Are You Credit Card Application Has Been Refused?

Help! I’ve Been Turned Down

You received an envelope in the mail with a great offer for a low interest credit card. You read all the details, even the boring small print and decided that this card fit your needs to a tee. You filled out the required forms and anticipated the day that the card would arrive – you even got to pick which background you got. However, what came in the mail was not an acceptance and a brand new card but a denial. What is your first reaction? Perhaps anger. Perhaps sadness. Perhaps fear. Yet none of these will help you get a card!

So, what should you do?

1. The first thing to do is read the letter carefully. Two important pieces of information must be included in the letter you receive when you're credit application is disapproved: The specific reasons you were denied credit, or information on how to obtain those reasons, and, if a credit report was used in making that decision, the name and address of the credit reporting agency. Here are some possible reasons for denial:

# Haven’t lived at your current location long enough

# Haven’t been employed at your current job long enough

# Your income is not sufficient to meet this particular creditor’s minimum income requirement

# Information supplied by the credit bureau

2. If the reason for your denial is unclear to you, then call the company for clarification. What were the exact reasons? What were the exact standards that you did not meet? This information is important to know and understand. If you apply for credit again and are turned down, then this reflects poorly on your credit report. The best advice for this situation is to wait at least 6 months if you have been denied by two different companies in quick succession.

3. If you've been denied credit because of information supplied by a credit bureau, federal law requires the creditor to give you the name, address, and telephone number of the bureau that supplied the information. You should contact this agency for a copy of your credit report. Federal law states that you are entitled to a free copy if you’ve been turned down. Once you receive your report, check it for accuracy. Up to 40% of reports have errors. If you find an error, then you need to report this to the bureau in writing. Be sure to send along whatever proof you may have. Getting the credit bureau to investigate an error will not cost you anything and will save you a lot of time and frustration when it is corrected.

4. If mistakes on your report led to the rejection of your application, ask the credit bureau to send a corrected copy to the lender. Then you can ask the lender to reconsider your application. If however, you were denied because of a poor rating, only better spending habits and time will help you get the credit you desire.

Financial Independence For Teenagers

For most teens nothing is more important than their independence and financial independence is a big part of this. These days more and more services require a credit card, which teenagers traditionally have not have access to. However, with the introduction of prepaid credit cards teenagers can now have a credit card to use for such things as:

• Concert tickets and tickets to other events that require a credit card for purchase
• Online purchases over the internet
• Online gaming (Xbox live, Playstation store, Wii points etc.) purchases
• Purchases from all major stores

They can be used for almost everything a regular credit card is used for. In some cases they can even be used overseas on holidays!

The other advantages of prepaid credit cards are fairly obvious. Firstly, teens can only use the money that has been added to the card so that they cannot go into debt. Parents can place restrictions on the amount of money that can be added at any one time or can choose to give control of the card to their teenager. By using a prepaid credit card teens are responsible for their own money and learn valuable lessons about budgeting, spending and saving money.

Most, if not all, of the major credit card companies are now offering prepaid credit cards for teens and the banks are following suit. Most of these cards have low fees and charges and if you choose to have it linked to a bank account (from the same bank/financial institution as your credit card) the fees are reduced further. With most cards approval is instant and you could receive your card in a matter of hours!