Price comparison websites and credit rating.

[lukefreeman]

Hi all,

My car insurance is up for renewal, and before scouring the internet price comparison websites I have question.

A very good friend of mine was recently refused a mortgage, and he said the reason was because he had a lot of price comparison website checks in his name.

Is this true? Using a price comparison website affects my credit rating?

[grumbas]

Yes and no, pretty much all insurers now use credit file data to check the identity of applicants, and some use a credit score too.

But they only leave a 'soft' footprint - the search is recorded but it isn't logged as an application for credit or anything like that.

So pretty much everyone that uses comparison sites will be in the same boat here, I guess the exception might be if you're on there every week fantasy shopping and getting a lot of searches recorded.

Lenders will have to get used to seeing the searches though as it's the way the insurance industry is moving.