Virgin Mobile failed credit check

[parksy81]

After having telewest services for 5 yrs now and never missing a payment paying by DD, i thought i would take them up on the offer for the £10 pm mobile offer with my current contract coming to an end, but i failed the credit check dont know why, is there anyway round this ?:confused:

Thanks in advance:)

[Eric55]

There are some credit check sites online but you have to pay to check.
This one says a 30 day trialwww.joincreditexpert.com/freecreditreportint/?sc=410006&bcd=interactivehomepage1

[bmxbandit]

you can check your credit for a standard fee of something like £2, equifax do this.

not sure if this is relevant, but if you have no credit history, virgin mobile won't take you - that's what happened to me! got a credit card, waited a month or two, voila...

[UncleBooBoo]

After having telewest services for 5 yrs now and never missing a payment paying by DD, i thought i would take them up on the offer for the £10 pm mobile offer with my current contract coming to an end, but i failed the credit check dont know why, is there anyway round this ?:confused:

Thanks in advance:)

Don't waste your hard earned cash checking your credit rating, Virgin just pass and fail on a whim!

They failed me, yet after checking my credit file online I found out I am "clean"! (Which I already knew!)

I just ordered a contract phone with another mobile operator and they passed me on the credit check first time! ;)

[parksy81]

Hey thanks for your replies, my credit is fine , i walked into city centre and got a brand new contract and a better phone they had to offer , their loss not mine !!!:)

[Wicked_and_Crazy]

Don't waste your hard earned cash checking your credit rating, Virgin just pass and fail on a whim!

They failed me, yet after checking my credit file online I found out I am "clean"! (Which I already knew!)

I just ordered a contract phone with another mobile operator and they passed me on the credit check first time! ;)

:rolleyes: i dont think its done on a whim

---------- Post added at 17:49 ---------- Previous post was at 17:49 ----------

Hey thanks for your replies, my credit is fine , i walked into city centre and got a brand new contract and a better phone they had to offer , their loss not mine !!!:)

for the same money?

[TheDaddy]

There are some credit check sites online but you have to pay to check.
This one says a 30 day trialwww.joincreditexpert.com/freecreditreportint/?sc=410006&bcd=interactivehomepage1 (http://www.joincreditexpert.com/freecreditreportint/?sc=410006&bcd=interactivehomepage1)


This one is free is you cancel within 30 day's ;)

http://www.experian.co.uk/creditreport/

[UncleBooBoo]

:rolleyes: i dont think its done on a whim

That's what the virgin member of staff I spoke to said!

He said to me in a phone conversation that they are aware of problems when it comes to the credit check. I was told it seems to be failing some customers who should pass and vice versa. They are working to resolve this matter but until such time is just passes and fails on a whim!

I got the guy's name if you want it, give him a phone and ask him. ;)

Won't post it here though as I think it's against the forum rules. :)

[Akia]

Its quite funny I've just taken out a £10k loan to buy a car which i got no problem but i failed the credit check for a mobile phone, luckly i just had to sign some forms saying that if i didn't pay they could take it from my wages and my manager and HR would be informed.

But it does seem daft.

[andyjt]

Hi,

Just joined up to add my own findings on this possible rip off.

I too have been a loyal telewest customer for a few years, never failing to pay them £50+ every single month for TV, Phone and Internet
I've got a £big mortgage, couple of loans, t-mobile contract phone,pay everything by direct debit, and have never ever missed a payment on anything for the last 20 years.
Guess what ? tried to sign up for the virgin mobile offer today, and was refused due to my credit check failing with Equifax :mad:
Of course, I can pay them £15 to find out why, or "don't worry - you can still go pay as you go"

I'm so angry that I'm seriously considering cancelling the whole flaming lot !
If I can't get credit for a £10 a month mobile, then whats going to happen in the future, when Virgin get really involved in the running of cable ?


I have read other forums posts dating back to late last year - some where Virgin staff were blaming computer issues. I can't believe that this can still be the case - more like Equifax trying it on 'cos its easy money




:td: :td: :td: :td: :td: :td: :td:

[kibblerok]

Its only £2 for a standard credit report.

I would assume credit scoring is still done separately... even ntl/telewest still use different scoring methods and tools across billing systems.

[Nidge]

I got turned down for a Virgin credit card a few years ago by MBNA, the following day I got one through NatWest no problem.

[DrK]

Lol my wife used to work in a company that dealt with credit scoring..

back in the early 90s, may surprise many of you to know, they didnt really check your credit score at all most times, they have a fixed quota for pass and fail every week, being on the polling reg and having a job was all they really cared about, then some scam with a certain dole dossers who were on a certain benefit, always got goods, because they could take money direct from the benefit if they defaulted, she remembers passing people for car loans who shouldn't of been allowed a beer mat on credit.

she was told why it was done like that but shes forgotten, since moved on to better things.

[tweetypie/8]

After having telewest services for 5 yrs now and never missing a payment paying by DD, i thought i would take them up on the offer for the £10 pm mobile offer with my current contract coming to an end, but i failed the credit check dont know why, is there anyway round this ?:confused:

Thanks in advance:)

hi bmxbandit made a very good comment re-credit history i had the same experience as yourself a few years ago and i was told on the hush hush that i had no credit history, good luck in getting sorted out.:tu:

[thepange]

Just joined up to come on so I can come have a rant as this has just happened to me too!!

I have been with Telewest for 7 years & have never missed one payment. I always thought I had a good credit profile too, so was shocked to say the least when I was declined for this offer yesterday.

Was kind of paranoid that I had been the victim of identity theft or something terrible like that! Experian are doing the 30 day free trial service so I joined up & downloaded my credit file and right enough, squeaky clean report. I do have a mortgage, a car loan, and a couple of credit cards (that have a zero balance), so I do have a credit profile so to speak. I also requested my credit score which turned out to be 999 out of 100! So does that extra one point make all the difference??!!

At first I thought, oh well I'll just not bother chasing this up, but now I am on a mission to find out what they're playing at so I am in the process of writing a letter to the Customer Finance dept for an explanation. I am half expecting it to be an error they made when inputting my details, but I dont want to go thru another check before I find out, as this will look bad on my credit file.

Does anyone know if Experian and Equifax hold the same info on their records? I am loathed to pay Equifax if its going to be the exact same info I have got from Experian.

At the end of the day, this is such a brilliant offer, so I want to take this as far as I can to be accepted for the offer.

I would be interested to know if anyone has indeed been successful with this after being declined, and also any advice anyone can give me!

Thanks

[andyjt]

I would be interested to know if anyone has indeed been successful with this after being declined, and also any advice anyone can give me!
Before I posted on here - I found quite a few other forums / blogs where people had been declined, paid the £15 to find out why and for it all to turn out to be an error (Computer Says NO) - so Virgin apologised and gave them the offer.
Personally, I'm not going to waste my money !

I have been told that due to Data Protection, smaller credit agencies may only hold a tiny amount of information about your finances, so I guess Virgin need to do something about this as it seems to be infuriating a lot of honest customers :angel:

Even though I've re-signed up with T-Mobile now and got a great deal (I told them I was eligible for the Virgin offer ;) ) - I'd still like to find out what Virgin are up to :confused: especially as they now run my Internet, Phone and TV Drive

[kiltedscot]

After having telewest services for 5 yrs now and never missing a payment paying by DD, i thought i would take them up on the offer for the £10 pm mobile offer with my current contract coming to an end, but i failed the credit check dont know why, is there anyway round this ?

Just for interest as you at end of contract, and failed credit check are they stopping the rest of your services,or continuing as normal?

[andyjt]

I think he meant that his current mobile contract is coming to an end, not his cable contract.

I was in exactly the same situation - I asked Virgin what would happen when my TV / Internet and phone services came up for renewal - would I be failed on the credit check again and lose these services ?
They told me that those would be OK, as I have already been supplied them.

Its all very strange :confused: :confused:

[mickyboy73]

I just joined this forum so I could comment on this thread because this is something that interests me so much and can be so confusing.

Everyone has a credit history even if you have only applied for credit in the past. It is your credit history that forms your credit score but there is no set formula for how your final score is arrived at.

To make things even more confusing, different companies decide on the number of points you need to be either declined or accepted but here is where it gets really good.

Each company decides how many points each part of your credit history is worth.

If you have a credit card account, for example, and it is in good standing with all payments on time etc, then company A could decide to give you 20 points for that but company B could give you 10 points.

The same goes for negative information such as defaults or CCJ's. One company could take away 10 points for each default or CCJ while another company might decide to take 20 points away from your score.

So based on that they decide the rules and they don't have to tell you what the scoring method is, is it any wonder that the same person will get declined by one company but accepted by another.

Oh and don't forget, it is a human being that makes errors who updates your credit account with the credit reference agencies and not every credit company uses all of the credit reference agencies.

This may work in your favour or against you.

Confused? - You will be :erm:

[Darrenp]

A friend of mine just joined TW/VM last month.

He is on the verge of declaring himself bankrupt with many credit card defaults stacking up.

They let him through.

He's paying by DD.

EDIT: This was for tv and internet though, not phone.

[jonathanbms]

I too have been a Telewest customer for a few years ,
I have Internet,Phone and TV services and recently applied to add the Virgin Mobile service,
I was surprised and shocked to hear I failed the credit check I obtained credit reports from Experian and My Credit and both showed above average credit ratings.
I wrote to Virgin Mobile credit services but just recieved a generic reply explaining they have an automated credit scoring system and offering all kinds of pay as you go offers which I am not at all inclined to take infact I feel like going elswhere for all my cable services.
I have written to them once more asking them to be more specific about the reasons for failing the credit score its very frustrating as I would actually be paying them less per month than I am now so whats the problem?:confused: !
I feel slightly better after the rant anyway

[Jules]

Same thing happened to me, I never did get anywhere with it :td:

[joglynne]

I'm probably wrong but could the Data Protection Act be used under these circumstances? If Virgin keep a record of the reasons why they failed your credit check would they not have a legal obligation to give you the details? I would be interested to know if the Act could be used this way.

[Barton71]

For a small fee (Subject Access (£10 is the maximum fee any organisation can charge)) they must provide any information that they hold about you. If the information they provide to you is incorrect, you have the legal right to have that information corrected. If they dont correct it, you can get a court to order the information destroyed, and recieve compensation.

[joglynne]

I almost wish I'd been refused.:D
I used to work for a Government Department and the thought of having to supply all held information to a customer really freaked them out. Granted I'm talking a lot of information here going back in some cases to 1948- a lorry load of paper was one top estimate, but what really worried them was the man hours involved in compiling the information with no way of getting out of doing it to a fixed time scale.
Jo

[hutchy1986]

they rejected me too. never seen this thread but posted my problems in the other thread about the 300 minutes.300text deal. pain in the $^$

[ttoc48]

Yes i got knocked back as well,when i said i wanted to cancel all my services they hid behind the smallprint as my argument was about the phone but also no sky1,they say in the contract some channels might not be available so i have to wait until my contract expires,so does that mean they can withdraw ALL tv channels bar the normal 5 and still make us pay?oh by the way have just been accepted for 3g for £15 a month 500 minutes, so much for virgin credit check
http://uk.three.ebid.net/perl/normal.cgi?ref=ttoc48&mo=register-main

[concretepigsy]

i was refused the sim card too, but i have the VIP package that costs 85 quid a month.

I asked the question "how did i pass the credit check for that then?". Then threatened to leave, saying if my 10 quid for a sim card is no good then neither is my 85 quid for the rest of it.

I now have 2 sim cards for 10 quid!

[andyjt]

I now have 2 sim cards for 10 quid!

Ok for some ! Every time I ring them and complain / threaten to leave they either end up talking me into something else or call my bluff :confused:

To be honest I had forgotten about this , but your recent post has just re kindled my annoyance :mad: with Virgin.
On top of this credit farce I'm getting pretty p***sed off about the rest of the service:
I think I'm paying well over the odds for V+, Internet and phone
I still can't watch Lost
The V+ has corrupted half of my recent recordings
The V+ updates itself at 7:30 in a morning when I merely want to watch the news
The V+ box is so hot I think I'm going to return home to a pile of ashes one day :shocked:
I suspect my broadband speed is slower since Virgin took over from Telewest - 2Mb used to be great for browsing, but now I feel like I have to upgrade to 20Mb to get back the old experience (strange that isn't it ?)


Thanks for letting me rant !

[Rapid Dr3am]

I failed it too and I work for VM, go figure?

Anyway i passed the check for o2 so I'm happy o2 customer.

[willas00]

I failed a credit check with them as well but passed a credit check with Virgin Media. Had to send a copy of my Birth Certificate in to pass the check.

[Akia]

I failed it too and I work for VM, go figure?

Anyway i passed the check for o2 so I'm happy o2 customer.

I failed it too, but if you work for them you can get a form from HR basically saying if you defualt they can take the money from your wages and that they will report you to HR and you'd be subject to company disaplinary. They will then manually over ride the credit check so you can get the Natter package.

[UncleBooBoo]

The point being it's clearly a virgin issue when it comes to credit checks!

He passed a credit check with 02 yet virgn failed him? 02 and voda are the hardest networks to pass a credit check with!

I failed with virgin, yet I passed a credit check with three and have 2 contracts with them now! in fact been with them for nearly 12 months!! I also passed the credit check with virgin media and my credit card company?

I remember reading a statement posted here some time ago about virgin acknowledging a problem and they were looking to rectify it! Take it that was a load of rubbish!!

[hardtarget]

well they've just turned me down too

[Jules]

They turned me down and since then I have got a store card and a Platinum credit card!

[rebstully]

I got turned down for a sim today, then had a look at this forum, then called them back and asked to speak to Customer Finance on the phone. I got a team leader instead, he tried to fob me off but I explained just how much bad press they were getting and mentioned the phrase "pass or fail on a whim" so they took my number and decided to try again. The automatic emails I kept getting were proof of how hard they tried - they put it through about 4 times before it passed - but it did!

So my advice - act a bit uppity but friendly, refuse to be fobbed off and tell them everyone's saying their system is a shambles. Good luck!!

Rebecca

[on in an hour!]

i too took up the offer when it was first offered,i took two and was so impressed i went for a third,at the time they advised me as i hadnt been with them long enough i wasnt entitled to a third,fair comment.one of the sims was canx after a few months as they allow a 'credit limit' on the phone useage after your 300's are up (i did ask this to be zeroed as it was my 14yr old son who was using it) but was told the lowest they could set the 'credit limit' at was £50,needless to say my lad shafted me so i canx it.i kept the other going as my 11yr old (better behaved) son was doing really well managing his mins/texts.imagine my suprise then when i suffered the same fate (many months down the line,keeping up my payments) as everybody else.perplexed i rang back and asked how come i couldnt have three at the outset but now months after paying for both (then one) i couldnt go back to my original two,i was told the same as the others,i had failed the credit check,i insisted that surely my credit 'score' should have gone up with them not down,to which he put me on hold,5mins later he said he'd had a word with the finance/credit dept and my sim was now being ordered!!! it has since duly arrived and all is fine...you couldnt make it up :(:confused:

[Akia]

For a small fee (Subject Access (£10 is the maximum fee any organisation can charge)) they must provide any information that they hold about you. If the information they provide to you is incorrect, you have the legal right to have that information corrected. If they dont correct it, you can get a court to order the information destroyed, and recieve compensation.

Surly the data protection act would only give you access the the actuall information that they used to credit score you. IE your credit file. I would have thought the actual score they give to each bit of information would not come under this because its not personal information about you as a individual.

[Teena61]

I too was refused this 'offer' for no apparent reason. I have a £50+ televsion and broadband with virgin and a pay as you go virgin mobile. I cannot understand a need for a credit check on the sim only package as it is not a contract, ie it can be cancelled at any time. It also reqires a direct debit. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has got this package...I know your out there somewhere!!

[UncleBooBoo]

To be honest, looking back im glad VM told me where to go by failing me on a credit check!

I have been happy with three ever since! :)

[Teena61]

Well judging by the amount of people who are paying £10 to £15 to find out their credit rating after being failed for 'NO GOOD REASON' It seems to be a nice little earner for them. They refuse you a good credit rating and you pay to find out why! marvolous!

[Sirius]

Well judging by the amount of people who are paying £10 to £15 to find out their credit rating after being failed for 'NO GOOD REASON' It seems to be a nice little earner for them. They refuse you a good credit rating and you pay to find out why! marvolous!

Hang on

Since when have Virgin been doing paid for credit checks ? Are you sqaying Virgin get paid for all those credit checks by OTHER companys.

[John Ellsmore]

I tried to get the £10 offer yesterday. I was told I failed the credit check.
I have been paying Telewest/Virgin Media £60 -£70 per month by DD for the past 10yrs! Wha's going on? I have a perfect credit rating (did have, until Virgin accessed Expedia and then failed me) have sent a letter of 'concern' to the Credit Dept.

[tybalt21]

Well judging by the amount of people who are paying £10 to £15 to find out their credit rating after being failed for 'NO GOOD REASON' It seems to be a nice little earner for them. They refuse you a good credit rating and you pay to find out why! marvolous!

A nice little earner for who? Virgin? They, the same as anyone else who offers contracts or serivces of "buy now pay later" and such like to customers don't "earn" money from people checking their credit scores with other companies. It's the other companies who hold the information on credit ratings that get paid to produce a report for you if you want one, they aren't forcing them down peoples throats, but if someone is genuinely surprised to fail it's something you can ask for to see why you have a bad score, I've had one done out of interest just to see what my score was and didn't mind paying a company whose business it is to supply this sort of thing a few pounds (Literally under £6).

Exactly how many people do you think are checking their credit scores? I've counted maybe a handful of people on this thread who were discussing checking their scores to see why they failed as they had Media services, a failed credit check, as far as I'm aware, doesn't just go on the person applying and whether you have cash in your account. Your houses history / how long you have lived at your current address / missed payments on previous borrowings and your current status among other things can have an impact on whether you are allowed credit or not from anywhere, not just Virgin Mobile or Virgin Media.

[andbee]

Well this saga appears to go on...

I have been declined to change from a PAYG to Monthly contract. When I rang to speak to Customer Service they gave me a number to ring the credit department. This is in-fact not the credit department, but Dun & Bradstreet, who provide credit references to Virgin Mobile!!

As a VMedia customer I am a bit shocked that VMobile have decided to decline my application.

I have now started to search else where for a mobile provider, and I will also be looking at Sky/BT to supply my TV/Phone/Broadband services. Since I pay by DD each month, and although we have several credit cards all are serviced each month without a problem, I am a bit miffed that I have been declined.

Virgin Mobile if you read this, you really do need to look at the way you score as you will be likely to lose more potential customers once people start to find that you are being to picky with your credit scoring!

[Xanta]

This has just happened to me!

I applied for a monthly contract and I have just got off the phone from a long and frustrating phone call. Because I have been a customer for many years and a very prompt payer I thought I would be accepted but according to the operator virgin mobile use a different system to everyone else!

The reason I have been rejected is not because of the credit check but because my address is not on their system so they can't verify it, well at least that is the reason I have been given!

They have told me they can pass it on to another department so they can verify the address because they have "more up to date software" this seems slightly ridiculous to me!

[joglynne]

You would think that VM would have a data base for their customers that their Mobile Phone people would have at least basic access to.

It does seem a bit ridiculous to say your address isn't on their system when VM clearly had it when they installed their equipment in your home. Maybe it's a Data Protection issue. :shrug:

[sandradjwells]

I too have been declined for no good reason and so has my parter who stepped in to help me get this Blackberry which seemed such a good deal (he also has an excellent credit history). I think the Blackberry offer is bogus, they cannot afford to give out Blackberrys as low as £10 per month but just want to appear to be the great provider. Vigin is conning the customer by dishonesty and embarrassing them by turning down good people, not to mention the time wasted in the store, online and finally having to talk to a staff member who found it extremely difficult to understand my name, address etc. This has taken up a whole day of my time and I am furious. How does one shame them?

[i love virgin]

I too have been declined for no good reason and so has my parter who stepped in to help me get this Blackberry which seemed such a good deal (he also has an excellent credit history). I think the Blackberry offer is bogus, they cannot afford to give out Blackberrys as low as £10 per month but just want to appear to be the great provider. Vigin is conning the customer by dishonesty and embarrassing them by turning down good people, not to mention the time wasted in the store, online and finally having to talk to a staff member who found it extremely difficult to understand my name, address etc. This has taken up a whole day of my time and I am furious. How does one shame them?

Go to Watchdog

[sandradjwells]

Good idea. I'm on the case!

[jen1]

well they passed me, then screwed it up because they done another 4 checks after passin me the first time, and every credoit check preformed drops your rating
well no help at all, because virgin done so many credit check's then my rating has dropped, this is there own fault, cause they can't do their job right, and they won't now activate my account, i have a disable son, and now no mobile phone, and cause they have made my rating drop i'm now not able to get another contract with another company, as virgin have affected my credit rating

[sandradjwells]

They do not actually check your credit rating. We found that out when my partner who joined Experian and Equifax discovered that no credit check had been made even though we were told by Virgin that we had both failed (for no reason of course). Today I successfully took out a Blackberry with Vodaphone. My thoughts are that they have a certain quota of Blackberrys to give out and when that is filled, everyone else is excluded by so called failed credit checks. It is insulting and they should be shamed.

[jen1]

silly thing is i recieved the blackberry i have it sat here