How we make decisions and your credit score

We use a soft credit search, also known as a quotation search to take a look at an individual's credit report without leaving any footprints visible to other lenders when they look at your credit report (however, you can still see them). Find out more about the difference between soft and hard credit searches. 

With soft search, we will let you know whether we are likely to approve you for a loan without leaving a mark on your credit score. We only record a (hard credit) search footprint when you complete your application and we execute the loan agreement.

A soft credit check lets loan providers look at your credit report without leaving a footprint visible to other lenders, although you can still see them. It also means the search has no impact on your credit history.

A hard credit check will leave a footprint visible to other lenders and may impact in your credit history.

There could be a number of reasons why you have been declined as each decision is based on your personal circumstances and by reference to a credit reference agency.

The most common reasons for a decline decision are:

• Information from Credit Reference Agencies
• Your credit score
• Our internal policy rules

Yes, if you have been declined you could reapply, but we would advise you find out why you have been declined by contacting the named credit reference agencies before you reapply to avoid being declined again.

Equifax Limited
www.equifax.co.uk
Customer Service centre
PO Box 10036
Leicester
LE3 4FS
0800 014 2955
0333 321 4043

TransUnion (formerly Callcredit)
www.transunion.co.uk
Consumer Services Team
PO Box 491
Leeds
LS3 1WZ
0330 024 7574

A credit score is a tool used by lenders to help determine whether you qualify for credit.

Using the information on your credit report and any additional information you supplied as part of your application, lenders use a mathematical model to calculate a score that represents your credit history. This helps to indicate what kind of borrower you are, and how likely it is that you will manage your repayments. If you make all your repayments on time as per your agreement it may build your credit score and rating.

When you apply to borrow money, we will use a credit score to help make a decision on whether to lend the money or not. When you apply to borrow from us, your score will be based on information from credit reference agencies.

With a good credit history and payment record you're likely to be given a good credit score.

If you've had many credit cards and loans, have missed payments and made lots of lending applications you may get a lower score. A low score may mean you're lent less money, given a higher interest rate or your application is turned down.

We use Equifax and TransUnion (formerly Callcredit) as our reference agencies. Their details are as below:

Equifax Limited
www.equifax.co.uk
Customer Service centre
PO Box 10036
Leicester
LE3 4FS
0800 014 2955
0333 321 4043

TransUnion (formerly Callcredit)
www.transunion.co.uk
Consumer Services Team
PO Box 491
Leeds
LS3 1WZ
0330 024 7574

If you request a quote for Shawbrook loan we do complete what is known as a 'soft' or 'quotation' search. This search helps us check if you’re eligible for one of our products and provide you with a personalised quote. While this search is visible to you on your credit report, it is not visible to other lenders and will not affect your credit score.

Find out more about the difference between soft and hard searches.

If you have searched for a loan on a website such as ClearScore, Totally Money, or many others, they will have looked for suitable offers for you. To do this, they will send your data to us and other lenders to check if you are eligible for one of our products. This enables us, and other lenders that they work with, to provide you with a personalised quote on the relevant website if you are eligible. If you've requested a quote directly from us on our website, we'll also check to see if you're eligible for one of our products and if you are, we'll provide you with a personalised quote.

This is known as a ‘quotation search.’ These searches are only seen by you, not other lenders, and do not affect your credit score. For more information about how your data may be used in this way, we would recommend reviewing the Privacy Policy of any comparison or other financial websites that you use.

If you would like confirmation of which organisation supplied your data to us, please contact us and we would be happy to provide further details.

Speak to us about a new loan

Our team are available:
Monday - Friday: 9am-5.30pm

We're closed at weekends and on public holidays. 

You can speak to our sales team about a new loan by calling us on 0345 600 6260.

To put it simply, Open Banking is a secure way to give providers access to your financial information. They will only access this information once you have given your permission.

It should encourage innovation and improve competition, by making it easier and more straightforward for you to hold multiple accounts and compare or switch financial products.

At Shawbrook, if you apply for a personal loan and we do not have enough information about whether you can afford it, we may ask you for more details about your current financial circumstances to make a decision. To do this in the most efficient way, we can use Open Banking. By teaming up with consents.online they can access your banking transactional data and pass this data back to us once you give them your permission. We can then assess your application with the additional information and give you a final decision, in a way that is quick and easy for both you and us.