In order to protect ourselves, and our existing members, we perform credit checks on new members. This helps us to ensure our members can afford their monthly payments.
Applying won't affect your credit score
We perform soft credit checks. These are checks that may happen all the time by certain companies, without you knowing about them. It's a quick review of data, and it does not affect your credit score.
Will I pass?
More than 99.5% of orders pass our credit check, but the only way you can tell for certain is to apply. The following are some reasons why you will not pass:
- If you have a County Court Judgement (CCJ). See gov.uk for more information. A CCJ will stay on your file for 6 years.
- You do not have a credit file in the UK.
- If there is a history of debt collection linked to your credit file or residence.
- You do not have a UK bank account. This is required in order to set up and take your direct debit payments.
There are some further checks we make that may flag you on our system. Usually, you will meet more than one of the following criteria before being declined.
- You have a very low credit score
- You order a large number of items, over a short period of time or multiple orders
- You order multiple high-value items
- Your IP address is a long distance from the delivery or billing address
Where does Baboodle get its information from?
We use TransUnion to perform our soft credit checks. TransUnion is one of the three main CRA's (Credit Reference Agencies) in the UK. These are the agencies that provide data on credit scores to companies like ourselves.
If you are declined as a member and don't believe this is correct, you can contact TransUnion to request a copy of your personal details. This will not cost you money and should take less than 30 days. Sometimes the CRA's do get people mixed up. So if you pay your bills on time, are registered to vote in the UK, and have no CCJ's, it's definitely worth checking.
What happens next?
In most cases, we can approve your order based on the credit check alone. If for any reason you don’t pass, we’ll always aim to let you know within one working day.
Sometimes the credit check doesn’t give us enough information. If that happens, we’ll ask you for a few extra documents to help us complete your order.
If we're still not able to approve your order after the extra checks, we’ll cancel and refund it in full.
If I don't pass, can I apply again?
Yes, of course. We'd recommend seeking advice from the Money Advice Service. They can provide advice and recommendations on how to improve your credit score. When you feel ready, come back to us and you can apply again.
What if my financial situation changes whilst I have a subscription?
Financial situations change all the time. You can cancel your subscription at any point and are not tied in. Once your items are returned, your monthly payments will stop.