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02 - Credit Check issue

S

Seraphex

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 16, 2009
31
0
Right ....

I walked in to pick up a new 32gb iphone .. and I failed the credit check straight off in the Carphone Warehouse.. they couldnt give me a reason why.

It's possibly because a few years ago my address was used for the fraudulent purchase of a bunch of mobile phones by some guys who must have found a credit card of someone who had the same last name as me.

Has anyone else failed the credit check and managed to get an iphone somehow? Im thinking maybe if i go into the 02 shop tomorrow and explain my situation.

If not what would my options be, buy a pay-as-you-go version?

Thanks!
 
I earn an above average wage for my age and was refused two iPhones on a business tariff. They wanted £200 deposit that would get repaid after 3 months. My girl friend took the contract out in her name instead - same wage as me and very similar credit background - got approved no problem!!

Only potential issue was my address - I wasn't 100% on the dates.
 
Seraphex said:
Right ....

I walked in to pick up a new 32gb iphone .. and I failed the credit check straight off in the Carphone Warehouse.. they couldnt give me a reason why.

It's possibly because a few years ago my address was used for the fraudulent purchase of a bunch of mobile phones by some guys who must have found a credit card of someone who had the same last name as me.

Has anyone else failed the credit check and managed to get an iphone somehow? Im thinking maybe if i go into the 02 shop tomorrow and explain my situation.

If not what would my options be, buy a pay-as-you-go version?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I remember when I got the first iPhone, I went to CPW. What a total mistake...

CPW took about 15 minutes to ask all the questions under the sun even though they don't need to know that information (especially with the first iPhone), then they failed me on a card security check or some guff, refusing to sell me the phone.

So, I decided to take a trip to the shopping centre 10 minutes down the road. After being pounced on by CPW sales people on the walk in to the shopping centre (as there was a store further in between the two O2 stores), I got in to the O2 shop, queued up, asked for iPhone, paid £270 and to home I went with my new phone.

I would never go to CPW again, they wasted me time once, which is one too many thank you!
 
Hmm the guy seemed pretty nice, im sure it must have been my rating ... although i fail to see how this is bad ... My dad's is fine now ... and I am a student who hasn't had to pay any bills.

Meh ... I'm going to go to the 02 shop tomorrow to talk to them and see what happens. Hope they use a different advisor or something!
 
If you don't have a credit record or rating then this can be just as bad.

Best thing to do is find out what credit checking agency they use, and go to them and obtain your record. Might cost some money, £10 or something. Then you can do something about it.

If it's someone like Experian, then they have a website, and you can sign up and get your record in minutes
 
Chris.L said:
If you don't have a credit record or rating then this can be just as bad.

Best thing to do is find out what credit checking agency they use, and go to them and obtain your record. Might cost some money, £10 or something. Then you can do something about it.

If it's someone like Experian, then they have a website, and you can sign up and get your record in minutes
Click to expand...



Yeh .. I may have found the problem I signed up to their website (experia) something like that .. and paid for the credit check .. and they said there was a problem regestering me and id need to talk to their customer service. I'l have to ring them up on Monday when theyre in and sort it out. Hopefully I can resolve this soon ... its rather annoying :(
 
I had absolutely no credit rating whatsoever when I got my first iPhone. Everything was fine, they just asked for £100 up front, which they'd credit back to my account following three consecutive successful bill payments. This may, however be a credit card, which is in somebody else's name.
 
This may be a bit of a stupid question, in fact i feel a little silly asking it but I am going to go ahead and proceed with my query as was the original plan.

Do they do a credit check to buy a PAYG phone or just let you have it if you have enough money on your card?
 
shrewd said:
This may be a bit of a stupid question, in fact i feel a little silly asking it but I am going to go ahead and proceed with my query as was the original plan.

Do they do a credit check to buy a PAYG phone or just let you have it if you have enough money on your card?
Click to expand...

No, PAYG phones require no credit.
 
Interestingly, O2 use both Experian and Equifax to do their credit reports - Experian for Business and Equifax for Personal.

I am looking at a business tariff (self-employed) and have a rating of 650 with Experian. Wonder if that will be enough!?

Any ideas?
 
shrewd said:
This may be a bit of a stupid question, in fact i feel a little silly asking it but I am going to go ahead and proceed with my query as was the original plan.

Do they do a credit check to buy a PAYG phone or just let you have it if you have enough money on your card?
Click to expand...

They didn't even ask me for my name when I bought mine.

So long as you've got enough money to pay for it, you'll be fine!
 
olisones said:
Interestingly, O2 use both Experian and Equifax to do their credit reports - Experian for Business and Equifax for Personal.

I am looking at a business tariff (self-employed) and have a rating of 650 with Experian. Wonder if that will be enough!?

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

No one will be able to answer that, only O2 know what criteria they use. In fact, the credit check may not be the only factor in making a decision. The rating number that Experian give you is just a marketing gimmick to sell credit reports to individuals. In all probability, O2 will work out their own credit score based on all the information available to them.

The only way to find out for sure if you qualify is to try and sign up for a contract. Good luck!
 
I think the 1st thing I would do

is go to a credit check site and see what's up also you might be able to fix any errors that might be there. but at least here in the US you have a right to request your credit report and to find out why you were refused. but I would defiantly want to know why! regardless if they told me or I had to go to a credit report site to find out!
 
Getting my 3G was a horror story thanks to O2 and CPW.

First of all i Pre-order through CPW before release, and basically there screwy system spammed my credit history with multiple checks, and the more its checked and unsuccessfully passed the lower your score goes. My first check passes my other fail. So i'm told im not allowed one. This was after queing up at the store for 1 hour, and taking a day off work. The guys at the store were clueless why my phone wasnt there as the system was showing dispatched!!! It was only when i rang there customer services was i told.

So off i go to o2 who have a phone in stock for me. Off i go down there and I because there system is down and glitchy, they try and try again submitting multiple checks AGAIN!

Sick to death of them I go to Apple.

15 Mins and 1 credit check later the Genius told me that I had a conditional accept of £200, but before he tells me this i told him why ive come to apple because o2 and CPW are incompetent. So he says that he's not going to make me pay the conditional accept, that it's on Apple.

So at the Apple store O2's registration system is down. I leave with a phone thats not activated, but I don't have a grudge Apple have been great. And to make it even better the Genius sprints the length of the Trafford Centre to tell me to turn my phone on.
 
labman said:
is go to a credit check site and see what's up also you might be able to fix any errors that might be there. but at least here in the US you have a right to request your credit report and to find out why you were refused. but I would defiantly want to know why! regardless if they told me or I had to go to a credit report site to find out!
Click to expand...

Yeh ive gone to a credit check site ... but had trouble there too .. I have to wait until Monday to find out because aparently i need to ring their customer services. Im tempted to go straight to either 02 or apple shop and see what happens there, just slightly worried as i don't want my credit report spammed with more checks.

Has anyone heard about puting down a deposit instead of the credit check? someone said this was possible and id like to confirm it!

Cheers
 
Looking through the posts, Phatzer had to pay it and Stiss was lucky enough to have Apple pay it

You might only get offered this depending on why you fail, not sure. Why you fail might also affect the amount you have to pay
 
Ahh, i see, cheers.

Stiss, how did you find out they had done multiple credit checks which was making them fail? It did take a pretty long time for them to tell me i had failed ...

Right, im gona find out why im failing then, and go to 02 =]
 
Might be a stupid question

Are you registered to vote ?, this is one thing that is used to confirm your address
 
When I tried to get the simplicity account online, my credit check failed (weird because I had contracts with O2 before). So I went to the O2 store, they said it was probably just that I typed my address not exactly as my bank has it (Flat number on the first line before street address or 2nd line). So they tried again. I had to answer questions like how many credit cards I've had, which account I opened on a particular date (part of the credit test) and I passed it. It may just be something that simple. Good luck. I don't think paying £100 or £200 upfront for an iPhone is a bad idea, considering they treat it as credit for your monthly bill.
 
paulsalter said:
Might be a stupid question

Are you registered to vote ?, this is one thing that is used to confirm your address
Click to expand...

Hmm ... yeh good question, i am registered to vote, but not at the house where my card is attached too ... Ive now changed my details on the electoral register, have to send the letter off tomorrow!

Maybe this will help
 
Important information about the credit check

If you have a credit check done then your credit score decreases slightly whether you PASS or FAIL.

The reason it decreases if you pass is for "your own safety". It prevents you from going into another shop and getting another product, then another shop and another product, and so on. It's to keep your amount of credit purchases low and manageable.

When you fail a credit check it is advised that you don't apply for a credit check again with the same company/retailer for three months.

If you fail a credit check then some company's/retailers have a greater authority that can review the decision. Ask if that option is available.

If you fail the credit check the sales adviser is not told the reason for failure. They are not allowed to know.

How do I know this? I work for Vodafone.
 
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