Consumer complaint received 2019-07-15
Company: NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
State: VA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card
Sub-issue: Application denied

Complaint:
Please read from bottom to top. This is my correspondence with Navy Federal Messaging service. 

Subject : Credit Card Denial Your Message XX/XX/2019 : Which is it? First you say it's my credit limited credit history, but I quickly disproved that. Now, you say it's all of these other things, that can also be disproven. 
With an XXXX credit score with XXXX, a household income of {$170000.00}, and 15+ years of credit history ; I find your explanation hard to believe.

With an XXXX  credit score with XXXX, a household income of {$170000.00}, and 15+ years of credit history ; I find your explanation hard to believe. 
I know my credit repayment history ( excellent ), my debt to income ratio ( XXXX ), credit utilization, ( XXXX  ), payment history ( 100 % on time ), Derogatory remarks ( none )! This leads me to believe your internal lending guidelines has race criteria and it was used in evaluating my application. If this was not the case, my caucasian friend, another applicant, who has half of my credit history, significantly less income, credit score, and terrible payment history, would have been denied credit as well, but not only approved, but given a {$25000.00} " unsecured '' credit limit. This is discrimination all day and it's common practice for lending institutions, like yours, to rely of your " internal '' lending guidelines to secretly discriminate. Complaints will be filed! No further actions or communication is required on your part.

Navy Federal Response XX/XX/2019 : Thank you for your response. Like most financial institutions, we have adopted a rate scale which assigns rates based on specific risk factors that include income, credit repayment history with both Navy Federal and other lenders, debt-to-income ratio, and credit utilization. As part of this process, lenders may choose from different credit models that are available from the credit bureaus. Lenders will pick the model that they feel best suits their financial need. Therefore, the score that we obtain may differ from that of other financial institutions, or those obtained directly from the bureaus. A letter has been issued to you via mail with your Navy Federal score and additional information in regards to your application decision. 

Although we can not provide your with our internal lending guidelines, we can advise that based on the limited credit history provided by XXXX, we are unable to grant an unsecured credit card at this time. 

If you have any further questions or concerns, please let us know. 



Your Message XX/XX/2019 : What exactly is a " Navy Federal Credit Score '' and where can I find this score? I am aware of XXXX XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX, but didn't know about Navy Federal.  What are your minimum guidelines for credit? I have 14+ years of credit history, what is the standard? 



Navy Federal Response XX/XX/2019 : Thank you for your message. We have conducted a second review of your application. Unfortunately, based on our lending criteria, your Navy Federal credit score does not meet the minimum guideline for credit at this time due to limited credit history. Although this request has been denied, it does not mean that future requests will be disapproved. Navy Federal evaluates each credit card application using the same lending criteria. Navy Federal does not discriminate and did not do so in this case. 

If you would like additional information regarding the credit bureau information used in our decision, you may contact XXXX XXXX at XXXX. Navy Federal obtained your credit information on the date of XX/XX/XXXX. Please provide this date to XXXX XXXX in order to receive the most accurate information. 
If you have any questions, please let us know. 



Your Message XX/XX/2019 : I just applied for a credit card with an excellent credit score and over $ XXXX a year in income. If I didn't think I would be approved for this card, I would not have applied. ( Hard credit inquiries ) My race wouldn't have anything to do with that .... would it? My XXXX  friend, who told me about the card, just applied and was quickly approved. What's going on? There is no need for me to wait on a letter explaining you denial of my application, this is ridiculous and unacceptable!

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation