Bank of America said I was preapproved - I apply, I'm declined

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by FutureMan, Jan 12, 2007.

  1. FutureMan

    FutureMan Member

    for their BoA Visa card. I have the letter saying I was preapproved, I kept it just in case and lo and behold it's a good thing I did.

    So what steps would you all take next? Obviously I plan to fight this, the inquiry jocked my credit score FIFTEEN POINTS. If that wasn't enough, they straight up lied about my approval status.
     
  2. FutureMan

    FutureMan Member

    Basically I just want to know how I should go about fighting this. From the annoyed loyal customer standpoint, or the this is illegal I'm going to sue standpoint? I've been banking with BoA for 6 years.
     
  3. ontrack

    ontrack Well-Known Member

    Request that BofA send you an adverse action notice, to notify you in writing the reason for which you were declined credit, and which reports they pulled in making that decision. They are required to provide it.

    Use that to request free copies of those reports, and if there are any errors on them, dispute them thru the CRAs.
     
  4. ontrack

    ontrack Well-Known Member

    What are your FICO scores?

    How many inquiries do you have in the last year?

    What is your current debt to available credit, as seen from your credit report?
     
  5. Snowboard

    Snowboard New Member

    never reply to automated offers. its best to call a bank or credit union, find out the requirements, pull your credit from CRA direct as a consumer pull, then see if fico works for what the bank needs. if have a report with higher score, pick a bank that pulls that bureau. call the bank and ask a lofficer what score they need, etc.
     
  6. Chuck.E

    Chuck.E Member

    No Offense SnowBoard....But I have to disagree with you.

    #1. Typically "Pre-Screened", "Pre-Selected" or "Pre-Qualified" offers go through a more streamlined approval process than would a Cold or unsolicited application may be subjected to.

    #2.Your best bet for quick approvals and higher limits are through "Pre-Screened" offers as these Credit issuers have spent literally millions of dollars in finding the folks they want to make offers along with the massive costs involved in a strong mail marketing effort.

    #3. Not just every-old body gets the pre-selected offers...The CC issuers had to pay for a list of people whom matched his basic FICO scoring criteria, then he had to send out hundreds of thousands of fairly pricey well thought out marketing letters....You think he spent all that money to turn people down?

    #4.Although using your local bank or credit union is typically a good choice for the best rates and terms...If you have had a 'Hitch" in your giddy-up the chances are still there that a Credit union will be less apt to overlook it where as a major credit card lender may very well not care at all.


    Its all about your FICO and current utilizations combined with any past mistakes.I have gone from a straight "Credit-Bandit" 5 years ago to a respectable 710 FICO score Amex,BOA,Citi, and Chase card holder. I think the OP should relook at the letter he recieved from BOA as I have 5 different BOA card accounts and none of which did I ever recieve an offer via the mail that was "Pre-Approved".Pre-Selected, Pre-Invited,Pre-Qualified all do not add up to just call us and you get a card.

    5 years ago I couldnt pay attention. In the past two years starting with a 1st premier "Rat-Fink" card and many months of perfect pay history I began recieving Invatations for HSBC...Then Chase, Citi, Now Amex. I now qualify for dern near any thing I desire.

    If BOA turned the OP down it was due to something that "Triggered" a denial...A Past BK? A charge Off? A Maxed out card that made your score lower than it was prior to you sitting on the offer for X months?

    Look if you score 665+ and you are not currently late or have a BK in your history BOA probably wants to do business with you!
    They have a dedicated reconsideration team that you can call and they will manually relook at your application.
     
  7. frioguy

    frioguy Well-Known Member

    future man;
    Cant say for sure why you were rejected.Could have been a # of things.

    I got a pre-approval letter from BOA for the same CC and was accepted right away..Most likely it was due to the fact that I have had a mortgage with them that has perfect history.OR since they pulled my TU cr after it jumped to 650+ that may have done it.
    On the flip side I had offers a year ago before my CRs went up and I got turned down..And for cards that were not nearly as good..
    Anyway hang in there.

    frioguy
     
  8. maxim777

    maxim777 Member

    I have the first premier Rat-Fink card,What Exactly does Rat-Fink Mean?I'm guessing bottom of the barrell or possibly big donation mastercard!
     
  9. Chuck.E

    Chuck.E Member


    "Rat-Fink", Crummy, Predatory,Low Quality, Of less than desirable status.

    The Rat-Finks at First Premier didnt really bother me when I was feeling so good about getting a Credit Card. Yhen came the $170 that i owed them the day the card arrived on top of the $7 bucks every month that I have to give them. Oh yeah a CLI costs $35?

    When I got my latest Amex card I was actually worried that if an actual human looked at my app I would be turned down perfect credit 710 score and all.......How can you have perfect credit with a "Rat-Fink" card on your bureau? Surely thats a tip-off to the difficulties I was facing years ago?

    The Online Dispute is a powerful weapon!

    It also feels wierd getting invatations for "Prime" cards next to the monthly statement from FPRFI.(First Premier, Rat Fink Inc)
     
  10. cap1sucks

    cap1sucks Well-Known Member

    It is a low limit card. Cards with low limits such as First Premier, Cap1, Orchard and many others are primarily sucker bait cards. They lure you in with the promise of easy credit but soon have you socked with all kinds of fees and high interest. If you don't have the income to pay those fees then you would probably want to run them up close to the limit then pay them down to about 10 percent of their limit and put them away somewhere. Drag them out of the sock drawer every month or so and use them to buy some really low priced item such as a candy bar or two or maybe even so much as a tank of gas then pay them off again within a few days so they get little or no interest from the charge. Or maybe just the interest and membership fees alone will be enough to keep the card active.

    You should always try to pay the bill as soon as the statement arrives each month rather than waiting for the due date. That keeps the interest charges down even more. After a few months to a year or two you should be able to get better cards. Target is a pretty easy one to get too and you will probably be able to find things you need to buy at Target pretty often.

    Sooner or later your scores will be high enough that you can get J.C. Penny and maybe some other better department stores but you will want to treat them much the same way. Run the card up to the limits one time and then bring it back to about 10 or 20 percent of the credit limit and try to keep them there. Once you start getting the really good cards you can start to get rid of the junk cards one at a time.

    Normally you should only apply for a new card about one every six months. That way you don't get too many inquiries on your credit bureau files.
     
  11. Chuck.E

    Chuck.E Member

    Less than a year after cleansing my Bureau of prior "Naughtiness" I got an invatation to apply for a Citi-Bank card......That was in Jan 06', 7 months after getting my official "Rat-Fink" card.

    Today I have over 100K available on 12 major leauguer "Prime" type cards. With the exception of my 1st Premier account everything on my Bureau dated back to 97-08....The period between 98-05 was a literal dead zone as I had no cards no loans...and a Repo. I disputed the Repo as it was from 98 and had it removed in the winter of 05'. now just a few years later I get offers from prime cards every day and will not even consider a card with a limit less than 10K without a Zero% intro period. My overall utilization on the 12 cards is right at 10%. My Equifax credit score is 710 (Real Fico) 739 (True Credit FAKO).


    Rat-Finks? Yeah...But without them I would still be locked away in the Prison for Credit Challenged!

    And with the 1st Premie card I never even needed to fool with the high rate "Store" cards...I went from outhouse to penthouse in 7 months!
     
  12. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    Pre-Approved doesn't mean pre-approved.

    Legalese to English dictionary.

    Pre-Approved legally means that at the time that they asked the CRA to provide them the mailing list, you matched the criteria that they typically approve accounts for.

    Read the disclaimer further. IF when they get the complete report, it doesn't match their specific criteria for approval, you can still get denied.
     

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