Credit Score Basics > Don't recognise a soft check on your credit report?

Don't recognise a soft check on your credit report?

If you don't recognise a soft check on your credit report, don't panic—it's unlikely you're the victim of identity fraud, and it's more likely that a service you already use is trying to sell you a new product.

Why do I see a soft search from a company I’m already a customer of?

If you are a customer of a bank, a credit card provider, or even a utility company, chances are that their marketing team sometimes checks your eligibility for their new products.

Some banks, however, offer a credit report check service if you have a credit card.

For example, Tesco Bank offers a service called Tesco Bank CreditView as part of its Foundation Credit Card package and might occasionally check your TransUnion credit report and score. If you log into your Tesco Bank account, you should see your TransUnion score there.

What if I see a soft search from a company I don't expect?

If you see a soft search from a company you didn’t expect, there might be several reasons.

First, the check might come from your bank, but they might use a third-party service. Barclays, for example, uses a third-party service to check your eligibility for new products.

It's also possible that the company you don't recognise is your bank or credit card provider, but it trades under a different name than the one it's legally registered with.

For example, 118118 Money, a provider of credit cards for people with very poor credit scores, is actually legally registered with Companies House as "Madison CF UK Ltd." 118118 Money is just its "marketing" name.

Second, some credit card providers that refused you in the past might regularly check your eligibility to see if things have changed. 1118118 Money, for example, runs these periodic checks on people who previously applied for its card but were rejected at the time.

Third, when you sign up for any credit checking service like Credit Karma or ClearScore, part of the terms you agree to is that they can check your eligibility for their partners' products. That's how they can offer you the credit score service for free. Credit Karma, for example, checks your score weekly – but it might show up in your app as coming from their partner.

This also happens when you sign up to other eligibility checkers or price comparison websites, such as MoneySuperMarket and CompareTheMarket. When you accept their terms and conditions, you usually agree to a soft search. Check your email – maybe you signed up to one of them in the past and forgot.

Is someone trying to steal my identity?

The least common reason you might see a soft search you don't recognise is identity fraud.

But don't panic just yet—most fraudsters simply apply for loans in your name if they can without bothering to check your eligibility.

Still, you can do a few things to set your mind at ease:

• Contact the lender or company you see in your credit report. This is the best solution, as they are the only ones who can fix errors or fraud.
• Google the company you see in the soft search. It could be trading under a different name.
• Contact the credit checking services or price comparison sites you signed up for. Most of the time, a service like Credit Karma soft-checks your report, not the banks or credit card companies.
• If the bank and Credit Karma deny checking your eligibility for new products, a fraudster might have tried to steal your identity.
• In this case, you should report it to Action Fraud, a branch of the UK Police that deals with identity fraud and cybercrime.
• You can also take out Protective Registration with CIFAS. It costs £30 and protects your report from fraudulent access for two years.

Again, this is highly unlikely, but this is why you should regularly check your credit report to spot and correct anything you don't recognise.

What if I see an "associate link" search?

Sometimes, you may see an "associate link" search on your credit report. This is because someone you're financially linked to (like your spouse) might have made a loan application.

The lender may also search your credit file as part of their application in these situations. Don't worry, though – an associate link search counts as a soft check and has no impact on your credit score.

If you don't know who you're financially linked with, it's only the people you have a joint account or loan with. Usually that's your spouse but of course not always.

You can check who you are financially linked to in your credit report's "Financial Connections" section.

If you don't recognise the person you're financially linked to, raise a dispute with the credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) so they can remove the link.

Can these soft checks carried out by someone else hurt my credit score?

No. A soft check just verifies your identity and is only visible to you. Soft checks have zero impact on your credit score, and lenders can't see them when reviewing your credit report.

The only searches you should really pay attention to are hard searches. These can hurt your credit score (especially if you have more than two in six months).

A hard search you don't recognise is also much more likely to be the result of fraud.

That's because unlike with soft checks, a hard check requires your permission. A lender, bank, credit card provider, etc., can only run a hard check if you say they can.

So if you see a hard check, you don't recognise, act fast:

• Contact the company you see in the report as soon as possible so they know you did not approve the check. They can remove it if it's fraudulent.
• Get CIFAS protection as soon as possible.
• Lock your Experian credit report if you have an Experian premium account (so you don't get other unexpected hard checks).
• And report the identity fraud attempt to Action Fraud police.

In short, 99.99% of the time, when you see a soft search on your credit report, even one you don't recognise, there is nothing to worry about. Soft searches are usually not the result of fraud; they don't hurt your credit score and are not visible to anyone else.

• Credit Report
• Credit Reference Agencies