Is a phone contract search different from a loan search?

theburningcat

I know that searches for financial products are recorded on one's credit file and having too many is a bad thing. However, credit searches are also done for products that are only financial products in the broadest sense (e.g. a sim only phone contract). Are they weighted the same?

I am asking because I'm wondering whether moving around to get the best deals could have a negative impact in this area. I don't really know what my "score" is with any particular lender but I have good limits on my cards (£2500-3500 ish)

Ben8282

Surely you will only move around at the end of the contract and will have one search by whoever you are moving to? Same rule must apply as with cards. Don't go applying for multiple sim-only contracts at the same time unless you actually intend to take them all! Making multiple applications and accepting one will make it look as if all the others were declined or actually cause the others to be declined. Taking out multiple sim-only contracts at the same time will have a short term negative effect but that will recover as on time payments are recorded for all the accounts over a period of time. It will depend on the overall state of your financial affairs.

theburningcat

I recently renewed/upgraded 2 contracts (phone+tablet) with O2 and I want to switch one to Three (sim only) to get the roaming benefits. I also recently upgraded a credit card. That would be about 4 searches in 6 months. I'm not applying for products that I don't intend to use or discontinuing applications.

Ben8282

This really depends on what else you may be planning to apply for in the near future. Each time you increase the amount of your monthly minimum payment, including the 'minimum payment' on the mobile phone contracts, you are taking on a new credit commitment with the result in a temporary lowering of your credit score (for what that is worth) until you show that you are able to make the new payments without problem. Everything is of course relative to your overall financial position. When you reach the point where something gets declined then you know it is time to stop applying for new credit products for a while, Also applying for multiple mobile phone contracts in a very short space of time could cause suspicion as to why you needed them and your intentions. So probably best to wait a bit if the phone upgrades were very recent.

Cycrow

A credit search is a credit search, doesn't matter who its from.

however, not all searches on your credit file are credit searches.

for mobile contracts, its likely that renewing/upgrading doesn't have a search at all

Aquamania

theburningcat wrote: »

I recently renewed/upgraded 2 contracts (phone+tablet) with O2 and I want to switch one to Three (sim only) to get the roaming benefits. I also recently upgraded a credit card. That would be about 4 searches in 6 months. I'm not applying for products that I don't intend to use or discontinuing applications.

Where you renew or upgrade an existing contract with an existing supplier, no additional credit check is made (as they already have previously credit checked you, and now have their own experience of how you handle credit with them)
They will continue to report how you handle such credit to the CRA

Where you wish to change supplier, then expect a new supplier to credit check you. But as you have done, you decide first who you want to switch to, (in this case Three) so there will only be one credit search

I'm not sure what you mean by credit card "upgrade"

If you mean you have simply changed the card with the same provider (e.g. got a cashback card) then no credit check is normally made.

If you have increased your credit limit, then if this was offered to you unrequested then there is probably no credit search
If you did need to request it, then it is rare an additional credit check is made (because they too have previously credit checked you and now have their own experience of how you handled such credit). In the rare case they did need to perform a credit check via a CRA, they must gain your approval first.

If you've actually changed card provider, then yes a credit search would almost certainly have been made.

HTH

theburningcat

Thanks for the answers