Sainsbury's Loan 3.2% RIPOFF

Richey_

Bored, get over it - you are not as credit awesome as you think you are. As you have so much money probably best you lend to yourself at whatever rate you think you are worthy of.Clearly Sainsburys don't share your self ego and are most likely acting as a responsible lender as one would expect. You could try http://www.aquacard.co.uk

Richey_

You have triple the money stashed away but would rather pay interest on a loan. Strange, if true you have a very strange financial logic. Most likely total rubbish

Gaz83

AuntyJean wrote: »

I am surprised at the negative feedback I received. As far as I am concerned Sainsbury' are enticing people to take out a loan starting from 3.2% for those with a Nectar card.

You've said it yourself - "starting from".

AuntyJean wrote: »

Not wishing to boast but I have triple the amount of my loan amount requested stashed away, just did not want to use it.

Maybe they think you'll use this to pay off the loan quickly, thus not making them much money if they give you the 3.1% rate.

AuntyJean wrote: »

I had a rubbish mortgage at a massive interest rate which was down to £25k so took out a loan with FD at the rate advertised on their website. This was not a variable amount depending on your circumstances etc. I was accepted and have paid off half so far. When I saw my other bank offering a lower rate I went for it.

This is pretty irrelevant.

AuntyJean wrote: »

Sorry but I found it rubbish that 51% get the rate at the rate quoted and that they do not take into account whether or not you already bank with them

Why should that make any difference? Banks are there to make money. What financial sense would it be to offer more than the 51% the headline rate?

AuntyJean wrote: »

nor could they explain why I was not given the 3.2% as they do not have access to that information. It is non-negotiable.

If banks published their internal lending criteria, then all that would happen is people would tailor their applications to meet exactly what the banks want. That's why they won't explain. And it's quite likely their frontline staff won't have access to it.

AuntyJean wrote: »

Thank goodness FD have human beings that do not depend entirely upon boxes being ticked in the right order on a computer before considering your application.

I'd be incredibly surprised if this was the case. Unless an application is referred to an underwriter it will be a computer algorithm that decides.

AuntyJean wrote: »

I have complained to Sainsbury's and although I won't be taking out their loan hoped this bring to Sainsbury's attention their advert was misleading.

But it's not misleading. You've said it yourself. The advertised rate is "starting from" 3.1%. That clearly indicates that the rate could go higher. And there will be a T&C that will clearly state that the actual rate offered depends on an applicant's circumstances.

AuntyJean wrote: »

I just wanted to warn others who were simply trying to get the best deal they could that Sainsbury's are not the best offer around for most of us.

51% is "most".

AuntyJean wrote: »

Perhaps I should have lied when answering the questions and not stated honestly I wanted to pay off another loan but wanted to do home improvements?

That would have been fraud.

There is absolutely no point in getting uppity about this. Sainsbury's have done nothing wrong. You just haven't read an application correctly.

Superscrooge

Below is from the First Direct website showing that also with First Direct not everyone gets the headline rate.

Loans

Representative 3.4% APR for loans between £7,000 and £25,000.

Credit is subject to status. The rate you receive is dependent on your individual circumstances; credit checks and assessment of your financial circumstances.

With First Direct you were one of the 51% that got the headline rate. With Sainsburys you were one of the 49% that didn't. Sainsburys haven't done anything wrong

harrys_dad

Where do you have your "triple the amount" invested? It is highly unlikely you are getting more than 3% after taking out the loan so would be losing money anyway. Similarly you are losing money by having the FD loan too. Why not use savings to clear the FD loan?

andyfromotley

It is a recurring problem though, as the many threads about it on this forum testify.

Are there lenders who offer a guaranteed rate if you are accepted? For many i suspect this would be a preferable situation, although i have no doubt that we would see as many posts 'I didnt get a loan now i have a search against mt credit history!! Wah wahhhh!!'

Although for the OP i would say that i cant think of any reason compelling enough for me to take out a loan if i had three times the amount stashed away somewhere.

Futuristic

Try Zopa and Tesco Bank, no one will guarantee a rate unless it's very high in the first place.

ChemistDude

Another one who didn't read the small print.

Candyapple

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5292916

industryinsider2

@AuntyJean - I think you've been given a really hard time here. Yes there are terms & conditions that you could have read and Sainsbury's small print is better than most. But it is just that - small print. Catches/ifs/buts/provisos that are aimed at being disguised and hidden away to con potential customers into applying without realising that they are not going to get the thing they thought they were buying. Key exclusions (such as "you definitely wont get the rate we're advertising at if you're applying for XYZ" as in AuntyJean's case) should be made as prominent as other advertising messages IMO.

I understand the Typical APR rules but they can be confusing too. 49% of people applying will likely go away being offered another rate than the one they based their purchasing decision on. That's just not right. And, who is policing this 51%? Do the FCA actually ever check these numbers? Whilst I appreciate that you're more likely to hear about it when someone's angry that they didn't get the rate they were expecting, I'm sceptical as to how often these headline rates are being given to consumers. I challenge Sainsbury's to get their Typical APR calculation independently verified.

As for anyone else applying for a Sainsbury's loan, to their credit they've got an eligibility checker that you can find at https://www.sainsburysbank-eligibilitychecker.co.uk/ which will allow you to get a better idea of your chances of success or failure and the rate that you're likely to get, before you commit to making a full application and them leaving a footprint on your credit file.