Marks & Spencers Personal Loan - interest rates

talulahbeige_2

We recently applied for an M&S loan at the advertised 6% rate.

Applicant has a near perfect credit score, with minimal creidt in his name. He's linked to me and I too have a near perfect score although I do have a bit of "debt" in my name, all of which is kept up to.
The offered us 16%, 10% higher than advertised, I did expect it to be a bit more than the 6% but not much.

Their excuse - we rent, the applicant has rented for over 15 years and it has never affected his credit before.

Just a warning for those who are thinking of using M&S on what to expect.

Mara69

Most people know and understand that the advertised rate is rarely the offered rate.

talulahbeige_2

Mara69 wrote: »

Most people know and understand that the advertised rate is rarely the offered rate.

As do I from my comment about expecting it to be higher.
10% more than the advertised rate is serious mis information.

malkyh

I applied for a loan with M&S at 6.7% and ended up being offered 9.9%. I'd had a credit search done recently from the car finance company (I was taking the loan to clear it as I prefer a personal loan than car finance) which I believe bumped the rate up. My credit score on Experian was 999/1000, which I now know means sod all.

Donki

I applied an got 7.5% for "debt consolodation", it was to pay off a little CC debit and some home improvments. I got talking to the guy and said that they usually set there intrest rates higher when they "debt consolodation" is picked as the loan reason. I still took the loan as the difference was small. I am a homeowner so maybe that brough mine down a little more.

CLAPTON

talulahbeige wrote: »

We recently applied for an M&S loan at the advertised 6% rate.

Applicant has a near perfect credit score, with minimal creidt in his name. He's linked to me and I too have a near perfect score although I do have a bit of "debt" in my name, all of which is kept up to.
The offered us 16%, 10% higher than advertised, I did expect it to be a bit more than the 6% but not much.

Their excuse - we rent, the applicant has rented for over 15 years and it has never affected his credit before.

Just a warning for those who are thinking of using M&S on what to expect.

difficult to comment without knowing how much you were applying for and how much the income is and how much the debts are and what the credit files say

zxspeccy

I guessing their pricing is all down to their own credit scoring system, you would probably get a better rate if you were a homeowner.
This may not seem fair however a lot of credit scoring is based on historic data. So historically people who own their own homes have a better record of paying back their debts then people who rent, and therefore get a better deal. Likewise their data may tell them that a teacher is a better risk than a shop assistant, so they may also get a better rate.
Ultimately we will never know for sure as these credit scoring systems are for internal use only, and the finance company has no legal obligation to disclose them to customers.
I would say it is worth shopping around for a deal as it sounds like you are credit worthy, so there is no reason why another lender can’t offer you a better rate. It is a good idea to approach your bankers as they tend to have a better understanding of your finances (by reviewing your account activity), and could possible offer a more competitive rate.
As stated in a previous post the headline rate is there for advertising purposes to entice people in.

DCFC79

talulahbeige wrote: »

We recently applied for an M&S loan at the advertised 6% rate.

Applicant has a near perfect credit score, with minimal creidt in his name. He's linked to me and I too have a near perfect score although I do have a bit of "debt" in my name, all of which is kept up to.
The offered us 16%, 10% higher than advertised, I did expect it to be a bit more than the 6% but not much.

Their excuse - we rent, the applicant has rented for over 15 years and it has never affected his credit before.

Just a warning for those who are thinking of using M&S on what to expect.

Each lender has they're own scoring system and as such are more favourable to certain borrowers than others. Its known that borrowers aren't guaranteed t get the advertised as its dependant on various criteria eg the scoring system used.

opinions4u

Mara69 wrote: »

Most people know and understand that the advertised rate is rarely the offered rate.

At least 51% of accepted applications will be at the advertised rate.