Credit card surfers may be in luck
Historically every time you apply for a loan or credit card in the UK this will leave what is known as the "footprint" on your credit reference and could ultimately impact upon your ability to gain finance in the future. Over the last few years we've seen a number of so-called credit card "surfers" flitting from card to card accepting offers and reduce packages along the way. However, many of these people were unaware that each time their credit rating is referenced this leaves a footprint and can in some cases lead to the rejection of loan applications in the future.
However it is believed that the Nationwide Building Society, Barclaycard and emerging online operation Zopa may well have come to the rescue of credit card surfers in the UK. These three companies are the only ones who carry out an initial "quotation search" which will basically determine the likelihood of a full and traditional application being successful. However, their "quotation search" will not leave a footprint on your credit file and indeed no other vendor will be aware that it has actually taken place.
Your credit reference footprint is vital as we have seen many well-financed individuals turned down purely and simply because their credit reference file shows significant activity between different credit card and loan providers.
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