Mortgage Decline Recovery Pack

What happened: factual timeline

Record only what you know to be true, with dates. Leave anything you are unsure about blank rather than filling it with a guess.

Date you applied

Or the date of the agreement in principle.

Stage reached

Enquiry, agreement in principle, full application, valuation, offer.

Date of the decision

As stated in what you received.

Exactly what you were told

Quote it. Do not interpret it.

Anything you were asked for and could not supply

List each item.

Whether a credit search was recorded

Note if you do not know yet.

Who you dealt with

Direct with a lender, a broker, or a comparison route.

What has changed since

Job, income, address, commitments, savings.

Get your own records checklist

You are entitled to your own information. Work through this before drawing any conclusions.

• Your statutory credit file from more than one credit reference agencyAgencies hold different data; one file is not the whole picture.
• Any decision or explanation letter you received, kept intactThe exact wording matters more than what you remember of it.
• Your last several months of bank statementsThey are read closely, and you should read them first.
• Current identity and address documentsMismatched or out-of-date details cause avoidable failures.
• Up-to-date income evidence for your current situationYour circumstances may already differ from the application.
• A list of all current credit commitments with balancesWritten once, it stops the number changing every time you are asked.
• Deposit evidence and where the funds came fromSource of funds is examined independently of the amount.
• Any correction or dispute you have raised with an agency, with datesIn-progress corrections are relevant context.

Evidence versus assumption worksheet

For each line, write what you can prove and, separately, what you have assumed. Being honest here is the whole value of the exercise.

• What I can evidence about my income.

• What I have assumed about my income being acceptable.

• What I can evidence about my credit history.

• What I have assumed about my credit history.

• What I can evidence about my deposit and its source.

• What I have assumed about the property or valuation.

• The single thing I most need to find out, rather than guess.

One-page decline summary

This is the page to take to an adviser. It is factual, it fits on one side, and it stops the conversation starting from nothing. Nothing on it is sent to us.

What I applied for and when

One line.

Stage reached and the decision, quoted

Use the wording you received.

What I was asked for and could not provide

List, or write 'nothing'.

What my own records now show

Credit file, statements, income evidence.

What has changed since the application

Include dates.

What I have already corrected or requested

With dates raised.

What I do not understand and need advice on

Your priority questions.

Things you may not know yet

These are genuinely open questions after a decline. Naming them is progress.

• Whether the decision related to credit history, affordability, evidence, the property, or something else.

• Whether a recorded search affects a near-term reapplication in your case.

• Whether anything on your credit file is wrong and can be corrected.

• Whether waiting improves your position, and if so what would change.

• Whether a different route would be more appropriate for your circumstances.

Questions for a qualified adviser

An FCA-authorised adviser can look at your situation properly. Bring the summary above.

• Based on my records, what would you want to establish first?

• Is there anything you would want corrected or evidenced before any new application?

• Given everything above about a declined application, what would you want to see before you would consider an application ready to submit?

• Which of my documents would you expect a lender to question, and how would you present it?

• Is there anything in my situation where lenders differ enough that it changes who I should apply to?

• What would you advise me to do first, and what can safely wait?

• How long would you expect my preparation to take from here?

• What should I avoid doing in the meantime, and why?