HSBC Credit Card Declined and having to wait 6 months to reapply

oneill95

So I've switched my Santander current account and savings over to HSBC and was going to move over my credit card too. I went for the HSBC Advance current account which allowed me to get the Rewards Credit Card. I went through everything in branch with a member of staff as I had some complicated stuff like transferring over my Help to Buy ISA. All was going well until the application was complete for the current account. On the completion screen, the mobile banking app offered me a credit card that wasn't the one I was after.  I mentioned this to the member of staff and she said to decline the offer and we would apply for the correct card, which seems reasonable.

When applying for the Rewards Credit Card, I was declined. The member of staff got on the phone and was talking to someone in the HSBC call centre who said that because the system had 'pre-allocated' me a credit card on the current account completion screen, which basically half applied me for it, I was unable to reapply for another. The member of staff filled out a form which was basically her vouching for me that she saw that I was offered the original card, which would allow me to go for that one, but to be honest I'm not interested in it. So it turns out that because of how the system automatically handled it, I was declined for the card I wanted. I now need to wait for 6 months before reapplying.

Just to make sure that my credit score hadn't suddenly fallen off of a cliff and was the cause, I used an eligibility checker (obviously that's not full-on confirmation but a good indicator), which said I should easily get any card that I apply for with anyone. However, the HSBC eligibility checker isn't offering me any, likely because of this situation. It just really doesn't seem right that this automated system was able to do this, and they can't do anything about it.

Tildaplum

Yes, I think the title summarises the position quite well - your application has been declined and you will have to wait 6 months before re applying.

[Deleted User]

You can technically re-apply whenever you want at most providers - but if you've been declined, 1 week/month is unlikely to give enough improvement in your score to then be accepted. If you have something dramatic happening which would improve your score (e.g. a CCJ drops off your file, an account you defaulted/missed payments dropped off your file) then absolutely you could apply again after 1 month and it give a different result. But for the average person (no adverse, just declined), it's unlikely

The 6 month rule is generally that that's enough time for your credit to have 'matured' - if you didn't fit the profile the first time, why not? And why after X months do you now fit it? Was it because your accounts hadn't been opened long for instance, or the scoring was concerned about your debt levels etc. In 6 months time, that's likely to have changed, so they'll re-assess. In 2 months, it probably hasn't.

I know Tesco Bank actually block and auto-decline you if you apply too often - as I had that!.The clock then resets, so you then have to wait a full 6 months!

In summary, if you've been declined for the card you want, in 6 months time you'll have a much better chance of getting it - especially if you use the HSBC account as your main account. You could well try again after (say) 3 months, but it might be a straight decline again as that's fairly limited additional data.

boo_star

Somerset_La_La_La said:

You can technically re-apply whenever you want at most providers - but if you've been declined, 1 week/month is unlikely to give enough improvement in your score to then be accepted. If you have something dramatic happening which would improve your score (e.g. a CCJ drops off your file, an account you defaulted/missed payments dropped off your file) then absolutely you could apply again after 1 month and it give a different result. But for the average person (no adverse, just declined), it's unlikely

The 6 month rule is generally that that's enough time for your credit to have 'matured' - if you didn't fit the profile the first time, why not? And why after X months do you now fit it? Was it because your accounts hadn't been opened long for instance, or the scoring was concerned about your debt levels etc. In 6 months time, that's likely to have changed, so they'll re-assess. In 2 months, it probably hasn't.

I know Tesco Bank actually block and auto-decline you if you apply too often - as I had that!.The clock then resets, so you then have to wait a full 6 months!

In summary, if you've been declined for the card you want, in 6 months time you'll have a much better chance of getting it - especially if you use the HSBC account as your main account. You could well try again after (say) 3 months, but it might be a straight decline again as that's fairly limited additional data.

The 6 month rule isn't about your score, or your file.

Many lenders will simply auto-decline before then, simply because doing credit checks costs money.

afis1904

I hope your savings aren't with HSBC apart from in the regular saver because the rest of their savings products is terrible. No reason to do all your banking-related stuff with the same bank.

[Deleted User]

boo_star said:

The 6 month rule isn't about your score, or your file.

Many lenders will simply auto-decline before then, simply because doing credit checks costs money.

Although I know the costs would be an consideration, I'm surprised to hear many lenders do it - I've only known Tesco to actually auto decline (without searching) and was surprised they did.

I applied for quite a few cards a few years back to start the process of improving my file ASAP - It was only Tesco that kicked apps straight out - Lloyds Group, Nationwide, Barclays, NewDay and TSB all definitely full searched multiple applications for me within 6m. Maybe they've tightened up on costs in the last few years!

benbay001

Your loyalty is impressive. 
Why not have each product with the most competitive institution?

phillw

benbay001 said:

Your loyalty is impressive. 
Why not have each product with the most competitive institution?

Why not have a credit card with every institution? They are great for meeting DD requirements.
 

SlovakianGuy

Somerset_La_La_La said:

I applied for quite a few cards a few years back to start the process of improving my file ASAP - It was only Tesco that kicked apps straight out - Lloyds Group, Nationwide, Barclays, NewDay and TSB all definitely full searched multiple applications for me within 6m.

Do you guys know if credit files are updated in real time? I mean, if you apply for one credit card with a Bank A and then, half an hour later, for another card with a Bank B, does the Bank B already see the hard search from the Bank A on your file?

boo_star

SlovakianGuy said:

Somerset_La_La_La said:

I applied for quite a few cards a few years back to start the process of improving my file ASAP - It was only Tesco that kicked apps straight out - Lloyds Group, Nationwide, Barclays, NewDay and TSB all definitely full searched multiple applications for me within 6m.

Do you guys know if credit files are updated in real time? I mean, if you apply for one credit card with a Bank A and then, half an hour later, for another card with a Bank B, does the Bank B already see the hard search from the Bank A on your file?

Yes, they are.
A search will be immediately visible to the next organisation that checks your file.

SlovakianGuy

Thanks boo_star. Just wondered if you prepared two separate applications in two windows and then hit the "apply" button at the same time.... Not that I plan to do that, but I'd like to know if they would be aware of each other's hard search immediately.

Somerset_La_La_La, so basically you're saying that if I apply for Tesco CC and get rejected, there will be no hard search on my credit files?