M & S card - laughable credit limit

ianfreeman

MSE Official Insert: Got a poor credit rating or limit given too low? Read our special Bad Credit Rating and Best 0% Credit Cards guides.

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I applied for an M&S credit card following Martin mentioning it here, and went on holiday. When I returned it had arrived, with a ridiculous credit limit of £1,500.

I called to ask why the limit was so low, and a very sniffy woman told me that "due to the current financial climate, we are not offering higher limits".

I informed her, in an equally sniffy manner, that, due to the current financial climate, a £1,500 credit limit was about as useful to me as a pork chop at a Jewish wedding, and told her to cancel my card!

I have several other cards with credit limits averaging £10k and an immaculate record for paying on time and never in full - I am the model customer.

Still, their loss!

blue35_2

hope she was'nt Jewish...

normanmark

Well surely the limit is low because of the amount of credit you already have?

Like you said if you're not paying it in full & you still have debts elsewhere maybe this was a blessing in disguise?

ianfreeman

normanmark wrote: »

Well surely the limit is low because of the amount of credit you already have?

Like you said if you're not paying it in full & you still have debts elsewhere maybe this was a blessing in disguise?

LOL. I applied for and received an Amex Platinum card just a few weeks ago with a limit ten times more than that offered by 'Your M&S'.

I do know how to run my financial affairs, but thanks for your concern anyway. I have many debts, yes - all of them infinitely micro-manageable.

PNPSUKNET

If you have amex, no need for a m&s one then so no milk spilt.

normanmark

ianfreeman wrote: »

LOL. I applied for and received an Amex Platinum card just a few weeks ago with a limit ten times more than that offered by 'Your M&S'.
.

Well there's the crux of the situation, you have £15k available credit to you, M&S's assessment criteria for borrowing suggests you don't need any more than that. Credit isn't a right.

ILW

Strange one this. The OP seems to have taken the £1500 limit as a personal insult, or a questioning of his manhood.
Takes all sorts.

ianfreeman

ILW wrote: »

Strange one this. The OP seems to have taken the £1500 limit as a personal insult, or a questioning of his manhood.
Takes all sorts.

Heh! I have plenty of people questioning my manhood - not least my wife - without needing M&S to do it for me! ;-)

I don't know why you were all so eager to jump down my throat, but I suppose it takes all sorts. The point I was making was merely that they have missed an opportunity to have a good punter by their foolishness.

Still, as I said, their loss, not mine. I only wanted to add them to my list of credit providers as Martin pointed up a particularly good deal a few weeks ago. No problem - there'll be another one along in a minute.

Keep smiling, chaps. You never know, you might get to like it! ;-)

dfh

Well,Credit card companies do tend to vary in the limits they offer.Generally,virgin,halifax are generous while Hsbc is very cautious.For example,virgin gave me a limit of 10000 while HSBC gave be 2000.I guess it is upto the card provider to decide the limit.

ianfreeman

dfh wrote: »

Well,Credit card companies do tend to vary in the limits they offer.Generally,virgin,halifax are generous while Hsbc is very cautious.For example,virgin gave me a limit of 10000 while HSBC gave be 2000.I guess it is upto the card provider to decide the limit.

Yes, that's certainly the case, although I've never been offered less than £5k. I've found most offers have been between £5,500 and £12,500. The ones with the highest interest rates seem to offer the biggest limits, although I would never give them my business.

vikingaero

Most of my cards have limits ranging from £15-£25k. But I still have my Barclaycard from my student days with a whopping £400 credit limit. Every now and then Barclaycard try and raise it but I call them up to keep it the same. It's brilliant for online ordering and if I have to rent a car/van from a less than salubrious outfit then I use my Barclaycard because once the cost of rental and deposit has been charged there's little credit left for them to make spurious charges!