soft search history access for lenders

hpuse

We all know there is hard & soft credit check as a search’s audit performed ln an individuals credit file by lenders . Hard searches are permanent markers and they are ‘shared’  by/for other lenders, while soft search history footprints are relatively new and the fact is, they do not affect credit score (which is contextual anyway to the lenders own risk assessment process) .

Since an individuals credit file contains both  searches history, can lenders be using soft searches ‘history’ from credit reference agencies to make their  own internal ‘soft’ lending/credit decisions? The actual hard search marker is now becoming just a customary audit trail to show that individual have made the decision to apply for credit?  

I wonder if there is a gradual paradigm shift in the whole credit decision making landscape for lenders by introduction of soft searches, especially in creditcard industry for setting credit limits?  Just thoughts…..

TheSpectator

A quick Google search would have told you that lenders do not see any soft search history from the CRA.

CliveOfIndia

hpuse said:

Since an individuals credit file contains both  searches history, can lenders be using soft searches ‘history’ from credit reference agencies to make their  own internal ‘soft’ lending/credit decisions?

No.  Because ...

hpuse said:

We all know there is hard & soft credit check

We all know that a soft search is not visible to lenders.

If you've had a relationship with a lender previously, they may have retained your data, and may possibly use this to perform a sort of pseudo-internal-soft-application-check, for want of a better expression.  But no, an official soft search is only visible to you, and has no bearing on how any other lender will view you.

hpuse

TheSpectator said:

A quick Google search would have told you that lenders do not see any soft search history from the CRA.

Creditscore checking companies have their affiliation/referral models with marketplace of creditcard providers, so internally we do not how much an individual’s previous softsearch data is synthesised prior to those ‘pre-approval’ messages? or would google know?

CliveOfIndia

hpuse said:

TheSpectator said:

A quick Google search would have told you that lenders do not see any soft search history from the CRA.

Creditscore checking companies have their affiliation/referral models with marketplace of creditcard providers, so internally we do not how much an individual’s previous softsearch data is synthesised prior to those ‘pre-approval’ messages? or would google know?

I'm not quite sure I understand what you're trying to say.  But the fact is, a soft search leaves no footprint on your credit record that is visible to anyone but you.  Even the CRAs themselves have this stated on their websites.  A soft search is not visible to other lenders, end of story.

hpuse

CliveOfIndia said

I'm not quite sure I understand what you're trying to say.  But the fact is, a soft search leaves no footprint on your credit record that is visible to anyone but you.  Even the CRAs themselves have this stated on their websites.  A soft search is not visible to other lenders, end of story.

As you may know, there are many financial 'wellness' companies and apps targeting consumers with credit card offers from the marketplace. Consequently, they leave a soft-inquiry footprint, which the companies/themselves are aware of when a customer explores offers in the marketplace (using their affliation searches). Could this, or can this, be used to influence the lenders' pre-approval or soft-approval processes with whom they are affiliated?

The reason I'm asking is that these wellness companies also have a vested interest in this approval process. They have, after all, generated the lead for the credit card provider, even though they may not have transferred personal details. They could be transferring a lead referral ID along with a validated token to uniquely identify the provider & customer indicating that this is a customer cleared by a soft-inquiry and pre-approved.

Hope that makes sense, now?

CliveOfIndia

OK, I think I see what you're saying.  Yes, marketing companies will often do a soft search to see whether there's a chance you might be eligible for a particular lender's product.  The CRAs themselves do it.  And yes, very often they'll get a commission or payment of some kind if a customer clicks through their link, makes an application and is accepted.

But irrespective of that, the lender themselves won't know that a soft search has been performed (they might infer it from that the fact you've applied via a referral link).  But that makes no difference at all - when you submit a full application, they'll perform a hard search and make their own decision.  That's one reason why a very common theme on these boards is "The eligibility checker said I'd be accepted, but I ended up being declined".  By its very nature, a soft search can, at best, only give a very rough estimation of whether you might be accepted.