MSE CC eligibility checker inaccurate

tryin

Hi

I applied for a Barclaycard 0% balance transfer card yesterday. First I checked on MSE's eligibility checker tool, and it gave me 0% chance of being accepted. I thought that was wrong, as my credit is good and my income is well above the threshold for that card. So I just went ahead and applied, and today received an email that my application was approved!

Anyone else have experience with the MSE eligibility tool?

CliveOfIndia

Any third-party eligibility tool is, as best, a rough estimate.  They don't have access to your full credit file, and they don't have access to the lender's particular lending criteria.  It's (in most cases) a useful guide, but it's only when you make a formal application that the lender can see all your data and make their own judgement.

tryin

CliveOfIndia said:

Any third-party eligibility tool is, as best, a rough estimate.  They don't have access to your full credit file, and they don't have access to the lender's particular lending criteria.  It's (in most cases) a useful guide, but it's only when you make a formal application that the lender can see all your data and make their own judgement.

Fair point. But then they shouldn't really be telling me I have 0% chance

CliveOfIndia

tryin said:

CliveOfIndia said:

Any third-party eligibility tool is, as best, a rough estimate.  They don't have access to your full credit file, and they don't have access to the lender's particular lending criteria.  It's (in most cases) a useful guide, but it's only when you make a formal application that the lender can see all your data and make their own judgement.

Fair point. But then they shouldn't really be telling me I have 0% chance

They're mass-marketing tools, with very limited access to your personal data, and zero access to any particular lender's proprietary lending criteria.

Always try a lender's own eligibility checker first.  They're not perfect, by dint of the fact they can't access all of your data.  But they do at least have some visibility of their own criteria.

Nasqueron

tryin said:

CliveOfIndia said:

Any third-party eligibility tool is, as best, a rough estimate.  They don't have access to your full credit file, and they don't have access to the lender's particular lending criteria.  It's (in most cases) a useful guide, but it's only when you make a formal application that the lender can see all your data and make their own judgement.

Fair point. But then they shouldn't really be telling me I have 0% chance

They are a third party who get commission if you take out a card so want to push you towards one you are likely to get