The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 13th April

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Leigh says:

13 Apr13 April 12:54

My other half tried to apply for an Amex BA card using my referral link. He got a decline for the first time! He only has a one Amex card and hasn’t applied for any Amex card for the past 10 month. The only factor that may be related is that we moved house last month. Does anyone know if application shortly after a house move is a bad idea? Was going to ask him to refer me for a new Amex card, but not sure now.
- Blenz101 says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 13:04
  
  Presume he/she gave your previous address(es) within the last 3 years so they should have picked up the identity and made their assessment against the right credit record.
  
  Get them to check their file as a first step. % utilisation of existing credit, declared income and spend patterns can all play a part.
  - Leigh says:
    
    13 Apr13 April 13:22
    
    Thanks Blenz101. Previous address was provided during application. Credit file etc are all in good order, so not sure…
    - Pete M says:
      
      13 Apr13 April 14:10
      
      My credit score has absolutely tanked with Equifax since moving – they seem to have lost a link to all my accounts at the new address. TransUnion seems fine, although Experian has also gone down. Did you open any new utility accounts perchance?
      - Andrew says:
        
        13 Apr13 April 14:29
        
        Has anyone applied for credit using your name at your prevous address?
        
        Guessing you also took out a new home loan to fund the new property too?
      - Leigh says:
        
        13 Apr13 April 15:18
        
        Thank Pete and Andrew. Checked credit files and all seem good. No new credit accounts were opened (Mortgage remains with the same bank and didn’t increase the loan amount). Not possible that anyone could have applied credit in his name at old address – our posts are redirected to our new address. I could ask him to appeal but the referral may not track, so not worthwhile.
- Phil says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 15:32
  
  Even the best planned moves can reek havoc on your credit file. The one that often screws up credit files is not being registered to vote at your current address. Even if you updated this information quickly after the move, it could take a month or two for the changes to accurately filter through to your credit file. Generally I always avoid applying for new credit cards for a few months following a house move just because you can unexpected hits to your credit rating.
  - Leigh says:
    
    13 Apr13 April 15:53
    
    Good point Phil. I’ll wait a month or so before applying for new card. Thanks.
Howard says:

13 Apr13 April 12:59

Hi, I know this topic has been discussed before, but can one pay stamp duty using curve, is it the same as self assessment, VAT etc?
- Alex says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 13:46
  
  I don’t think so. Stamp duty is usually paid by your solicitor and you pay them. In case the solicitor is happy to take a credit / debit card payment you may be in luck, but I doubt it.
- Fred S says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 14:06
  
  Yes. Instruct your sol that you want to pay SDLT. Only works if no lender involved.
- Jonathan says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 14:35
  
  I paid my SDLT 18 months ago with Curve. Best Buy was due to an overlap I had to pay the 3% second home surcharge on my Curve then got that refunded by BACS when old house sold so generated an extra 40k IHG Points.
- fivebobbill says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 16:49
  
  I paid stamp duty online via Curve about 6 months ago for a property purchase. I spoke to my Solicitor beforehand, wasn’t a problem, he just left it off the bill but he gave me a code I needed to enter on the Gov website to enable me to do so. This is in NI, but same rules apply.
747_Brat says:

13 Apr13 April 13:05

Just wanted to share my experience of opening a new Monzo account, having closed one previously early last year. My new account application was stuck in ID verification for almost a week. I called them today to check and was told that since I was an old customer, it need some extra level of approvals.

The friendly agent told me Monzo is tightening the noose on ‘returning customers’, and will stop accepting them in future or add a 1 year cool-off criteria. He asked me why I was returning, and I had to come up with a story of how much I have missed Monzo and how my friends ‘rave about it’ all the time. He added it in my application notes, and told me that I might or might not be accepted before putting the phone down.

Luckily, I just received an app notification that my account is opened. But I just wanted to share this experience with the community here in case anyone is planning to get back to Monzo.
- Anuj says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 13:17
  
  It’s probably them minimising the costs of people opening monzo accounts just to switch away when those people could just open one with the big banks.
illuminatus says:

13 Apr13 April 13:09

If my wife has a BA Premium Plus, can I invite her for Amex Gold or Platinum?
- illuminatus says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 13:10
  
  … and get the referral bonus at least for myself?
  - Joe says:
    
    13 Apr13 April 13:20
    
    Yes.
Genghis says:

13 Apr13 April 14:01

The Points Guy just been on Channel 4. He wasn’t very good. Did you not get the invite, Rob?
- Youllnever says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 14:22
  
  What was the interview about?
  - Genghis says:
    
    13 Apr13 April 14:30
    
    How we can get back travelling with miles and points, a bit on how to collect (supermarkets) and the shopping portals.
    - Youllnever says:
      
      13 Apr13 April 14:41
      
      Thanks! Doesn’t sound too interesting to me.
- Rhys says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 14:22
  
  Nope!
  - Tiff says:
    
    13 Apr13 April 14:31
    
    Can I still switch to Channel 4+1 now to watch it?
    (Channel 4+1 is not the same as Channel 5, by the way)
    - Lord Doncaster says:
      
      13 Apr13 April 14:39
      
      I seem to recall an Aussie who worked for an American points blogger upped sticks to work for Point Guy UK. Gather there was a bit of friction in his old position.
      - Youllnever says:
        
        13 Apr13 April 14:46
        
        James aka Ben Smithson I’m guessing – he was previously at OMAAT.
      - bafan says:
        
        13 Apr13 April 15:18
        
        I rather enjoyed that drama at the time! I was in a rather boring job and it kept me entertained.
      - Rob says:
        
        13 Apr13 April 16:13
        
        You’d be even more entertained if you knew what happened next …
      - The Savage Squirrel says:
        
        13 Apr13 April 16:44
        
        You can’t leave that one hanging 😉
    - Rob says:
      
      13 Apr13 April 14:44
      
      I have been refusing all media, seminars and conferences until I’ve had my hair cut – which will be in around 3 hours time 🙂
      - Secret Squirrel says:
        
        13 Apr13 April 15:40
        
        Wise move Rob! 😂
      - Phil says:
        
        13 Apr13 April 15:48
        
        I thought “Covid” hair was the newlook!
      - David D says:
        
        13 Apr13 April 21:50
        
        But, the 80’s mullet look is the in thing right now Rob. You would be perfect on the TV at present
- Nigel W says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 21:25
  
  I’ve got to say I was very interested when they started the UK website. However, it is the definition of MEH.
Pete M says:

13 Apr13 April 14:11

It’s all about being picked up by the Daily Mail for Nicky! 🙂
- Alan says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 14:27
  
  ???
- Lord Doncaster says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 14:40
  
  Wee Nippy to you, Sir!
Anna says:

13 Apr13 April 14:16

Reported just now that Nicola Sturgeon is accelerating the lockdown easing in Scotland – looking good for cross border travel from the end of the month.
- Andrew says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 14:40
  
  Who knows who’ll be the First Minister in three weeks time.
  - Anna says:
    
    13 Apr13 April 15:14
    
    The one handing out all the money, I’m guessing!
  - Aston100 says:
    
    13 Apr13 April 18:15
    
    Is there even a viable alternative?
YC says:

13 Apr13 April 14:33

Aston100 – Did you solve the amex plat referral issue? Still an issue for me
- Aston100 says:
  
  13 Apr13 April 18:16
  
  Yes, please see my reply to your post on page 5.