Is Monzo negatively impacting my credit score?

Financial Chat
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I’ve been with Monzo over 4 years now. I mostly use it to seperate my monthly spendings from my savings and regular payments (i.e. bills).

Last week I went to Barclays to see one of the personal banking people. I’m planning to apply for mortgage next year and just wanted to know how my financial status is looking so far.

I was shocked to learn that they can’t see my spendings with Monzo. They said that it doesn’t look good, I need to use my Barclays debit card for all my spendings, this will help decision makers to see my spendings month by month.

Also I asked for a replacement loan for an existing short-term loan (just to get better APR). They said they can’t offer me atm because they can’t see how I spend my money due to Monzo again.

Today I got an overdraft offer on my Monzo app and I clicked to see what it is and then it said they cannot offer me overdraft because of my credit history. My credit score is 999 in experien and 490+ on clearscore which are the highest levels. (Why on earth would you show me a notification and then decline when I click on it? Very misleading approach from Monzo and I am sure this will goto my credit history as a hard research)

This all made me so upset. All those years I’ve been actually damaging my finacial history without knowing.

I am not going to use Monzo from today onwards. I just want people to know this and careful especially if you’re planning to apply for a loan or mortgage.

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Obviously Barclays want you to use their services to get a mortgage with them. But there are many places you can get a mortgage from for whom this wouldn’t be a problem? Many Monzo users have gotten mortgages since starting to use Monzo.

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Nationwide should be fine

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This is nothing to do with Monzo and the same would apply if you used any other bank wouldn’t it?

One bank can’t see your spending with another bank? That’s why they often ask for statements when applying for a mortgage.

If Barclays won’t give you a loan and neither will Monzo, are you sure there’s not something iffy with your history? Not been compromised?

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Sounds like scaremongering to get you to take out a mortgage with them.

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Well no, it’s a different bank

Did they ask for 3 months statements?

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Thanks for the responds so far everyone. All this just made me so worried.

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Try a mortgage broker and see what they say

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No they didn’t. I told them that I can uickly export from my app. They said it’s a good idea to keep spendings to the Barclays card so they can see my history.

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@poseidon How long have you been with Monzo, they report that you have a current account with monthly income/outgoing to both TransUnion and Experian.

Barclays checks all three to cross ref so they should have been able to see you hold a Monzo account.

https://www.barclays.co.uk/help/credit-rating/credit-scoring/

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For what it’s worth, it’s well known in the industry that Barclays are terrified of Monzo (their own higher ups have said as much at conferences, and very likely that played a part in them hiring a certain ex-Starling C-Suite member) so it’s in their interests to spread FUD.

There are many options out there to get a mortgage, so nothing to worry about here :slight_smile:

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It’s gonna be exactly 4 years in August

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They’ve a vested interest in making you use their products, and they’re not being straight with you in explaining this.

I’d vote with my feet and look for a better mortgage provider.

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Didn’t know that, thanks Simon.

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Will do, thanks buddy.

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I’ll bet they did, and all. :eyes:

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Been using it since March 2016, and have a mortgage, remortgage etc. I’ve never used Barclays, nor would I. There are definitely better mortgage options out there (based on a quick MSE search) compared to Barclays.

This is 100% an upsell by them - No banks will see other banks spending, because your spending isn’t reported to a credit agency. That’s why most brokers etc, will ask for 3 months of statements.

It shouldn’t go on as a hard search, until you actually click to go through with it etc.

You’re overreacting. You’ll be 100% fine.

Are you “full monzo”, or do you use it just for ad-hoc spending?

Again, definitely a con/upsell by Barclays - avoid them not Monzo.

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Get a mortgage broker* and they will get you the best mortgage deal on the market applicable to you when it’s time for you to apply. Don’t feel you have to go direct to Barclays direct.

In the past I’ve been accepted for a Barclays mortgage without being a current account customer. All banks will allow anyone to apply, and all banks, including Barclays will ask to see you bank statements to view your spending.

This is plainly a case of trying to get you to use a Barclays current account when there’s no need.

*I use a broker who doesn’t charge me, but gets a fee from the mortgage company. They’re excellent, and I’m happy to recommend if you want to DM me. Or use something like Habito which operates the same way, and recommended the same mortgage to me last year as my broker, when I compared.

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Well individual transactions aren’t, however your month spend and income are reported.

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Guys thanks a lot. I’m trilled with instant support from all of you, just wow. :pray:

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