Ankit Patel

After careful review, we are unable to approve the application because you do not have a sufficient number of credit references and you do not have sufficient established revolving credit accounts.

This is not the first time I have received a letter containing this in the first paragraph, but it has managed to hit the right nerve that has inspired me to mobilize my creative, ridiculous writing faculties. I am thoroughly disappointed with the state of the magical world of “Credit” in the country. A friend of mine recently said that credit is a luxury. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. Without a good credit rating, one will have a hard time finding a place to live, taking out loans, and even getting a job. For some reason, not being able to pay your bills on time because you have been out of work can actually prevent you from getting a job. Being fresh out of college without having taken out loans or got a credit card will quickly work against you as a lack of a credit rating will prevent you from getting a lease on an apartment. Having a credit card, or some way to build credit, is no more a luxury than having the means to feed oneself.

So, part of the rejection form letter is the option to get a guarantor on the card who serves no purpose but to be a meat shield in the event I do something stupid with my credit card and someone’s credit score needs to take a hit. My nonexistent credit rating can’t be lowered, but the threat of someone else’s score being affected should make me use the card in a wiser manner. Well, that’s just ridiculous. The terms explicitly state that the guarantor cannot obtain a card for my account or use my card for any charges.

Every now and then, my creativity starts to flow as I avoid tackling the ever increasing mountain of academic work that piles up at RIT over the course of a week. I have decided to provide a counter offer to the organization that denied me this most recent time.

To whom it may concern:

Recently I applied for a card, reference number: ########. My application was denied because I do not have a sufficient number of credit references and do not have sufficient established resolving credit accounts. I was under the impression that a student credit card was designed to provide the opportunity to build credit. I suppose I am quite irresponsible for assuming this and continuing to make purchases by myself, work two jobs while at school, and continue to work elsewhere for 6 months out of the year.

I can certainly understand that not having a credit history should preclude one from obtaining a credit card designed to build credit history. Just like I can understand starving children in Africa should be precluded from eating on the basis of not having had a proper meal in the past. Their lack of sufficient references regarding having eaten a full meal in the past combined with their lack of revolving nutrition intake is certainly something to be concerned with. I was once asked to donate canned goods to these children in the country of Kenya by a high school student volunteering over the summer who was certainly a pleasant young woman. However, upon examining her request for donations, the current economic trends, current studies regarding nutrition for growing children, and their diet history, I decided that it would not be the correct decision at that time.

I told the young woman that although I am unable to donate given the initial request, I would invite her to submit another request with the addition of a qualified guarantor. A guarantor would be someone the child in Kenya knows who is at least 21 years of age and has established a large waistline. They would not be able to eat the food, nor would they be able to touch the food. The guarantor would provide the additional assurance that the food will be managed in a responsible manner, while also helping the child establish a larger waistline.

I explained that I would like her to resubmit her request with the addition of a guarantor. She was instructed to share the terms with the guarantor and instructed to resubmit the request in writing to an address I provided her on a postpaid envelope. I told her I looked forward to her taking advantage of this opportunity to feed hungry children and benefit from the superior personalized donation services of Ankit Patel that sets me apart from my competitors. I looked forward to serving her donation needs.

The young lady never did resubmit her request. It may have been because she used the envelope I had provided to dry the tears from her eyes after I explained the terms; the ink may have been smudged beyond recognition, and she may have lost the contact number I provided. This was certainly unfortunate as I truly wanted to feed the starving children in Africa. However, I am sure the Credit Department can understand that I cannot blindly trust requests for food.

 

I am not going to resubmit my credit card application with a guarantor. I will however ask you to reconsider my application based on the following facts:

• I am a full time student enrolled at the Rochester Institute of Technology
• I hold two jobs on campus
  • One position as a senior helpdesk representative in charge of interfacing with RIT computer users and various IT teams at RIT
  • The second as a course grader for a Computer Science course where I must analyze, debug, and grade computer programs written by other students.
• I successfully obtained employment for 6 months every year during my freshman year
• By virtue of not needing to apply for a loan or credit card, I have been able to carefully manage my finances.

Of course, I can see how this would make providing a credit card to me a risk that cannot be afforded by Bank of America at this time. It is rather unpredictable what I may do with a credit card with a preset limit. I may go out and purchase something and max out the limit without understanding that I would have to pay off the credit card bill. On the other hand, I may use the card to make small purchases that I would traditionally make with my debit card and pay them all off before or at the end of a monthly billing cycle.

I thank you for taking the time to read my letter, and I welcome you to contact me if there is any reconsideration regarding my application which should still be on file. I can be reached by phone at [Phone], by email at [email], or by mail at [Address]. Incidentally, if you wish to make a donation to starving children in Kenya, consider visiting the following sites: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/kenya-food-crisis.htm and http://www.wfp.org/.

Sincerely,

Ankit