A credit check helps lenders find out about your credit history. You’ll need to provide the lender with information, including your address history and bank details, so they can make the check. This helps them assess whether you’ll be able to make the loan repayments. They can only check if you give them permission.
Soft credit checks – for example, when you’re comparing loans – don’t affect your credit score.
Hard credit checks – for example, when a bank looks at your full credit report when assessing you for a loan – are recorded.
Too many hard credit checks in a short space of time can lower your credit score. This is because it suggests you’ve been turned down for multiple loans or you’re trying to borrow more credit than you can afford from a range of different lenders.