Applying for a personal loan but my credit score has dropped.

jcgilbert

Hello to the forum,

I have been looking into personal loans for £7500.

I registered with the mse credit club and found a 999 credit score and a 'very good' affordability score.

I used the mse loan calculator to try and figure out what lenders might be the best for me and proceeded to do some soft searches.

This led me to try an application with the Post Office. I was accepted but at an APR of 8.5% rather than the advertised 3.2%.

I made the decision to not accept this just yet. I have now logged back on to the credit club to find my credit score has dropped to 851 and my affordability score has dropped to 'fair/good'.

Could this single loan application with the post office of had such a dramatic impact on my credit club stats?

Before seeing this change I was thinking it might be worth trying an application with another lender to see if I can get a better APR.

Should I go ahead and do this anyway?

[Deleted User]

Ignore the score. It's a made up number, not seen or used by anyone.

A couple of applications is no great cause for concern.

Craig1981

ignore the score
before doing further applications, have a look at some companies that offer a quotation, like nationwide and ratesetter. these quotation will not impact on your credit search/file

this may give you a better idea of the type of APR that will be offered to you... NAtionwide offered me 6.9% on a quotation, Ratesetter i think was 6.8% - went with tesco (using clubcard) and was offered 4.7%...

every application is on its ownmerit, and the above may not work or be accurate for some, but certainly gave me an idea of what to expect before doing a full application with a lender

Alexd52

Also bear in mind that the interest rate you are quoting as the advertised rate is, in fact, a representative rate that is offered to 51% of applicants. The other 49% will get a rate that is based on the information in your credit files and on the application form. Each lender may have different criteria for who they would accept and at what interest rate.

T-G-C

Each application will have a minor influence on a decision, however one or two would be unnoticeable, whereas six or seven would be more considerable and apparent.

A credit score can drop from the sound of the wind, it is better to ignore it and focus on the credit file element, where lenders base their decision on, amongst other things.

jcgilbert

Thanks guys, I really appreciate you taking the time to give me such helpful replies!