What is a credit search
Every time a lender checks credit history from your credit file (i.e. each time you apply for a loan), your credit-file will have a record of this. These records are known as search entries. The search entries do not generally say whether you were approved or denied credit, but they do reveal the name of the lender(s) processing previous applications. lenders automatically impart this information back the credit bureaus and see it as an important tool.

AS you can imagine with this information other lenders can see if you have been applying for many, many loans. The lender dealing with your current application would expect to see a few search entries, but if there are more than, say, 20 in a few months he will be very wary, and may reject your application. (Of course he will be adding one more entry to your credit-file himself in the process!).

There is no fixed limit, and it may well be that lenders who are already aware of your previous attempts will not hold the records of credit search against you, but a large number of searches is never really going to be in your favour.

Limiting credit search entries.
Try to limit search entries by only applying for 1 or 2 loans a month. Write to the credit reference agency if you see duplicate searches for the same loan, these should be removed. They often occur without the "offending" lender being aware of them, and then can cause you problems later. You can write to the credit bureaus to have this removing citing duplicate searches as the reason. All searches should expire after 2 years, so check that they are deleted after this time.

For more on how credit files are viewed by lenders, the Complete UK Credit Repair Guide provides valuable information to help you get credit and improve your credit score. For details about the guide please click here