and like I say I've never had any issues with anyone else getting loans, overdrafts or credit cards so if one company doesn't take a liking to me that's their problem.

    It's no different than walking into a pub and the landlord refusing to serve you on the grounds you look like a troublemaker yet I can walk into hundreds of other places where they'll serve me no problem. It may be their prerogative but it's also their loss and somebody else's gain.

    My attitude is, if my money isn't good enough i'll take my business somewhere where it is.
  • a4704a4704 Posts: 45
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    Paddy C wrote: »
    I applied for my EE contract and they said I failed the credit check, but couldn't tell me why. A few days later the SIM and phone arrived and when I phoned them to query why I had received them they told me it was an error on their system and in fact I had passed the credit check so they set the account up for me. Slightly confused by how it all happened but at least I got the contract sorted at the end of it all.

    A relative of mine has said that they have a perfect credit score (house and car owned outright and no history of debt whatsoever) when trying to take out an additional line. They got an email suggesting that they had to wait for another 3 bills to be paid off due to 'credit irregularities' however another contract they have with an alternative provider (the line they intend to switch to EE) is coming to an end in a week, so they could potentially be without a phone until the matter with EE is resolved. They rang EE and their customer services came up with no reasons as to why the credit check had been declined, and said they would email a link for a credit service to check. They have so far not received a reply. Hopefully this is another system error case as it is causing worry and stress for no apparent wrongdoing.
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