Hard/Soft Credit Search for Virgin Money Current Account

SJshah

I'd like to apply for the Virgin Money current account to take advantage of their switch deal and to get the 2.02% interest rate on £1k.

I will not be requesting an overdraft so I would expect them to only do a "soft search" for identification checks. I don't want to apply if they will conduct a hard credit search.

Can anyone please confirm what they do with credit searches on current accounts.

Thank you

MovingForwards

Soft search on credit karma and Clearscore, but I've been with them for several years.

Experian is hard check

Ed-1

SJshah said:

I'd like to apply for the Virgin Money current account to take advantage of their switch deal and to get the 2.02% interest rate on £1k.

I will not be requesting an overdraft so I would expect them to only do a "soft search" for identification checks. I don't want to apply if they will conduct a hard credit search.

Can anyone please confirm what they do with credit searches on current accounts.

Thank you

Soft search on TransUnion. Hard search on Experian.

dr_adidas01

SJshah said:

I'd like to apply for the Virgin Money current account to take advantage of their switch deal and to get the 2.02% interest rate on £1k.

I will not be requesting an overdraft so I would expect them to only do a "soft search" for identification checks. I don't want to apply if they will conduct a hard credit search.

Can anyone please confirm what they do with credit searches on current accounts.

Thank you

It will be a hard search when I applied they did a soft search on Trans Union (Credit Karma)  and a hard search on Experian.

SJshah

Thanks all for the replies. That answers my question perfectly

I'll avoid this switching deal, it's not worth the hard Experian credit search hit for me.

YorkshireBoy

SJshah said:

Thanks all for the replies. That answers my question perfectly

I'll avoid this switching deal, it's not worth the hard Experian credit search hit for me.

A current account 'hard' search will have negligible, if any, impact*. Everyone changes current account at some point or other...after all, the industry encourages it!

I've previously had approaching 20 current account searches in a 3-4 month period, and still opened 4 credit cards during that same time frame.

* With one possible exception...you switch your one and only long held current account.

SJshah

YorkshireBoy said:

SJshah said:

Thanks all for the replies. That answers my question perfectly

I'll avoid this switching deal, it's not worth the hard Experian credit search hit for me.

A current account 'hard' search will have negligible, if any, impact*. Everyone changes current account at some point or other...after all, the industry encourages it!

I've previously had approaching 20 current account searches in a 3-4 month period, and still opened 4 credit cards during that same time frame.

* With one possible exception...you switch your one and only long held current account.

I've done the same in the past when collecting several switch offers - none of the banks (except Natwest) did a "hard" search since I never applied for the overdraft facility. I'm being more cautious ATM as I have a re-mortgage application due, though as you say a "current account" search probably won't make a difference on mortgage applications.

I might as well go for it and grab the free wine 

colsten

I apply of current accounts all the time (over a 15 so far this year) and I never ask for an overdraft when applying for current accounts but just about all banks carry out a hard search. However, only Experian shows a complete-ish search history. I have no idea why the others don't, and I also have no idea which of the CRAs a given bank uses to check. All I know is what I can see on my credit agency reports:

CreditKarma: shows just a couple of searches - TSB, BoS, not VM, and not the many others I have opened accounts with this year. CreditKarma has VM/Clydesdale as soft searches.

Experian: shows many searches - TSB, RBS, Natwest, Ulster, and also VM under their Clydesdale Bank / Clydesdale Bank plc alias


Equifax: shows a few: Ulster, RBS, Natwest, Metro


As has already been mentioned, the occasional search for a current account application doesn't really matter though. If, on the other hand, you take it to the extreme as I do, you have to accept some limitations. For instance, I would currently only be accepted for "credit score building" credit cards now, such as the ones from Aqua. I would probably also find it difficult to get accepted for a loan or a mortgage for as long as these searches show on any of the CRAs. As I don't want/need any of these, it doesn't matter how many hard searches I have. Also, my current account applications are still being accepted.- only did another succesful one this afternoon.

adamp87

Out of interest I thought searches for current accounts only stay for a year? I’ve still got 1 showing from about 15 months now on my file

colsten

Experian seem to keep them for “just over 2 years”. I haven’t checked the policy of the other two

[Deleted User]

SJshah said:

Thanks all for the replies. That answers my question perfectly

I'll avoid this switching deal, it's not worth the hard Experian credit search hit for me.

What is the "hit" you are talking about? The mythical score by any chance?
Losing a bonus / savings rate seems a bit daft if you're doing it because of a wish not to have a change on a number only you see - I can't see any threads by you about moving home for example which a proper search might be more of a concern for