The MSE Eligibility Checker - I don't understand the differences?

Ryan_Holden

Hi All

Edit - to add, I have applied directly with HSBC and been approved for a 17 month 0% purchase with a £10k limit, this is just a query about the calculator.

I'm looking to make a couple of purchases on a 0% purchase credit card relating to a hobby car.

I have a mortgage of approximately £1090 per month, earn £55800 pensionable (with another £5000 in unpensionable pay, so I never declare it on an application) and have a further £6000 additional income from a lodger. I have no other debts, no car payments etc.

I ran the soft check eligibility checker via the MSE site yesterday and found favourable cards from Natwest and HSBC showing roughly 17 months 0%, pre-approved for both   

There was an error on the Natwest website yesterday meaning no applications could be started so I waited.

I have come back today and both the HSBC and Natwest items are saying I have 0% chance of getting a card with either of them

Wierdly, my mortgage is Natwest and my current account is HSBC who I have been with since the Midland bank days.

Now the only real offers coming back to me are MBNA and Virgin, neither of who I am interested in.

Any ideas what changed?

Ryan

cymruchris

Ryan_Holden said:

Hi All

Edit - to add, I have applied directly with HSBC and been approved for a 17 month 0% purchase with a £10k limit, this is just a query about the calculator.

I'm looking to make a couple of purchases on a 0% purchase credit card relating to a hobby car.

I have a mortgage of approximately £1090 per month, earn £55800 pensionable (with another £5000 in unpensionable pay, so I never declare it on an application) and have a further £6000 additional income from a lodger. I have no other debts, no car payments etc.

I ran the soft check eligibility checker via the MSE site yesterday and found favourable cards from Natwest and HSBC showing roughly 17 months 0%, pre-approved for both   

There was an error on the Natwest website yesterday meaning no applications could be started so I waited.

I have come back today and both the HSBC and Natwest items are saying I have 0% chance of getting a card with either of them

Wierdly, my mortgage is Natwest and my current account is HSBC who I have been with since the Midland bank days.

Now the only real offers coming back to me are MBNA and Virgin, neither of who I am interested in.

Any ideas what changed?

Ryan

The MSE eligibility checker (and other comparison site checkers) give an indication of success for a number of card providers - but use data in a different way to the card providers themselves. So the answer you get on MSE (and other comparison sites) will potentially be different to the card providers direct eligibility checks on their own websites (and even different between comparison sites). If ever unsure, go see what the eligibility checker says direct with the card provider that you're interested in. In terms of why it went from favourable to 0% who knows - might have been a data glitch - an update - or that it rained in Scunthorpe. I can see you've now got your card, so all's good - but definitely next time you need a card - go direct, and cut out the middle man.

WillPS

Pre-approved means that MSE/MSM hold more data from the lender, surely. Otherwise why even differentiate between 100% and '100% Pre-approved'

Ryan_Holden

Thanks folks, I guess that's a lesson learned, that the tools are quite vague. Still, I wouldn't have even known to consider Natwest had the tool not been there so it did benefit me.

Cheers!