0% balance transfers with HSBC pre approved but they still need to decide if accept my application?

l.c.elliott

I suppose i have two questions.

Firstly, I was apparently pre approved using a comparison site, yet when I was taken to HSBC and filled in my details, it said it would be in touch if I'm accepted. I thought the whole point of having a comparison site to do a soft credit check means that I dont have to risk a hard credit check and therefore risk getting declined?

Secondly, does anyone know roughly how I can expect to wait to hear back if I'm accepted? I got this screen after completing my application. I have some outstanding credit on another credit card that I need to transfer, ive got a week until my 0% ends and I have to start paying interest so I was really hoping it would be sorted by then 🤞

NorwichMan

It's almost always pre-approved subject to final checks, pre approval is not a guarantee of acceptance. And you should expect a hard search when applying for credit. No idea how long they will take, it varies.

MyRealNameToo

l.c.elliott said:

I suppose i have two questions.

Firstly, I was apparently pre approved using a comparison site, yet when I was taken to HSBC and filled in my details, it said it would be in touch if I'm accepted. I thought the whole point of having a comparison site to do a soft credit check means that I dont have to risk a hard credit check and therefore risk getting declined?

Secondly, does anyone know roughly how I can expect to wait to hear back if I'm accepted? I got this screen after completing my application. I have some outstanding credit on another credit card that I need to transfer, ive got a week until my 0% ends and I have to start paying interest so I was really hoping it would be sorted by then 🤞

Depends on the comparison site, some clearly are working with certain lenders and so approvals carry some weight whereas others have come up with their own system of scoring with no input from the lender so its guess work at best. 

What can be seen on a soft check is less than what can be seen on a hard check so the lender will always do a hard search which may throw up things that put them off which the comparison site wouldnt have been able to see via their soft search. 

I'd argue you may have left it a little late but no point crying over spilt milk. The last time I had a referral it took a few days for them to contact and in that case they just had a silly question they wanted sorted which they did on the call then approved it. Banks vary significantly in the timegap from approval to having the card in your hand/ online log in working, those guys seemed slower than normal (wasnt HSBC) and was almost 2 weeks later before fully up and running. 

I've also had some oddities with preferred comparison tool where a soft check directly with the lender gave a pre-approved status but with a higher APR. The comparison then gave a pre-approved status for the same lender but with the standard APR. Applied via the link from the comparison site and got the lower APR/

martinbainbridge1975

might be worth a call to card services about the application - i got an instance decision off HSBC

did not get any confirmation emails like others in the past but the card arrived quickly