Will you lend to me if I've got lots of credit enquiries on my file?

How did I end up with so many enquiries?

Usually the same way everyone does: with the best of intentions.

You needed money. You filled in a form on one site, then another. Perhaps a comparison site or lead-selling website passed your details to several lenders at once. Maybe your bank said no and you tried three more. Each formal application can put a credit enquiry on your file — and suddenly, a month later, there are eight of them.

It’s one of the most common situations we hear about, and it’s fixable.

Why do lenders care?

A credit enquiry shows that a lender looked at your file because you applied for credit. On its own, one enquiry means nothing. But a cluster raises two questions:

1. Did other lenders say no? If you applied at six places, why are you still looking?
2. Are you taking on several debts? If some of those applications were approved, you may have commitments the lender doesn’t know about yet.

The OAIC says credit enquiries stay on your credit report for five years. The ones that worry lenders most are the recent, bunched-up ones.

Pattern	How it tends to read
A few enquiries spread over years	Normal borrowing life
Several enquiries in one week for the same need	Shopping around — explainable
Many enquiries over months, different lenders	Repeated declines, or stacking debts
Enquiries followed by new accounts	New commitments to account for

Can I still get a business loan?

Usually, yes. Enquiries rarely decide an outcome by themselves. What matters is the whole picture.

Property-secured business loans ($20,000 to $5,000,000) — first mortgages, second mortgages and caveat loans over residential or commercial property — lean on equity and a repayment plan. Enquiries are a detail here, not a deal-breaker.

Unsecured, cash-flow and line-of-credit options (typically $5,000 to $500,000) are sized on turnover and bank statements. Some unsecured lenders are more sensitive to recent enquiries than others. Knowing which ones is part of what a real person matching your file is for.

Stop the applications for a moment. Tell us your situation instead — enquiring doesn’t add a credit check.

What should I do now?

1. Stop applying. Every new application can add another listing.
2. Get your credit report. It’s free once every three months from Equifax and Experian. See exactly what’s there.
3. Check for mistakes. An enquiry you never made can be corrected.
4. Write down what happened. “I needed $40,000 for equipment and applied through a comparison site that sent my details to five lenders” is perfectly understandable. Our guide on explaining your situation to a lender helps with wording.
5. Disclose any new debts. If an application was approved, tell the next lender. Our page on already having loans explains how those are weighed.

An illustrative example

Illustrative only — not a real business.

A removalist needs $35,000 to replace a truck’s gearbox. Over three weeks he applies with his bank and four online lenders, and a comparison site sends his details to three more. He ends up with eight enquiries and no loan.

• His bank declined because his tax return was late. Two online lenders declined because of the enquiries. One offered a loan he didn’t take up.
• He stops, checks his credit report and writes a three-line explanation.
• One real person reviews his statements, confirms no new debts were taken on, and matches him to a lender that looks at trading performance first.

How does Lend To Me avoid adding to the pile?

Two ways. First, there’s no credit check when you first enquire. We talk through your situation, and a credit check only comes up when you decide to go ahead with a specific option. Second, we don’t spray your details across a crowd of lenders. One person works on your enquiry and matches it properly, which is exactly how you avoid collecting more enquiries.

Does using a comparison site add enquiries?

It can, depending on how the site works. Some comparison and lead-selling websites pass your details to several lenders at once, and if those lenders run formal credit checks, each one can leave an enquiry. Others only give you information until you choose to apply.

Before you fill in any form, look for:

• who receives your details — one business, or “our panel of lenders”;
• whether a credit check is run at that stage;
• what you’re consenting to in the fine print.

At Lend To Me, your enquiry isn’t sprayed out to a list of lenders, and there’s no credit check when you first enquire. A real person reads your situation and talks to you before anything formal happens.

If you’ve already used a site that shared your details widely, you may also be getting calls from lenders you’ve never heard of. That’s frustrating, but it doesn’t have to affect your next application if you stop adding to the pile now. Read our page on being declined by the bank if a knock-back started the search, and our situation search for a quick read on your options.

Let’s get you one good answer

Lots of enquiries usually means you’ve been looking hard for a yes. Let’s replace that with one careful look at your file.

No credit check to ask, no blasting your details around, and a real person who calls you. Please be accurate on the form about how you’ve applied recently and whether any new loans came out of it — honest details are what get you to the right lender without adding another enquiry you didn’t need. Start here.