Bank Loan; Does online application make a difference?

Cash-Strapped.T32

Hi all hope you can help.
First off a very quick bit of background.

Looking to take a loan out from my bank - 3, 3.5K in maybe a month's time.
I am aware that the rate will not be the best out there, but unfortunately I don't have much of a credit history to go on, which is why my own bank seems like the best bet since they at least have my salary & account history to base a judgement on.

(I only mention that so you know why I'm not taking a 0% deal or some more efficient form of borrowing - it's because I don't have the history, not because mine is terrible, and I am not willing to risk a bunch of applications which I am fairly confident after looking at my minimal report would be refused).



Anyhow, my question is this.
When I come to make the application with my bank (HSBC), they will no doubt ask me things such as what savings I have, how much of my salary goes on various categories of spending, etc, all well & good, and since I maintain quite a good spending diary/budget, I can answer these questions precisely.

Does it make any difference if I do all this online, so that they simply have to accept my answers as truthful & the machine "does the numbers", or does speaking to a human (phone or branch) make any difference to the outcome, such that I can offer supporting info not directly asked by the online app?

In addition, if I chose to make the application in-branch, it means I would be able to provide supporting documentation (statements for my savings accounts at another bank, wage-slips, utility bills, etc..)

Does this supporting evidence hold any extra weight in the risk process, or am I being a bit too old-fashioned in my thinking?



Many thanks folks - I have deliberately stayed away from affordability/repayments in this thread; I am happy to discuss such topics, but for the time-being I have that aspect nailed down.

Ps: I did check the personal loan threads in the stickies, but much of that info dates back years, and obviously the world is a very different place now.

balmk

If you carry out an online application, depending on the banks systems you will likely get one of the follwing:

Accept
Refer
Decline

Refer basically means that they will want to discuss your application with you before they make a decision.

If you get a decline you can check the banks policy on appeals which may require a face to face application.

Some people prefer the anonymity of doing it online, others prefer to discuss their details in person. If you feel that you may have a case to argue, you are better doing that with a person rather than a computer although , depending on the banks systems, the representative may be subject to a central decision (probably automated) depending on their lending criteria.

jason87

Doesn't make much difference these days, as whoever you do it with will simply be filling in the same form anyway!
I did mine online and i got an answer the next working day. Seeing as you have gone with your bank you should be fine.

They will phone you up and ask you questions if they want any more details, assuming you're accepted you will probably get a letter going through the legals and your confirmation.

To answer your question, doing it online won't make much difference to your chances of getting a loan.
If you're really unsure about it all then you're probably best of sitting down with the staff and talking it through.

KingElvis

The only difference is the forms are filled in for you if you apply through online banking. I would imagine you still get scored the same if you use online, offline or even an application to The Pope.