Apple upgrade program (UK)

Whats the matter with your 6s? Is it physical damage or is it feeling slow?

 

I personally got accepted without an issue and I don't think I have a "perfect" credit score but it's in a good state.

I guess most will recommend buying it outright and while they wouldn't technically be wrong, everyone's circumstances are different.

For me-i was due an upgrade last September but didn't want to commit to another two year contract due to all the 10th anniversary rumours so jumped on the program. And I'm glad I did as I'll be picking up the 8 as soon as I'm allowed to.

 

The agreement is with Barclays Partner Finance, so it's no different to any other sort of credit agreement in terms of passing the scoring.

Generally, It would only reject outright if you had recent or unresolved missed or late payments on credit agreements.

 

It comes down to whether you mind paying for the AppleCare at £119 (I think that's the price). If you're confident you don't want another phone any time soon, you can save yourself that cost and just do iPhone Payments plan instead. That's interest free and just spreads the cost of the phone without the extra AppleCare, but doesn't allow you to change the phone and start again after the 11th payment.

 

If you buy without AppleCare you can't upgrade after 11 months, it's the standard 0% finance agreement.

 

I got rejected despite having a good credit score and having no problem getting credit elsewhere. I'm not sure why but Barclays always turn me down when I try to buy Apple stuff with 0% finance

 

That's the thing I don't think it is based on achieving a particular score but they have some weird criteria so people will good score can get turned down and people with lower score pass. I know other people with good scores got turned as it was reported in forum here.

I know Sainsbury's automatically reject people on loan/credit card applications if they aren't a home owner, so I get turned down for them as I just rent to give an example.

 

It's cheaper than taking a contract direct with a network and more expensive than buying outright and taking a SIM - by the £119 it costs for the AppleCare.

Take no notice of your own personal "credit score". It means nothing whatsoever. If you want to know if you're creditworthy, do a statutory check with one of the credit reference agencies - costs about £2 - and actually look at your file. Any missed or late payments? Any use of advance against income facilities (payday loans)?

if that all looks OK, if you're refused credit it will simply be a case of you not meeting the scorecard requirements of the lender in question. E.g. Homeowner = no = decline.

NOTE - it is generally untrue that any particular mainstream financial services provider will automatically decline you for not being a homeowner. Some, however, may score applicants who do own their home higher - so non-homeowners have a higher likelihood of being declined if they are scored down for any other reason (e.g. Heavy use of overdraft facilities)

 

It was discussed in the main iPhone 7 UK buyers thread if I remember correctly, it was the best part of a year ago now!

--- Post Merged, Aug 10, 2017 ---

Yes Sainsbury's didn't decline me but offered me an alternative with a higher interest rate than the one advertised, in threads the consistent pattern was that you needed to be a homeowner to stand a chance of actually getting the ultra good deal actually advertised. They clearly had extremely strict criteria so wouldn't take much to not qualify, it may not be the case if you aren't a homeowner you were automatically rejected but it you weren't then it wouldn't take much else to then not qualify.

 

Sounds about right. That's the wonderful world of credit scoring for you. I've just had a quote for car insurance based on changing my address. They say this increases my premium by £85 - i'm moving from number 133 to number 113 of the same street, no change to postcode. They say it's because there's an increased risk of damage to the car while parked. It's going to be parked in exactly the same place!

 

You are giving this way too much thought dude. Me and my GF both got iPhone 7's on the upgrade plan back in June, instantly approved.

 

Yes you have to go in store and I guess so, we own our own house, both 27 years old, so our credit must be good enough for Barclays.

 

The decision isn't purely based on score most of the time, they take account a lot of other factors such as straight income, fixed expenditure (e.g other credit agreements), late payments, amount of credit already had, number of credit cards etc.

Even though a lot of this is used to calculate the score, when they run a check they often will take these variables on their own and make a decision themselves off of it, rather than rely on the score that the credit bureau gives them.

Basically if you aren't maxing out your income on lots of other financed things with a good history of paying on time then you should be ok.

 

I know what you mean about spending it all in one go, having the money doesn't mean you want to part ways with it.

Plus having credit and paying it off on time adds to your credit score.