How to Recon?

[Involus]

Hi, I'm new here and I'm interested in learning how to recon a credit app? Like, I think I understand the idea but I'm not entirely sure, could someone break it down for me a bit and explain the process?

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the forums CotySinz!

Who is the recon with?

[Involus]

I applied for a BestBuy store card and was declined for high balance to limit ratio, I figured cap one had reported so my util would be around 10% but it seems that was not so.

Do you basically just call the backdoor number and tell them you want a recon?

And if so, what do they look for during a recon?

[jj10939]

Yes, you just call the backdoor phone number and whoever answers that line is usually someone who has higher authority on your application and the ability to overturn your denial.  You just tell them that you applied for a Best Buy store card and were declined and that you were wondering if they could pull up your application and reconsider it. 

They will usually ask questions relating to the reason(s) your application was declined, (i.e. high number of inquires or high utilization).  As long as you have a good answer or explanation for those questions, they will sometimes overturn their decision.  You already took the hard pull on your credit report, you may as well try! 

Let us know how it goes!  Good Luck!!

[RockinRay]

Just make sure you are nice and give them honest answers. They can make things happen for you!

Ray

[Anonymous]

What they look for depends on the reason you were denied. They'll probably go over the credit report they pulled and check details about it and ask you a few questions.

Keep in mind that it's not always going to work. I'd warrant a guess that for every successful recon, there's a half a dozen unsuccessful ones.

And part of it is going to depend purely on your luck. If you get a sour-sounding person, chances are, you're probably just out of luck. Some of the people sound like they just really don't want to help you, and they generally don't. And after an unsuccessful recon, you probably have the account noted and can't try it again.

If utilization is the problem, you could always just wait until your reports update and offer to fax them a new copy. The danger is that they might want to pull it again, so you might end up with another HP and they might still deny you.

Edit: Also, like Ray said, make sure you're honest. If they get the feeling you're being dishonest, you'll probably have absolutely no chance at all. Not to mention that even if you were approved and they find out later that you lied about something, they could close the account and you'll end up with a new account hit on your reports.

[tntexans72]

Call and hang up if the CSR sounds like they are not having a good day by the tone of their voice. Talk to somewhere who are upbeat and sounds like they are in a good happy mood to recon.

[Involus]

Thanks for all the wonderful responses. You guys have clarified things for me very well and I feel pretty prepared to recon a denial. I think I'm going to sit on my credit for a while though to clear up some hard inquiries, I was negilgant when I turned 18 and applied for like 10 cards and only got approved for a cap one, I'm sitting at a $750cl and called the backdoor today and talked to someone about a cli and they said I might be up for one at my one year mark since I've always paid ontime and everything.

[tsquad131]

they tell everyone that you may be eligible for cli, capital one is very conservative and its very hard to get past $750 on a subprime card. I've had my 2 cap one cards for almost 2 years. If you call the backdoor number and ask for cli they will request it in their system and tell you that it was denied and have a nice day. Capital One subprime cards will not grow with you but if it has no af just keep it open for aaoa and a positive tradeline thats what im doing. Every couple months I charge something small and pay it off right away to keep it active