Rejected for a phone contract

[Mr_Bigglesworth]

Hi All

So i applied for a new business phone contract with Vodafone and just can't make the damn thing work. Going though their checkout process i get to the final stage and its says that something is wrong with my details.

I'm correctly going through the process as buying as a ltd company, entering company details, entering company bank details and supplying a business address to which the bank account is registered (which is just a registered office in London). I have mail forwarding on the registered address via Rapid Formations so no worries about the sim going there. All that and no luck.

Supplied the same info to Vodafone over the phone and no luck. Agent couldn't provide a reason but said its either that I've failed a credit check or my ID can't be verified with the details given.

My business has been established (but dormant) since 2016. I made it active in January and recently converted from sole trader to LTD within the last couple of months and i've had 2 months of income going into the business bank account.

Has anyone else come across similar issues when trying to take out a phone contract in their early days? I'm wondering if my use of registered office address is making it impossible for the phone company to verify my details in the ID checks.

Or is it that i have zero credit rating as a company? My personal rating on Equifax for example is 527 (out of 700) which is well into their Excellent rating. What should i be doing to build up a business credit rating?

Cheers,
Mr B

 

[MBE2017]

Vodaphone probably feel your Ltd company is not credit worthy, with only two months trading history, they might have access to only four weeks.

A telephone contract is the only form of credit you are ever offered with no limit, so whilst most have a contract, it is not unusual to be rejected. You could try a pre paid sim version.

 

[Bob Morgan]

CCJs Registered to the Accommodation Address?

 

[Mr D]

Sounds like you need a personal mobile phone.
Get a business one next time.

 

[pcourtney]

do you have to use Voda, the credit vetting process that EE use is a little more accommodating for young startups and the like

 

[nelioneil]

As above most likely it has hardly treaded and presumably filed dormant accounts in the past - in their eyes it would be too much of a risk providing credit to a business with no trading history.

 

[Mr_Bigglesworth]

Thanks all! Well i'm glad its likely the business being too young. Was driving myself mad trying to figure out what was wrong in my application. I was keen on Voda as they have some really good tariff deals at the moment plus YouTube premium for 24months which would be very useful. I'll wait for a while and carry on with my personal mobile for now.

Many thanks for the advice, i have peace of mind now

 

[Frank the Insurance guy]

Are you trying to take up a Vodafone Personal mobile deal? If so, that may be why, as you may have to go through Vodafone Business account (but will likely mean you won't get the same great offer?).

 

[cts1975]

Sounds like you need a personal mobile phone.
Get a business one next time.

I agree with Mr D. I went through all the business mobile route once. You will get a much better deal if you get a personal contract. Just get the DD set up on the business account.

 

[Frank the Insurance guy]

I agree with Mr D. I went through all the business mobile route once. You will get a much better deal if you get a personal contract. Just get the DD set up on the business account.

I may be mistaken, but I think most T&C's say personal mobile contracts cannot be used predominantly for business?

 

[Argentum Tax]

I agree with Mr D. I went through all the business mobile route once. You will get a much better deal if you get a personal contract. Just get the DD set up on the business account.

If you do this Mr Bigglesworth then the cost of the mobile will be taxable as a benefit-in-kind and must be declared as such. It will not be tax free as would a company supplied mobile.

 

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

I disagree that personal contracts offer better value than business contracts - maybe in the past but there are good deals out there for business SIMs.

That said, if you do not have a sufficient credit rating then the only real answer is to get a personal contract but as mentioned above, you cannot reclaim the cost of this without it being a BIK. However, you can still:

* Claim the cost of any business calls so long as you can provide evidence, although in practice this would require an itemised bill and the cost would have to be over and above any minutes included in your package, so you probably wouldn't bother.

* Purchase the phone itself through the business - it would be a business asset and would still count under the rules for supplying a single mobile phone to an employee/director which can include the cost of the contract (if in the business name) a. There's nothing in the rules that say you can't put a personal SIM in it (you just can't claim for the personal SIM costs as per above).

For years I went down the route of buying the handset as a business cost but paying for my own mobile contract but I switched to a Virgin Business contract a few years ago including a dedicated business broadband line.

The mobile contract cost me £15 ex. VAT for unlimited minutes and texts and 4GB data and I got a £5/month discount on the broadband. Their prices have improved since and I'm now playing £12/month ex. VAT and I negotiated to keep the broadband discount if I agreed to another 18 month contract. The good thing about business sales is they are more open to negotiating things like this.

You also don't need to be a "business" as such to get a business contract - I intend to close my company down some time next year and I've already confirmed I can take over the business contract in my own name - the price will increase a bit as I'll have to pay the VAT but its still better than any residential deal they offer.

 

[Mr D]

I may be mistaken, but I think most T&C's say personal mobile contracts cannot be used predominantly for business?

And how do they know unless they listen in?

 

[MartinRey]

When we took out our first business contract with O2, they asked to carry out a credit check on a director - contract in company name, and no PG/liability, think it was just satisfying themselves that the director usually pays their bills so will make every effort for the company to do the same etc.

We also have lines with EE and Voda, neither of which required a personal check, although Voda were funny about the cars being used for the upfront cost and ID verification - we had to try 3 before finding one their system liked, so may be worth using an alternative card if you have one?

 

[pcourtney]

EE are the easiest to get phones from on the business, even if it is a startup

https://business.ee.co.uk/phones/

sometimes going into one of their shops at the end of the month is the best time to do it, they need to hit quotas just like anyone else

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Addiction to gaining credit
Addiction to "My credit file"
Addiction to having the best phone possible !
Addiction to not making money but using the money of the banks to get by

This is the average person under 40 in todays Britain

Most people these days have this hobby "watching my credit file "

Making money that's the key people
Making money

Everything will sort its self out
as long as you sort yourself our

I will share my phone secrets with you

I have a Purchased Sumsung with a £20 a month Giff Gaff with unlimited everything

Drivers have purchased Android Blackberrys (£50)on a £10 a month Giff Gaff tariff

They just take it off the debit card when the bill is due !

No credit checks no trying to satisfy something else on top of all the other things that need to be complied with

No stupid money going out the bank on a 1K phone that you will drop down the drain

 

[MBE2017]

Agree with Jeremy, I buy phones sim free outright, and have a sim only unlimited everything apart from data, which I get 30Gb a month, all for £10 a month.

The phones last 3/4 years, Motorola smart phones, normally £150 outright, but can be had £110 on various offers during the year. Even when I owned phone shops I never worried about the latest iPhone etc. They, like cars are just a tool, as long as they perform why pay stupid money?