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I applied for a target red card this morning and was denied. I called them to ask why and they told me that I had a lot of inquiries and ratio of debt, etc, etc. I told them that I make $120,000 a year, gornment employee, software engineer and have worked for my current agency for over 12 years. She said my score was 168 or so but I had a lot of recent inquiries and some other ambiguous factors were considered.
Does anyone know what/why with my score and salary, I couldn't be approved even for a 200 or 300 credit limit? Does this business model even seem normal? It appears to make absolutely no sense. The excuse that I have a lot of recent inquiries seems to me bizzare. I was under the impression that the credit bureaus's job was to report my credit payment and history, not to monitor my habits or preferences.
What has the number of inquiries got to do with my ability to pay for my existing obligations? What has that gotten to do with my historical records? I have a Walmart Card with 5000 limit, Amazon with 4500 and JC Penny with 6000, all in good standing.
This is a store card, not even a credit card. No wonder these stores are going out of business in record numbers. I will never step foot in another Target store ever again.
I don't think 6 stores closing with 19 opening is 'going out of business in record numbers'.
With that being said, inquiries matter because they show that someone is actively seeking credit. That doesn't necessarily mean anything bad, but some lenders are significantly more sensitive to that than others. Active credit seeking, especially when combined with a low credit score, relatively decent income, and other low-limit store cards may just be setting off their alarms based on their credit algorithms.
Imho yes, the business model absolutely makes sense-especially if someone is willing to cut ties after not getting a $200 starter card.
Sorry about your denial but I really doubt you not stepping on Target ever again. Good luck with everything!
Remove the emotion from credit. TD Bank is in the business of lending and they are the decision maker in this, not Target. Nobody is entitled to credit. The lender wasn't comfortable lending you their investor's money for numerous reasons, that is their right. It isn't personal, it is strictly business. If you start taking credit personally you will drive yourself crazy.
That is what I am worried. The credit bureaus or banks should not be in the business of predictive analysis based on some vague and ambiguous reasons; they should look at my history of making payments on my obligations, period.
As I wrote, I am a government employee. I have a stable job. I make decent salary. I pay my bills. I am not perfect but my profile should tell them that. If their analysis does not tell them that, then something is very wrong with the model.
As a software engineer, it is obsence to my sense of logic that someone who makes $120,000 a year cannot be approved for even $200 CL store card. Seems like some kind of reverse psychology they are playing or something. That's all I am saying.
Good advice. I have been driving myself up a wall all morning about this. Not worth it.
In that case, no-one should be granted credit then because the probability of defaulting applies to everyone, rich and poor. Even those with perfet 850 credit score are not guaranteed to keep their obligations if a life event occurs. Predictive analysis are inherently flawed by nature because nothing is certain about the future. It is just the random nature of life. If it werent so, we'd all be billionaires. Decisions should be guided by both predictivive analysis and human-level reasoning. It is unreasonable that I be denied a store card given my credit profile simply because I have a lot of inquiries on my report.