'Mortgage In Principle' applications and credit rating

amii1989

Hi all,

I've done something incredibly stupid. With no understanding of how badly it could hurt my credit rating, I made a series of 'mortgage in principle' applications on lenders websites last week.

In my naivety I had no idea this would leave a footprint on my credit file, and I was absolutely gutted to find that my 900 rating has now fallen to 620. I'm otherwise squeaky clean, never missed any payments, no loans and I only use a minimal amount of the credit available to me (paid in full each month).

I'm so worried that this will affect the application I've just put in with the lender I decided on. Could this be the case and if so what can I do about it?

After years of saving I'm absolutely gutted and so annoyed at myself for not realising the impact this could have.

I also had a credit agreement for dental work that started in December, which I've just transferred to my parent's bank account so I'm no longer paying it, I've notified the credit agreement agency. Could this agreement have impacted it?

thebritishbloke

You don't have a score, the number you can see is completely meaningless, stop paying for it.

You won't know if it's caused an issue until you follow up with your mortgage provider. If you explain to them that you were just seeing what deals you could get and you've decided to go with them, they probably won't mind.

No, the dental thing wouldn't make a difference.

amii1989

Thanks for your reply. From Googling the AiP searches do look like a major issue. Just my total naivety in not realising they could harm my credit rating.

Absolutely gutted. Hopefully the lender will understand.

thebritishbloke

Just see what they say

As another side note, don't apply for anymore credit if you decide to pursue this mortgage. They'll do multiple credit checks on you between now and when the sale is finalised.