Credit card rate tarts 'should mind their record'
Published on : 07/08/2007
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Regularly switching cards to take advantage of introductory rates and offers could have adverse affects on customers' long term credit history, credit advisory and reference agency Experian has warned.
The firm explained that a customer's credit record is checked every time an application for a new card or account is made and that records of these searches are stored. If the records show a high number of searches by any one person's name, their credit score can suffer as a result.
James Jones, consumer affairs manager for Experian, noted: "Regularly switching cards and making the most of introductory offers might affect your credit record.
"It can make it look like you're desperate for credit, or that someone might be using your details in identity fraud," he warned.
He also advised that consumers should close old accounts once a balance is moved, in order to reduce the number of open accounts they have against their name and subsequently lower the risk of ID fraud.
According to credit information provider checkmyfile.com, 1.6 million UK residents are not registered on the electoral role, one of the primary sources of data used by car lenders to verify personal details of potential borrowers.
