Sorry, no mortgage... you’re far too tanned
BEING denied a mortgage due to a poor credit score is perhaps understandable.
But spare a thought for would-be homeowner Karl Dinis, who claims he was declined a property loan – because of his obsession with having a year-round tan.
The 27-year-old thought that he had secured £80,000 from finance company Kensington Mortgages to buy a three-bedroom property.
So he was furious when his broker said the firm apparently revoked the offer after searching his name on Google and discovering his expensive tanning habit.
The council worker spends around £300 a month on illegal tanning drugs from China, which help him secure a permanently bronzed look.
He has spoken openly about his obsession, giving interviews to magazines and going on national television. But he said he never thought his hobby would stop him buying a house.
Mr Dinis, of Llanishen, Cardiff, said: ‘I am absolutely fuming. Everything was in place for me to move in, I was just waiting to sign the paperwork. Because I am a public figure and because of the tanning injections they have declined my application.’
Mr Dinis used to use sunbeds, but after trying Melanotan, a synthetic hormone which increases the natural darkening pigment melanin in the skin, he quickly became hooked on injecting it into his legs.
The drug is illegal to sell in the UK because it has never been safety tested or licensed for use. As a consequence, the NHS warns anyone against injecting it because of the potential unknown health risks. The injections are said to have triggered changes in the appearance of moles, a sign of potential skin cancer. The unsupervised use of needles also crewidely ates a risk of infections and diseases such as HIV and hepatitis.
It is, however, not illegal to buy Melanotan and the hormone is often sold under the counter at gyms or beauty salons – and is available online. ‘Having a constant tan makes me feel so much more confident in myself... I always feel healthier with a glow,’ Mr Dinis said, adding that he was ‘not concerned’ about the slew of health warnings.
Mr Dinis said he sold his Audi TT car and beloved horse, Duke, to scrape together the £10,000 deposit, but now his home-ownership dreams were in ruins.
Lender Kensington Mortgages said: ‘We would never reject an application on the basis of a Google search, we factor in a number of components that determine an individual’s eligibility.’
‘I feel healthier with a glow’