Single hard search - impact

gjs6385

Hi I’ve got a personal loan that I’ve been repaying to Nationwide (my main bank) April 2023 with c.£15k remaining that’s due to end in c.3 years as I’ve been overpaying.  I’ve not got any other consumer debt or credit cards.

Yesterday I took out a small additional personal loan also from Nationwide for £1k towards a new boiler.  I now may not need it so will likely withdraw as I’m within the 14 day cooling off period.  I believe I’ll then have 30 days to repay the full amount to them, which won’t be a problem.

My main concern is whether this will also result in the removal of the hard search from my credit file that took place as part of the loan application and if not then whether I could ask them to take it off.

Ultimately if not, I’m worried what the impact of this may be on mine and my partner’s credit files.

Thanks.

eskbanker

No, the hard search was done, and not taking up the product doesn't reverse that, nor will it on request, as it's an accurate reflection of the facts.  It's unlikely to have a huge impact on your credit files unless they're already fragile, but you might wish to consider more flexible facilities such as credit cards in future?

MEM62

gjs6385 said:

Ultimately if not, I’m worried what the impact of this may be on mine and my partner’s credit files.

There is no impact from a search.   The whole point of having a credit file is so that institutions can conduct searches so there is little point is being concerned when that actually happens.

eskbanker said:

but you might wish to consider more flexible facilities such as credit cards in future?

Or, for things like a broken boiler, car repairs and the like, an emergency fund.    

    

steven141

it tends to be when you have over 2 credit searches in a 6 month period that your credit rating goes down but then again the credit rating is only an estimate and means nothing as each lender has their own criteria to lend to people.