Are You Checking Your Creditworthiness in Several Banks at Once? You've Just Harmed Yourself.

You think you are comparing offers. The bank thinks you are running from door to door because nobody wants you. Every inquiry about creditworthiness leaves a permanent trace in BIK. And this trace works against you — before you even submit an application.

What is a credit inquiry and why does it stay in BIK?

When a bank checks your history in the Credit Information Bureau (BIK), it leaves a so-called credit inquiry. This is a record that someone — a bank, a leasing company, a loan institution — has requested insight into your profile. One inquiry? No problem. But five inquiries within a month? For the banking system, it's an alarm signal. An analyst doesn't see a person who reasonably compares offers. They see someone who is desperately looking for financing — and who has already been rejected by four other banks. Even if that's not the case, the system assumes exactly that.

Do credit inquiries lower your score? Yes — and more than you think.

BIK calculates your score — a point-based assessment of creditworthiness — based on dozens of factors. One of them is the number and frequency of credit inquiries. The more inquiries in a short period, the lower the score. The lower the score, the worse the offer — a higher margin, a lower loan amount, or rejection. It's a vicious circle. You are looking for the best offer, but you are excluding yourself from it. The next bank you go to will see the entire history of your inquiries. A rejection at PKO BP doesn't have to mean the end of the road — but if that rejection happened after a series of inquiries in different banks, your score in ING or mBank is already lower too.

How to remove credit inquiries from BIK?

You cannot remove them if you have consented to their processing. The only real way is to file a complaint — if the inquiry was entered incorrectly, without your consent, or by an institution's mistake. In such a case, BIK is obliged to remove them. Practical conclusion: instead of looking for how to remove inquiries after the fact — it's better not to allow an excess of them. And that requires knowing which bank to ask and doing it only once.

Allegro Pay, PayPo and "buy now, pay later" — a trap you don't see

A mortgage and installments in a shop — seemingly nothing in common. In reality, every "buy now, pay later" on Allegro, Zalando, or Media Markt is a separate credit agreement entered into BIK. If you have made twenty such purchases within a year — your BIK report looks like the history of someone who lives on credit. Even if you paid them all on time, the bank may conclude that you do not have the financial liquidity to cover current expenses without borrowing. This is one of the most common reasons for a lowered score in people with good earnings who are absolutely convinced that their credit history is perfect.

Scoring is dropping — what else affects it?

Besides credit inquiries, scoring is also lowered by: a large number of active obligations at the same time, approaching the limit on a credit card, a short credit history — paradoxically, the lack of any loans in the past can hurt, because the bank has no data for assessment. The best scores are held by people who have a history — they took loans and repaid them on time, have one or two active agreements, do not approach the limits, and do not make many inquiries at once.

How to do it wisely — one inquiry, the right bank

A good credit advisor does not send your inquiry to five banks at once. They analyze your profile, choose the bank that best fits your situation — and submit one application in the right place. One inquiry. The right bank. A better decision. A rejection in one bank does not mean the end. It means that this bank does not fit your situation. An advisor knows which one fits — and will only ask there.

How to check BIK before submitting an application?

For free once every 6 months on the bik.pl website. You download the report in a few minutes. Check the number of inquiries, repayment history, and if there are any negative entries. Want to know what else the bank checks besides BIK? Read our article about the KRD, ERIF, and Banking Register databases — there lurks what most people don't expect.

Don't shoot in the dark. Check with an advisor before you submit an application. Bad inquiries, a forgotten payday loan, Allegro Pay for the whole account — these are things you can fix. But only if you know about them before submitting an application, and not after rejection. At NaszEkspert.pl, you will find credit experts who will review your situation before you submit anything. Free consultation. Zero obligations.