Advised that checking credit score is bad?

Blackavar

Hi
Just visited mortgage advisor with daughter looking to buy an apartment and were told that these things affect your credit score:
checking your credit score
Checking comparison websites for insurance etc
Having more than one bank account (all with cash in)
I'm a bit old skool so a bit skeptical about having a 'mortgage advisor' as in my day you just saw the top 3 banks and took the best offer.
Thanks for any advice on this.

Lilla_D

Well, with any service, you can get the good, the bad and the ugly. You didn't seem to speak to the first one. However, since "your day", things have probably changed a bit and nowadays most people wouldn't be able to get a mortgage (or it wouldn't be the most suitable one) from one of the top 3 banks or from their own bank unless they are extremely vanilla case and get lucky in that they and their chosen property happen to fit the bank's criteria. I'd say it'd be worth asking around friends and family for recommendation for a good broker and trying someone else. You might be pleasantly surprised.

ACG

You checking your credit score is not going to impact your credit score (if there is such a thing) in any way. It is only if you have credit providers/mortgage lenders carry out checks on you.

I believe some comparison sites do full credit checks when coming back with quotes, so it could affect your score (as per above), but I am not 100% on whether they still do hard credit checks or not.

Having more than one bank account is not a problem. I have 2 - one with the Mrs and one without...the one without is the one that plays for golf, pub and basically anything fun :P

Financial services tend to have a bad rep. It has been cleaned up a lot over recent years, but as Lilla says, there are still good and bad brokers out there. Now a days getting a Mortgage is a lot more complex - just as the rest of life has become a lot more complicated, its not just a case of income multiples and your local bank manager being able to make a decision.

[Deleted User]

Blackavar wrote: »

told that these things affect your credit score:
checking your credit score

It's a little like saying thinking about unicorns affects the number of unicorns.

amnblog

The reality is that there are basically 3 types of borrowers.

1. Those that never borrow anything

2. Those that borrow and pay in full and on time

3. Those that borrow and don't pay in full and on time

Each of these groups work with some lenders and not with others.

There is not a 4th group who had a credit score done on Tuesday and now cannot get the deal they could have had on Monday.

ACG

Deleted_User wrote: »

It's a little like saying thinking about unicorns affects the number of unicorns.

Your doing nothing for their numbers.

85_East

ACG wrote: »

You checking your credit score is not going to impact your credit score (if there is such a thing) in any way. It is only if you have credit providers/mortgage lenders carry out checks on you.

I believe some comparison sites do full credit checks when coming back with quotes, so it could affect your score (as per above), but I am not 100% on whether they still do hard credit checks or not.

Having more than one bank account is not a problem. I have 2 - one with the Mrs and one without...the one without is the one that plays for golf, pub and basically anything fun :P

Most comparison sites do soft checks, which are supposedly not visible, and won't reflect on your credit score