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I would like to apply for my wife for a card, but as she is a housewife and has no income they will not give her one. Of course this is obviously understandable, but also frustrating.
Do B/Card not take into account household income as part of the application?
Credit is based on the ability of the individual to repay. If the individual has no income, then they have no means to settle a debt.
Do you have a Power of Attorney to act on your wife’s behalf when applying for financial products?
I have wondered about this, especially as Amex takes household income into account on their applications. I thought debts were a joint marital thing in the same way that property is jointly owned by married couples?
But yes, people should only really apply for their own cards, in theory!
I have wondered about this, especially as Amex takes household income into account on their applications. I thought debts were a joint marital thing in the same way that property is jointly owned by married couples?
But yes, people should only really apply for their own cards, in theory!
Debts belong to the individual who contracted for that debt. It would only be joint if applied for jointly. In financial remedy proceedings following separation/divorce, the judge could determine individual debts to be joint in nature or attribute them however the court considers fair in all the circumstances.
She should be applying for a card herself.
Of Barclays won’t accept a zero individual income then choose another lender who does.
Thanks all. For clarity, my wife is keen to apply and we were going to fill in the form together. She does have an AMEX card, as they just asked for the joint household income, and I thought it would be similar here. Ah well.
@JDB – I was thinking along the lines that if the debt went unpaid, joint assets could presumably be seized by a collections service?
@JDB – I was thinking along the lines that if the debt went unpaid, joint assets could presumably be seized by a collections service?
No, a creditor can only get hold of the debtor’s goods/funds in the ordinary course of events. Obviously, there are circumstances where a debtor might seek to transfer money or an asset to a joint ownership or entirely to another person to evade creditors, but a court could void such a transaction for the benefit of creditors. Even HMRC using its ‘direct recovery’ powers (ie fishing directly from your bank account) can only take half from joint accounts.
Property acquired during a marriage is generally considered to be jointly owned in England and Wales, so if one of you gets to the stage where the bailiffs are being sent to recover a debt (obviously this wouldn’t happen to a HFP reader!), they can absolutely can seize things like cars or TVs which falls into this category.
Not that any of this helps the OP, or explains why Amex uses household income to assess eligibility but Barclaycard doesn’t!
If you click the ‘i’ by the declared income box it says near the bottom you can also include other money paid into your bank such as spouse’s or partner’s income. I missed that when I applied the first time as a housewife. When we applied for OH’s card I saw it when I read it again. So I will try again in a few months. It definitely said ‘spouse’s or partner’s income’ so that should be fine. Most other cards I have ever applied for have had a household income box so I was surprised not to see one. Obviously this is how they do it.
- This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .
Property acquired during a marriage is generally considered to be jointly owned in England and Wales, so if one of you gets to the stage where the bailiffs are being sent to recover a debt (obviously this wouldn’t happen to a HFP reader!), they can absolutely can seize things like cars or TVs which falls into this category.
Not that any of this helps the OP, or explains why Amex uses household income to assess eligibility but Barclaycard doesn’t!
Another big reason why people should be getting Prenups!
“Another big reason why people should be getting Prenups!”
Or the path I have chosen, never get married (or a joint mortgage/bank account for that matter). 😬
- This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .
A pre-nup isn’t necessarily binding in the UK and won’t help if the bailiffs arrive while you’re still married, lol! Apparently it’s also one of the reasons why a lot of overseas applicants choose the English divorce courts as they are known for their generosity when deciding settlements and maintenance for the less wealthy party.
@chelynnah – thanks for pointing that out. I am in receipt of a pension and don’t usually have problems getting approved for cards but that might increase my credit limit which is always a lot lower than my OH’s.Returning to the original subject (!) the Barclaycard Avios eligibility checker says income from a spouse can be included. The precise wording is pasted below.
…
Please includeyour net monthly income – it’s the amount of money you regularly receive as income after tax, National Insurance and any other deductions, such as pension contributions.
Income you are including must be regular. This could include:
Earned income
Investment income
Pension income
Income can also include regular payments from another person into your bank account, like money from a spouse, rental income and child maintenance.…
My wife’s income is not sufficient on its own but as we share a joint bank account and she spends from it at will (!) it is genuine ‘money from spouse’.
Thank you. That is very helpful. I’ll see if I can apply now
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