Do online free credit checks reduce your credit rating ?
Monday
I want to find out my credit rating so I can see what my chances are of getting a mortgage but I heard from a mortgage broker that it will damage my credit rating because every time you do a check it registers as a mortgage application, is that true ? Does it really reduce your score ?
Any inquiry as to your credit status shows up. Multiple inquires, regardless of where they originated, will drop your credit score.
Categories: credit rating online
The broker is lying or misleading you to a degree so that you won't look elsewhere for a mortgage.
You can get a free credit check from, Experian BUT – it does register a search – it doesn't affect your rating until a lot start showing up – then it looks like you have made lots of applications for credit – that is when the companies start taking notice.
You can see from your own free check just what has been going on – just don't forget to cancel the free trial or they will charge you after 30 days (I think)
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it doesnt reduce your credit rating, however it does show inquiries to your credit, which can look bad as they look like you had an inquiry and got denied for a line of credit.
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When you check your score through free sites (like Credit Karma) it does not register as an inquiry on your credit report. I have been checking my score on Credit Karma several times a month and it hasn't shown up on my credit report at all. My credit score has only gone up since using the website.
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http://www.creditkarma.com (They use your TransUnion score)
Any inquiry as to your credit status shows up. Multiple inquires, regardless of where they originated, will drop your credit score.
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You can get a free credit check on their 30 day free trial at:
http://www.experian.co.uk/creditreporttv/?sc=410006
You can continue with your subscription if you want to keep an eye on your status otherwise you cancel the subscription before the 30 day trial.
Apparently, your credit rating would be affected if you have apply for many financial services within a period of 12 months eg, credit card, loans, mortgages. etc…. as each time you are credit check, it leaves a footprint on your record.
There are many other factors that affects your credit rating:
1.Whether you are on the electorall roll
2.Whether you have a County court judgement
3.or Bankruptcy order
4.or Address with low credit rating
5.or Credit account details not updated
6.or Multiple credit searches
7.or People linked to you with low rating via addresses you lived in
8.or Whether you have a credit history
All the above can be rectified using Notice of Correction if any of the above appeared in your credit report but are not correct or related to you.
So technically, the mortgage provider is correct that you should not apply for too many credit check unnecessary as it does lower your chances for credit in the future.
For more information, follow the link below. I do encourage you to take out the free trial as they do provide very detailed information of your credit history and you can learn how to improve your credit rating and you would understand what to do to not affect your credit rating.
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http://experian.metafaq.com/templates/experian/main/answerPage?_mftvst:answerRef=%24http%3a%2f%2fapi.transversal.com%2fmfapi%2fobjectref%2fEntryStore%2fEntry%2fhttp%3a%2f%2fwww.metafaq.com%2fmfapi%2fMetafaq%2fClients%2fexperian%2fModules%2fCredit_report%2fTopics%2fimproving_credit%3a137433%3a10&_mftvst:moduleID=%24Credit_report&_mftvst:topicID=%24&id=U3ISD5VTSK85K2L4KMQTELSOSE
That's horse pucky.
If you're checking your own credit, it's considered a "soft pull". Soft pulls are not seen by other creditors and doesn't not affect your credit score. Only hard pulls will decrease your score; e.g., if you're applying for a loan or insurance.
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As Celeste says, there are hard footprints (which are actual credit checks) and soft footprints – which are people viewing your credit file. Creditors will only be able to see the hard footprints while you can see everything.
Only a hard footprint – getting a credit check, will possibly affect your credit score. You can usually have about 3 credit checks in a 6 month period before your score is affected, although you should try to avoid having too many close together.
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According to Experian the enquiries they make every month do not show up and do not have an adverse affect on your 'score' – i have been with them for a while now and when i have checked via Equifax and Call credit they do not have any record of these enquiries on their reports.
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