What to Do if Your Credit Application has been Turned Down
Wednesday, December 26th, 2007You applied for a credit card and have been anxiously awaiting a response. When the envelope comes in the mail, it doesn’t contain a card. Instead, it has a letter saying that you’ve been turned down. This can be a frustrating experience. But if you follow the right steps, you can improve your chances of being approved the next time that you apply for a credit card.
The first thing that you should do is to read through the list of reasons that are provided by the credit card company as to why your application was denied. These reasons will point you in the direction of what you need to do to repair your credit and qualify for a new credit card. For example, the reason cited may be tha your outstanding balances are too high. You will then know that you must pay off some of your debt before you can qualify for a new credit card.
The second thing that you should do is request your free credit report. The paper that you receive which denies your application will tell you which credit reporting agency provided the information that led to the denial of your application. You can contact that gency and get a current credit report from them for free. Go through it with a fine-tooth comb to make sure that there is no inaccurate information on it. If you find anything that’s not correct, make sure to contact the reporting agency and get it corrected immediately. If the information was so false that you believe it caused an inappropriate denial of your application, follow the instructions on your denial letter to request a review.
Finally, you should consider whether you applied for the wrong kind of credit card. Perhaps you applied for a platinum card when you don’t have the credit history or income for a card of that nature. Consider applying for a more basic card in order to get approval. You should research the different lenders that are out there and the different cards that they offer. Choose the one that has terms which most carefully reflect what you’re like as a borrower. Apply for these and see if a better letter comes in the mail next week.
There are many different reasons that you might get denied for a credit card. It could be that you requested an amount that was too high for your credit score. It could be that information on your credit report is incorrect. Or it could be that you need to rebuild your credit to address the areas that are listed as reasons for your application denial. Instead of getting frustrated that you didn’t get the card, figure out what you need to do to improve your chances of getting the next one that you apply for.
