Loans & your credit history

By Matthew Plant

Nationwide is currently the only lender on the high street to offer what's called a 'soft quote facility'.

For someone who's looking for a loan, this could be very useful - it means they can find out what APR (Annual Percentage Rate) they would be eligible for without having any impact on their credit file.

Nationwide's head of banking - Richard Napier - points out why this is so important, in a press release telling readers about the lender's new market-leading personal loan rate of 6.5% APR representative.

Shopping around for the best rate on a personal loan, he explains, isn't the same as looking for the best rate on a savings account. Someone who picks up multiple personal loan quotes - from multiple providers - within a short time period can find it leaves a mark on their credit history, which can make it harder for them to find a lender willing to lend to them.

"Soft quotes," Mr Napier goes on to say, "are one way around this and Nationwide is leading the way with its own flexible loan search facility. This gives consumers the chance to quickly search for a competitive loan deal with Nationwide without impacting their credit score, which is especially convenient for those searching online."

The press release does stress that when a borrower accepts a quote, a record of Nationwide's check will be left on their credit file (and other lenders will be able to see it). A standard part of 'many credit application processes', this can still affect the borrower's ability to access further credit from other lenders in the near future.

Tags: Nationwide, soft quote, loans, loan, bad credit, credit score, credit report

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