Disability Discrimination Act 2005

A question about : Disability Discrimination Act 2005

I am looking for some advice for my son regarding building a credit history and strongly suspect he is having considerable difficulty purely as a result of being disabled.

In 2003 my son (then aged 19) had an accident which left him disabled. In 2009 he received compensation for the permanent disability sustained in the accident. He has invested this money and now owns assets and has a regular income, all of which are operated through a trust fund of which he is the beneficiary - this was at the suggestion of his legal team.

However, in a personal capacity, he remains disabled and in receipt of disability benefit and, therefore, when applying for a credit card must tick the 'unemployed' box and enter a very small personal income. He has applied for three credit cards and has been refused for each. He has searched his Experian file which showed exactly as expected - no credit history other than a couple of enquiries for car insurance, which was granted without a problem. His credit score is 840 which Experian state falls into the 'fair' category. He is on the electoral roll and we have lived at this address for 25 years. There is no adverse credit history attached to the address or anyone else who lives here.

He has written to each of the card issuers explaining his circumstances, offering to substantiate all the details and asking for advice and assistance; the response has been that a further credit search reveals no change in his circumstances and he remains declined. The advice is to re-apply in six months. As his disability is permanent (that is why he was paid compensation), he is registered as disabled and unlikely to find gainful employment any time soon, his circumstances will remain exactly the same in six months as now. The recommendation not to apply for further credit is to allow the recent searches to drop off, thereby giving him a clear record. In other words, exactly the position which he was in prior to applying for these credit cards.

The reason he has no credit history is because he has spent the last seven years in and out of hospital or resting on his bed. He is unemployed because he is disabled. He has no credit history because he has been disabled and consequently unemployed since he was 19. However, he now has assets and a regular income and is now financially in a position to become independent and run his own affairs without help from his parents. However, without a credit card and especially for a person with mobility problems for whom going out shopping is impossible, being refused credit causes greater issues than for an able-bodied person.

I believe my son is being denied equal access to goods, services and facilities as a result of being unemployed which is as a direct result of being disabled, which I believe contravenes the DDA 2005.

I believe we have done everything possible to enhance his chance of being granted credit and, other than finding him a job, are now at a loss as to what to do next.

Any help or advice gratefully received.

Best answers:

• What is it that you would like the lenders to do?
  What does he need a cc for?
• I would like the lenders to take into account his personal circumstances. The directgov site advises contacting card suppliers if you are refused giving full details of circumstances which cannot be explained via an automated system. I have done this and still been declined. The only adverse indicators are the lack of credit history and him being unemployed.
  On a practical level, he needs a credit card because he is disabled and can't walk very well; he purchases a lot of stuff from the internet but has to ask to use one of our cards to do this and then give us the money.
  On a longer term level, how can he build a credit history if he cannot establish credit initially? There are very few organisations which work on cash alone and as cheques will be phased out very soon, those without credit facilities will be extremely disadvantaged.
• Can he not get a debit card?
  How much interest does he get from his investments and benefits? The problem with investment and benefit income is that they are not guaranteed.
  I cannot see that he has been discriminated against for reason of his disability, as he is being treated in the same way as any other unemployed person. It would be very irresponsible for a lender to give credit to someone without a guaranteed/ reliable source of income.
• I am in a similar position and I tick the retired box, which sometimes causes to ask "why so young", so I explained I was on the top rate of disability and that would continue for the rest of my life as I cant get better. Fine, they have preapproved me for a credit card and a loan both of which I have taken and applied for cards with other lenders ticking the same box, got the product, but no problem.
  If it worries you I once had a conversation with someone on the phone from first direct about what to choose and they agreeded put it down as retired, "you are medically retired". So if that is what they are advising that is what I did and continue to do.
  The only bank that seems to have an issue is LLoydstsb as they have a box for long term sickness benefit, which seems to get you very little and they refuse to take into account income support even althought I only get it because of the high rate DLA, they are just being jobs worths. I know someone else who this happened to, he was with LTSB and an advisor told him the screen was offering a card with a Ј1500 limit but it wont go through due to the employment status. So he asked if she minded changing it to retired, which she happily did but did not think it would make a difference. He want back in the next day and they tried to sell him the credit card, so now he has it. So it would appear it does make a difference.
  Good luck, let us know how you get on.
• I was given a Barclaycard years ago whilst on Ib and DLA, however nowadays lenders seem to be much stricter, so I reckon you should try billbennett's suggestions.
  He could also try getting a catalogue to build some credit history. I don't think he is being discriminated against as such, just that it is harder for everyone to get credit at the moment. HTH
• It does seem that a debit card would cover his needs.
• He should not be treated as 'any other unemployed person' - he is not unemployed and on unemployment benefit, he is disabled but has an income (declared and taxed) although not from employment per se. Has he been marked down because he has an income from a source other than paid employment? The income (rent) is guaranteed although his disability benefits are small, which is why he had not applied for credit until he had a respectable income as he presumed he would be declined if his only income were benefits. He has a debit card for his personal bank account into which his small benefits are paid and an overdraft facility. He has applied to Capital One and Vanquis - both declined. However, the suggestion to apply for a mobile SIM is something I had not thought of and which I will now try. Thanks.
• Many thanks to the suggestion that he tick the 'retired' box, also about buying through a catalogue. I think my problem has been that I have been scrupulously honest to my son's detriment but have been concerned that bending the truth will result in detection and an even harder job to gain credit or worse. I suspect he is unlikely ever to be 'employed' again although he is quite likely to be self-employed at some stage - again, another problem if credit is hard to obtain.
• Lenders offer credit on the basis of risk. In that respect he should be treated in the same way as any other unemployed person.
  The banks cannot win in this situation - if they give credit without assessing risk, they are criticised for having a high level of bad/ written off debts. If they assess applicants according to risk criteria, people should discrimination.
  You have not explained why you do not feel a debit card would cover his needs, or indeed what income he has.
• If the trust fund is paying him an income, then he should be able to include this in any income calculation. But it seems that this is not the real barrier.
  You've asked a direct legal question so should (or rather he should) probably get legal advice from a qualified source - and I believe there are a number of charities who might be able to help, this question must come up again and again. From what you have said, in my opinion (I'm a lawyer, but this isn't my area of law and anyway I can't give real advice over the forum) this isn't a case of discrimination within the DDA for the reasons already discussed by other posters.
• Why unemployed?
  I have an income for life (you could get fired tomorrow and end up on jobseekers allowance, I will be on this until the day I die so I am a better credit risk than an employed person) and I am unable to work due to disability, I am not unemployed, I have a guaranteed income for life and my situation mirrors that of someone retired. So after speaking to the lending section at the bank they agreed retired on medical reasons.
  If you know any underwriters I would ask them about the risk possed by someone on a life award of high DLA and someone who current works for the RBS.
  So I would disagree.
• You have gone abit quiet DMG, any particular reason?
• I would hesitate to say categorically that my son has a guaranteed income for life as far as DSS benefits are concerned given the current government debates, although the trust's income is almost guaranteed to be regular, dependable and for life (also 3x the benefit amount). My son's circumstances are very similar to savagej, who is correct in suggesting that being employed is, in reality, the least secure of all the options. It is the option over which you have the least control. You could suddenly be plunged into the abyss without warning i.e. sacked/redundant - the employed person has little control over his employer's actions or business practice.
  The trust fund is not paying him an income per se (not allowed under trust rules) but the assets and income generated therefrom can be used for his benefit with the agreement of the trustees (myself and my son). The trust fund is treated as an entirely separate legal entity and has to file tax returns on the basis of a taxpayer at that rate of income.
  Although I take the point that credit agencies will cite unemployment as the reason for being declined it seems somewhat unequitable that the temporarily unemployed person could find employment and therefore access credit facilities, whereas the permanently disabled person will forever have to tick the unemployed box. Thus there appears to be permanent exclusion for the long term disabled to an extent not practised on the temporarily unemployed. Incapacity Benefit is paid on the basis that the recipient is not expected to be seeking work but is unable to work as a result of a medical condition; this not 'unemployed' and should not be treated as such.
• A debit card is adequate only to the value of the money in the current account at the time the debit card is used. On a small income which covers not much more than car insurance, petrol and gym fees, that precludes any purchase above about Ј50. As the credit card ads say - use a credit card to spread the cost of those bigger items. In a world which revolves around credit the 'need' for a credit card seems fairly obvious.
  Thank you to those who have given advice on enhancing his chances, useful suggestions.
• what about one of these pre-paid cards like the o2 money card
  i would say that if its to do with his credit score he needs to take out some credit to build it up and the best way to do that is probably a phone or a higher intrest credit card or overdraft through bank as he has never had credit it will cause issues .