While many people struggle to get approved for new credit cards due to existing debt, some encounter problems precisely because they have no credit card debt. This was the case for Dr. Tom, a retired dentist who has maintained a long history of paying his credit card balances in full and avoiding debt entirely. Despite his responsible habits, he faced an unexpected roadblock when applying for an airline-branded credit card promising 75,000 miles for sign-up.
Dr. Tom had held a credit card with a major bank for over 30 years, consistently paying on time. However, when he applied for the rewards card to use on a planned trip to England and Italy, his application was rejected. Customer service representatives explained that although they had his payment history internally, the credit bureaus had no record of his account or payments, which led to the denial. This occurred because the bank had apparently not reported his consistent payment history to credit agencies.
Despite escalating the issue to supervisors and pleading for reconsideration based on his three decades of flawless payments, Dr. Tom was repeatedly turned down. His frustration grew as he realized the bank showed little interest in correcting the error.
After reaching out for help, a customer service representative finally acknowledged the problem but stated that sending his payment history to the credit bureau would take about a month to process. Unfortunately, this timing did not align with Dr. Tom’s upcoming trip in just three weeks. When pressed to expedite the matter, the representative ended the call abruptly, demonstrating a lack of concern.
Faced with such indifference, the next step was to involve the bank’s media relations team, who have more influence to resolve customer issues. After a detailed email explaining Dr. Tom’s situation and providing employee names involved, the bank finally issued the credit card just in time for his family’s European vacation.
This story highlights an important point: while many credit card issuers voluntarily report payment histories to credit bureaus, they are not legally required to do so. This can cause issues for consumers like Dr. Tom, who pay off balances regularly and have no debt, but lack a reported credit history.
To ensure your payment history is being reported accurately, you can obtain free copies of your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus—Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax—by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com.
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