Hi All,
First time poster here - thanks for the great community.
So I applied for a Chase Ink Plus. My chances of approval were very good ; 780 FICO, 1 new card in last year, no derogs, 15 year biz with decent cash flow low credit utilization. The app got pended which seems to be the norm. Despite the common "do not call" advice (read that later), I called in and was told that the app was on hold for ID verification. I later got a letter confirming this with the requirements needed to pass.
Here's the tricky bit: For this business mailing address, we use a PO Box that our accountant regularly checks to handle the finance/taxes/etc. For my personal snail mail, I use a mail processing service that scans & emails my incoming letters and gives me the option to forward them to whatever address I choose. I use the service because it keeps me organized and I’m traveling constantly. I’ve used this address for everything including credit applications in the past and there has never been an ID problem since the address is in my credit report.
Anyway, for the business address in the Chase app, I also used my mail service since they said that PO boxes delay the ap process. This turned out to be a bad move because it triggered the verification since that address isn't’ in the credit report.
The verification department first gave me a verification quiz based on my previous residences - I passed that. Then they asked me to fax proof of my personal and biz address giving me a list of accepted sources. I chose to mail in my business EIN declaration from the IRS and my drivers license. I called in a week later to confirm and they said that I passed and to check the mail for a decision. Two days after that, I received letter but instead of a card they are requesting further proof. This time they want proof of physical address (biz and personal) dated in the last three months. For biz, they want government docs and for personal utility bills.. Everyone in my office works from home so the only thing attached to the PO box is IRS mailings which we’ve already sent it (but more than 3 months old). Hopefully the accountant will find something. For the utility bills and my personal address, I don’t have anything currently in my name. I’ve offered to scan my passport, IRS mailings, bank statements, etc but none of this is on their list. So it seems a shame to give up the card when I am indeed the applicant. The problem with the verification process is that it seems outsourced and they can pretty much only follow a script and standard procedure.
Does anyone has advice on what I should do?
