Why does every internet company say I have bad credit?

Hi. Overseas student here. I'm trying to set up an internet plan but everyone is denying me a plan because I have bad credit.
I don't even know why would I have bad credit. I didn't take loans and it is virtually impossible for me to take loans (besides my academic tuition).
What can I do about it?

No internet means no classes...

Reply 1

GabiAbi84

21

“Bad credit” can often be a result of having no credit history rather than just a bad credit history.
If you have nothing in your history then there is nothing to prove you can/will pay.
What providers have you tried?

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by GabiAbi84

“Bad credit” can often be a result of having no credit history rather than just a bad credit history.
If you have nothing in your history then there is nothing to prove you can/will pay.
What providers have you tried?

Vodafone and Virgin Media

Reply 3

Anonymous #2

Original post by Anonymous

Vodafone and Virgin Media

try other providers like experian & equifax as they are used more when checking for credit etc

Reply 4

martin7

20

Original post by Anonymous

Hi. Overseas student here. I'm trying to set up an internet plan but everyone is denying me a plan because I have bad credit.
I don't even know why would I have bad credit. I didn't take loans and it is virtually impossible for me to take loans (besides my academic tuition).
What can I do about it?

No internet means no classes...

If you're trying to take out a contract (as opposed to "pay-as-you-go") then the provider will perform a credit check on you. As an international student, you won't have any credit history in the UK; and you won't be on the electoral register either. This is going to make it hard to get any credit.

You'll need to look at pay-as-you-go products. These do tend to be more expensive, but because you pay up front there's no credit risk to the provider.

Some people from overseas are entitled to be on the electoral register -- see https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote for details. That might help with getting credit in the future.

Reply 5

martin7

20

Original post by Anonymous

try other providers like experian & equifax as they are used more when checking for credit etc

That's not terribly helpful. Experian and Equifax are credit reference agencies. OP is looking to get internet access, and neither Experian nor Equifax provide that service.

If OP wants to check their credit record, then yes, checking it with Experian and Equifax (and TransUnion) would be a good idea. But the issue for a new overseas student won't be that they have a bad credit record, it's that they'll have no credit record at all. (I suspect the confusion is that an application will be met by the computer saying "credit check failed" and it being interpreted by a shop assistant as being "bad credit" rather than "no/not enough information to judge".)

Why does every internet company say I have bad credit?

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