There is More Than One Credit Score?
We are always stoked to get feedback from happy customers, and there is no greater compliment than when someone sends their friends and family our way.
Our customer of the week is perhaps our best example of this so far.
In the past, we sourced a vehicle and a loan for one happy customer, and this time around her son came to us needing assistance.
And our team was more than happy to help.
Not only were we able to secure his finance, but we also used our sister company, Gusto Auto, to track down and source the exact ute he was looking for!
But getting the financial green light wasn’t without its hurdles.
Scenario
On paper, our customer had a lot going for him.
He has been working full-time in construction for four years, giving him an incredibly stable income.
His living expenses were low, and he could easily afford the repayments on the ~$40k purchase.
He also had an outstanding credit score around the 850 mark.
However, as we dug deeper, a few red flags popped up that we had to navigate.
The Roadblocks
1. Alternative Credit Scores
While his main Comprehensive Credit Score was fantastic, there are actually several different scoring models that lenders use.
If you score lower on a model that a specific lender uses, you may get a worse outcome.
In this case, the lender with the best deal used a score that would have penalised the customer unnecessarily. So, we had to look elsewhere.
2. Existing Repayment History
He currently had an open personal loan with another lender.
While his overall repayment history was good, he had missed two repayments over the last year (including one recently that took three days to rectify).
If we applied with his existing lender for the new car loan, their internal systems would immediately flag those recent missed payments.
3. Lifestyle Spending
While not all car loan applications trigger bank statement scrutiny, when they do, it can draw attention to certain things like frequent ATM withdrawals.
Especially when they are done within pubs and entertainment venues.
In this case, there was nothing that would raise serious questions, but some lenders may shy away from it.
The Gusto Strategy
Once again, there was a tightrope to walk with lender selection to ensure we secured the best deal.
Applying directly to an incompatible lender could have led to a high interest rate, or an outright decline.
Instead, we matched him with a specialist lender whose policies perfectly suited his strengths:
- Focusing on the Right Score: We chose a lender that bases their credit assessment heavily on his strong Comprehensive Credit Score.
- Streamlined Assessment: Because his comprehensive score was in the top tier, this specific lender offered a much more streamlined approval process.
The Result
We secured an approval for a $43,000 lend at a highly competitive rate of just over 11%. An excellent rate for a young borrower!
To top it all off, the Gusto Auto team sourced the perfect Toyota Hilux for him from the Brisbane home base.
Making it a completely seamless, end-to-end experience from the first phone call to the moment he drove away.
All achieved in just a couple of days.
The Takeaway
Not all credit scores are created equal, and not all lenders assess your profile the same way.
What one lender sees as a red flag, another might easily look past.
When you use a broker, we don’t just throw your application at a wall to see what sticks.
We analyse your specific strengths and weaknesses, and strategically place your application with the lender whose policies will give you the best possible rate and the highest chance of approval.
Another great result from the team!