M&S Credit Card Application referred to Underwriters

robgoingcrazy

I know this has been mentioned before, but things seem to change a lot these days with new regulations all the time.

I applied for M&S credit card last night, tempted by the long Purchase and transfer interest free periods, I have other cards but this was basically to give me a bit of extra flexibility over the next year or so, as I am owed several £1000 for work done, but the companies I work for often don't pay for a couple of months.

However I just got an email saying my application has been referred to the underwriters for a decision and may be 5 days.

Is this a good or a bad thing? I suppose on the good side, it hasn't been rejected outright - but could now go either way?!

Other credit cards I have are HSBC, COOP, BARCLAY, TESCO.

[Deleted User]

It means they need to make further checks. So it's neutral.

May be worth closing a card or two down before your next application.

robgoingcrazy

Deleted_User wrote: »

It means they need to make further checks. So it's neutral.

May be worth closing a card or two down before your next application.

Thanks, I will consider that

InsideInsurance

Agree its purely neutral, it could be as simple as the CRA interface wasnt timely enough for their instant approval process or that its borderline. It certainly isnt an automatic decline though.

As to zx81's comments of it being better to close a couple of credit cards, thats potentially a very broad generalisation without a lot more detail on limits, time with each, income etc. I typically have around 6 accounts at any one time and with the exception of MBNA who always decline me almost all other lenders give instant approvals and good limits

robgoingcrazy

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Agree its purely neutral, it could be as simple as the CRA interface wasnt timely enough for their instant approval process or that its borderline. It certainly isnt an automatic decline though.

As to zx81's comments of it being better to close a couple of credit cards, thats potentially a very broad generalisation without a lot more detail on limits, time with each, income etc. I typically have around 6 accounts at any one time and with the exception of MBNA who always decline me almost all other lenders give instant approvals and good limits

Thanks, yeah I suppose it depends - I have a long history with some of my cards, 10 years or more, it would feel risky to close such cards with no guarantee I could get the same limits etc again?

I will update on what happens with the underwriters!

robgoingcrazy

Rejected! No reason given, letter in post,

Now the question is, do I apply straight away for another one, seeing as I really could do with a small interest free period cushion right now? I know that may affect credit score, but I'm not going to be able to do my other major thing which is remortgage for at least another year, so generally won't be applying for anything else apart from this in the next 6 months.

The "soft" search on the comparison site gave me a 90% chance of the MS card - is it worth trying the MBNA one (assuming Tesco, Barclay, Coop, HSBC don't preclude this?)

robgoingcrazy

Did the MBNA application, no fuss or week long wait for underwriters, approved instantly and decent credit limit with 0% on purchases for 15 months which is exactly what I needed at this point.

Maybe things are looking up!

lora.

For anyone else picking up on this thread, I thought I would add my experience.

I applied for an M&S credit card on 20th Nov which was referred to the underwriters. To date, I haven't received confirmation of a decline or approval.

I have never experienced this before, and like Rob, decided to apply else where this afternoon.

Bank of scotland approved straight away with an estimated 4k credit limit. This was the first and only application I made after M&S.

My likelihood of approval was 9/10 with the m&s card. How much can be read into these predictions I don't know. That said it is just a prediction. All in all I may still be approved however if you're looking for a speedy decision, it may be worth opting for another lender. .

Hope this is of some help, to someone

hovism

I applied and had the same E mail about being referred to underwriters. I have just had a second E mail asking them to phone to discuss my application and that it is valid for 30 days. Anyone else?

spikiemikie

I previously applied for an M&S Loan at 5.4%, was offered 8.4%... I had a good credit history, the loan was over £15,000 so I must have been credit worthy... Either M&S Bank are a). greedy b). advertise attractive rate they don't want to honour or c). are incredibly cautious lenders.


I ended paying the loan off in 18 months, it niggled me I was paying over the odds.

[Deleted User]

Or you were just in the other 49%.