How many is too many?

gazza975526570

Im certain this will have been asked several (many....) times before - searched and couldnt locate any.

How many credit searches do you think its reasonable to have before being declined for this reason. I realise there is no definitive answer to this as there are so many reasons that can affect the outcome but in your experience how many would you say?

I currently have 4 over the last twelve months with 2 to come off in the next couple of months and am uncertain if it would be in my interests to wait.

KiKi

I think 83 would be too many.

But seriously, I'd personally say 6 or 7. It also depends on the amount of credit you have on each, your salary and how frequently you use and apply for them.

I have 3 and one in the post. But I will be cancelling two in the next couple of months, too. (Obtained them for offers only...!)

HTH.
KiKi

YorkshireBoy

The advice from stoozing.com is...

Experience shows that one credit check per month is perfectly acceptable as is 2 or 3 checks in one month followed by 6 months with none. Try to do no more than about 10 a year if you can.

http://www.stoozing.com/g_sfull.htm (step 10)

Personally, I've had 5 in as many weeks (and 4 on the same day!) - followed by 9 months or so wait before my next application for credit - and it doesn't appear to have affected my credit-worthiness too much. However, if you're managing 'real debt', rather than simply stoozing, I wouldn't recommend this approach!

I 'understand' lenders are more concerned by searches made in the last 3-6 months than they are by older searches.

gazza975526570

Thanks for that - and no its not to manage real debts - trying to give this a whirl but have a distinct feeling i have missed the boat for any real earnings.

The one a month from stoozing was really interesting - i was always under the impression that once you are getting upwards of 4-5 then thats the time to cease any future searches.

YorkshireBoy

gazza975526570 wrote: »

...trying to give this a whirl but have a distinct feeling i have missed the boat for any real earnings.

There's no doubt the glory days have long gone (for most of us). However, there's still good money to be made, with Capital One, Ulster bank, and a couple of Halifax run cards still currently offering 5-8 month fee-free deals. Additionally, the Virgin Atlantic 'White' card has a £50 cap on the BT fee - useful for those getting higher credit limits.

The one a month from stoozing was really interesting - i was always under the impression that once you are getting upwards of 4-5 then thats the time to cease any future searches.

To be fair, the article I quoted is an old one. Stoozing.com is currently carrying out some research into the 'multiple application' approach to see if the article needs updating. You can check out this research at http://www.stoozing.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1197100815

gazza975526570

Ive got about £15k available with MBNA - just trying to work out the best way to take advantage - rung up tonight and they offered 0% till Sept with a 1.5% fee.

Was hopefull they may offer a little longer or a lower fee but they reckon thats the best they can go

YorkshireBoy

gazza975526570 wrote: »

Ive got about £15k available with MBNA - just trying to work out the best way to take advantage - rung up tonight and they offered 0% till Sept with a 1.5% fee.

I have a similar limit (with Virgin), and I'd take that deal. There's approx £300 profit there, according to the stoozing site's calculator at http://www.stoozing.com/calc.htm

Was hopefull they may offer a little longer or a lower fee but they reckon thats the best they can go

Will they cap it, say at £50/75? Be aware that, if they've put the 0% on your account (do you have online access to check?), then your 0% period clock may already be ticking!

Alternatively, you could wait for another fee-free day (been several recently) to come along.

gazza975526570

The 0% i got sent throuh snail mail was due to end Aug but i managed to persuade them for another month so im ok there.

They didnt mention capping it - he had to ask his Manager (hmmmmm......) if he could do the 1.5% fee so thought id give it a try tommorow instead.

The fee free days? Are these days we have been able to find out informally that there is no BF Fee?

YorkshireBoy

gazza975526570 wrote: »

They didnt mention capping it - he had to ask his Manager (hmmmmm......) if he could do the 1.5% fee so thought id give it a try tommorow instead.

Are you dealing with 'retentions' on 0800 783 1116, or some other department? In my experience, the retentions team are the ones who have the most clout...especially if you let them know you're comparing them with another offer you've had. I may be wrong, but I think retentions work office hours only (nice work if you can get it!).

The fee free days? Are these days we have been able to find out informally that there is no BF Fee?

They're e-mailed out to customers, and usually reproduced (very quickly) on this board.