Applying for Loan - 3-4 Credit Searches in 1 month - bad for credit rating?

somabc

I have a question about how loan applications show up on your credit file? I have being trying to get a loan, so have applied to several companies but i often find that the loan they offer in the end is not as good as you would expect (probably due to the credit crunch?) ie I apply for a loan at 6% and get offered say 9 or 10%.

I have turned down 2 loans after applying due to what i thought was too high an interest rate.

The question is am I now harming my credit rating. Would 3-4 applications hurt your rating if no loans or only 1 loan was taken out in the end? If so I am finding it very hard to shop around for the best deal.

How long do these searches show on your credit record? Do they drop off after 6 months / a year? Do the searches show if credit was taken out or only that it was applied for as well

Cheers for the Help.

BigCraigJohn

You are harming your credit record but not permanently. The rate you apply for is just typical but it varies depending on the individual, ie age, employment status, assets, credit history etc.

somabc

BigCraigJohn wrote: »

You are harming your credit record but not permanently. The rate you apply for is just typical but it varies depending on the individual, ie age, employment status, assets, credit history etc.

Do you know how long these searches actually show up for? Its not a long time is it, I don't want to mess up my quite good credit rating for the next 3 years!? Anyway I will make no more applications from now on, but I think its perfectly sound to make 4 applications at the same time to different companies then choose the lender with the best terms?

eg If I apply for a 0% credit card in 6 months do you think that would be ok all things being equal.

BigCraigJohn

Not sure how long they show for, think its 12 months, as far as I know credit searches show straight away or shortly after but I guess if you applied for them all on the same day they probably would be ok. I'm no expert on this though just going by personal experience. Probably best to let someone with actual knowledge rather than unsure memory answer this for definate.

jonesMUFCforever

You don't say how much you want to borrow - but IMO 9 or 10% is not a bad rate unless you have an A1 credit history.

somabc

ejones999 wrote: »

You don't say how much you want to borrow - but IMO 9 or 10% is not a bad rate unless you have an A1 credit history.

Fair enough but in the past few years I would expect 5-6% at most, and so would not like to pay double the interest now, but I suppose that's just the way the market is for the foreseeable future.

I think i could borrow the money cheaper by balance transferring it using a 0% or LOB transfer credit card(s). So it looks like i have made 4 loan applications in a week (been accepted for 3 so far, still waiting to hear on 4th) but I will not accept any of their offers. Will this show up differently on my credit file, ie credit search, no account opened. Perhaps I could put a note to say I was comparing loan APR but did not go ahead with any applications?