I cannot stress how important it is that you do not give permission to be credit searched until you are comfortable with the product recommendation made to you. A mortgage consultant should be able to give you an indication of your borrowing capability based on the information you provide, therefore it's very important you ensure that the information you give them is true and correct and that no relevant information has been withheld.
If you are credit searched too often this will have an adverse effect on your credit score. If you feel that you are unsure of the content of your credit file or credit rating, you are perfectly entitled to undertake your own personal search - Experian and Equifax are recognised providers. The good thing is that if you credit search yourself, you are not putting a footprint onto your credit file. However, if other organisations carry out a credit search to check your rating it will leave a record on your credit file. For example, if you approach a number of lending institutions and permit several credit searches to be carried out, all of these searches will be ‘logged', with the name of the organisation, date and time of the credit search entered onto your credit file.
Applying for your own credit search is a great choice as not only will it not have a negative impact on your credit rating, it also gives you an opportunity to discuss any concerns that arise from the credit search with a financial consultant before approaching possible lenders.
Do you think you have been credit searched too often? Were you credit searched without your knowledge? Let us know your experiences...