AA Loans - which reference agency?

city_knight

Hi
I had an HSBC loan at 4% that I paid off with some family money last week. The HSBC loan is now closed down.


The point of doing that was so that it is easier to be approved for an AA Loan, so that when they check my file they see I don't have any other credit products.


I signed up for the MSE Credit Club and can see that the last time Experian updated the HSBC loan balance was 10th December. I can't again check the Experian report through MSE until the end of the January.


How long do I need to wait before applying for the AA Loan, or can I know which credit agency they use for the application process so I can check myself that the agency they use has recognised I have paid off the HSBC loan?

marty2be2000

It could take several months to be removed from the credit reference agencies, it all depends on reporting and how the internal systems work.

You have just paid the loan off, so have most likely missed the last update as it will have been sent already.

Have you had notification of account closure from HSBC by post yet? until that happens the account may have a zero balance but remain open.

It's quiet possible that the AA may search one or more, or maybe all the credit reference agencies.

city_knight

ah, interesting.
The loan account was confirmed closed on 3rd Jan and no longer appears on my account list. The letter is yet to arrive.
Perhaps best to wait until the 10th/11th for Experian to update (and confirm it with a £2 report) then apply and take my chances.. sound like a reasonable plan?

poggs

Way too soon.

It'll be mid march before that is marked as settled and closed on the credit agency sites.

Any applications before then will be assessed as if you still have the loan in place.

patience.....

CRA are anything but fast. All data on all of my reports are at least 2 months out of date, all the time. Its just the way the reporting cycle seems to work.

BoGoF

I'm assuming you did this to apply for the 3.1% AA rate. Hopefully you are aware that there is no guarantee you will get this rate (only 51% have to) and you may in fact be offered a rate greater than that just settled.

city_knight

Sure, I know the risks with the APR assessment.
Perhaps I can send the HSBC loan closing statement to AA if they don't offer a low rate for them to re-assess.

city_knight

The tool in credit club shows 95% for HSBC and 90% for AA as the records currently stand

BoGoF

That may for aporoval but not the rate.

TBH its not a risk I would have taken.

city_knight

All worked perfectly, got the 3.1% £25k over 48 months.

Richey_

This soon it would not have updated so it made no difference that you paid off the HSBC loan.
You would have got it anyway.

I’m assuming that the money given to you by family to pay off the HSBC loan was a gift?
If it was a loan I am sure you would have declared it in the application form to AA?

darrenwh

I just applied for a AA loan, have a 999 rating on Experian, no outstanding credit, full time job 30K+, still got offered a measly 9% on an advertised value of 3.1% so no idea where their getting their figures from.