Why are Banks allowed to lie?

Royce84

Hi All,

I applied for a loan recently through Santander as we needed to buy a new car at fairly short notice. I was persuaded to use Santander by a) the fairly low headline APR and b) the fact that they offer a "decision in minutes" for online applications. I completed the application form knowing that I had a 999 Credit Rating so expecting the quick decision. At the end of the application I received no decision but 2 emails from Santander - one saying they had received my application and I would receive an email within 24 hours, the second saying that they had received my application and I would receive a decision by email within 48 hours. That was Sunday 10am (approximately 4,800 minutes ago...) and I've still heard nothing over 3 days later. When you phone up their Loan dept the recorded message then says please allow 5 days for your loan application to be looked at! I want to know why they're allowed to sell themselves on such a clearly unachievable Service Level Agreement. If it takes 4-5 days, say so. Don't lie.

Bet they won't offer me the headline rate when they get back to me either...

noh

They don't lie.
The website says

"Apply online now using our new shorter application form and you could get a decision in minutes."

It doesn't say you will.

bengalknights

Also its santander you might be waiting for a decade lol.

Royce84

noh wrote: »

They don't lie.
The website says

"Apply online now using our new shorter application form and you could get a decision in minutes."

It doesn't say you will.

I realise that there will nearly always be caveats here and there to get them off the hook per the law, but surely it's pushing the boundaries of simply what's right. Maybe it's just me but I see what's legal as the very bottom rung of acceptable behavior for companies. They should be striving for transparency and honesty in their dealings with their customers - missing three target deadlines they set themselves doesn't do that for me.

I realise it's not just Santander, or even Banks - it's fairly widespread behavior. I just wanted a rant. Rant over.

coldcazzie

Royce84 wrote: »

Hi All,
That was Sunday 10am

You think that you're going to get a loan decision back within minutes at 10 on a Sunday morning? Seriously?

While I appreciate that they haven't kept to their self-imposed time limits for giving you a decision, which is really annoying when you're hoping to get money quickly, surely you didn't really think you'd get an answer by 10.05am on a Sunday?

BoGoF

Maybe the people that gave you a 999 credit score will lend you the money.............

Royce84

coldcazzie wrote: »

You think that you're going to get a loan decision back within minutes at 10 on a Sunday morning? Seriously?

While I appreciate that they haven't kept to their self-imposed time limits for giving you a decision, which is really annoying when you're hoping to get money quickly, surely you didn't really think you'd get an answer by 10.05am on a Sunday?

I was under the impression that if it could offer decisions in minutes then it had to be mostly (if not fully) automated and based on numbers/stats alone, as there simply wouldn't be time for someone to do anything like an adequate appraisal of the application. So on that basis I figured you could get a decision any time really. And even if there were human intervention, a lot of these places have man-power 7 days a week.

Royce84

BoGoF wrote: »

Maybe the people that gave you a 999 credit score will lend you the money.............

Loving the sarcasm. Wasn't looking for a medal or a pat on the back - it just seemed like a relevant piece of information in justifying my expectations. But thank you.

mo786uk

It will only be illegal if it is impossible for the mto ever be able to give a decision in a few minutes.

If they almost never give a decision instantly the, yes, it is a bit of a !!!!take

ses6jwg

its bviously with the manual underwriters who are considering your application

baldyj

I applied for a loan with santander on 4th october, i also got two emails within minutes of submitting my application. The first said they had received my application, and the second said my application had been accepted and the documentation would be in the next first class post and would advise me of the APR they could offer me. Sure enough on the 6th I had had the paper work in my hand - although they had decided to offer me 9.9%APR as opposed to the headline 7.9% i was hoping for!
Anyways this shows that they can and do offer a decision in minutes on occasion.