The True Meaning of "Your application plication has been referred"

justsayyes

When you apply for a credit card or other credit product online and the application promises an instant decision - what does it mean when you get neither an Accept or Decline but instead get a "your application has been referred, we will write to you within 5 business days" message? Presumably if your credit score is high enough you will be instantly Approved and if your credit score is too low or there are other problems with your credit file, then the computer will pick those issues up and instantly Decline you. So what is the Referred business all about? Does it mean your credit score falls on the cusp of Pass/Fail? Since the credit providers rely quite heavily on automated decisions fueled by credit score, I don't understand why they don't just automatically Decline you if things aren't quite perfect, rather than Referring you. Can anyone explain or share an experience where they got Referred and yet ultimately actually did receive the credit product they'd applied for. I'm very curious! Thanks

Tr@cker

Its happened to me 3 times in all and every time i was declined in writing-so best expect the worst :mad:

kirstymccr

I applied for capital one credit card and it was referred but i got a letter to say i was accepted and received my card

Locana

I got referred for my Barclaycard, and was accepted.. 0% as well yahay!

jamalfatty

Could be a number of reasons, borderline decision, suspected inaccuracies in application and/or missing information, cifas markers on credit file etc

It would not be sound business to turn you away if you could perhaps pass the check and become a customer which is why it will be referred for a manual check

gfplux

Those rejected or approved immediately probably conform to a set criteria that lets a computer decide. If you fall outside that criteria, say for example the electoral roll has you down with a middle name/initial and you do not say/type this on the initial application then this is flagged as an anomaly.
This is then referred to a "supervisor"
It is a simple as that.
A simple tip in this computer age is to decide on how your name is presented and stick to it.
good luck

s1h

I have got refer a couple of times in the last year, both times I got the cards through 10 days later with 2.5k limits

becky170

I was referred and then accepted......may have been due to me not being on the electrol register!

poppy_f1

been reffered and both been declined and accepted, just means they wanna check a few things

bert&ernie

Internet applications will appear to "refer" if the credit bureau is offline (typically during the night) - they get batch decisioned the next business day. You will get a decline letter or an application pack in the post.

dellwear

Also - if there is a notice of correction on your file you WILL be referred as they are not allowed to make a decision without a real person reading it.