Barclays

[Anonymous]

So I just got off the phone with the Barclays Credit Department with a Recon attempt (and fail). The nice lady told me that they are a non FICO based lender. Meaning that when we apply, our scores mean almost nothing to them but they go through our credit reports with a fine tooth comb and base their decision solely off of that.

Thought that was an interesting fact that I felt obligated to share with everyone.

Has anyone else heard similar?

[wasCB14]

There have been reports of Barclays being sensitive to new accounts and lots of inquiries. It's very possible for those to be a problem with Barclays despite decent FICO scores.

[Anonymous]

She said they get very concerned with hard pulls that don’t result in new accounts opening (if someone else didn’t give you the credit you asked for, they want to know why).

And she also said that late payments that aren’t past the 1 year mark are red flags for them as well.

[UpperNwGuy]

I've never heard this before.  For it to work efficiently (and consistently), the process would have to be standardized with a simple scorecard that the reviewer could rapidly fill out and reach a quick decision.  If so, I would love to see that scorecard.

[Anonymous]

You’re correct. Otherwise the analyst looking at your report could just “judge” one based off of their own personal feelings. There has to be some other system they have in place.

[gdale6]

Barclays is not a US Bank its a bank that has been around for about 325 years in England, Fico scores are not used there and Im sure after centuries they have determined the best way to approve credit requests. We tend to forget this about this bank here in the US.

[Anonymous]

I would say that is the case. Obviously they use some type of credit risk scoring model that may have their own algorithm to have certain key factors that might be identical to those that are used on a fico but not an actual score.

[arkane]

Sounds about right actually. I applied with an 802 on my TU and was insta-denied by the computer. Called in to recon and it felt like an interrogation at the beginning -- analyst wanted to know why I "only" had 1 open account for 5 years and why I'm just now seeking credit; my spending habits, what I use my cards for, and my payment patterns. He then put me on hold for a few minutes while he went over my credit report (no doubt with a fine tooth comb). Only after then did he seem to relax and even complimented me on my responsible use of credit, and approved me for 5k. Pity he didn't have a Cockney accent or else it would've been the complete UK experience.

Obviously that 802 meant little to him or else he wouldn't have prodded so much. That being said, based on the DPs here and the fact that 80% of UK consumers PIF each month, I think Barclays does much prefer transactors over revolvers.

[jsmith12345]

I've had a similar experience with my Barclaycard.  They're primary concern was a balance I was carrying on my Amex (which is now PIF), however after several questions they granted my increase from $15k to $25k.  It was a hard pull on my credit though.  

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:
So I just got off the phone with the Barclays Credit Department with a Recon attempt (and fail). The nice lady told me that they are a non FICO based lender. Meaning that when we apply, our scores mean almost nothing to them but they go through our credit reports with a fine tooth comb and base their decision solely off of that.

Thought that was an interesting fact that I felt obligated to share with everyone.

Has anyone else heard similar?

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My experience with Barclays is that they have a very good opinion of themselves, which is not shared by anyone except them.

IMHO they are an out of control, poorly managed, outfit.