What is Credit Authorization?
When you submit a loan request through the BG Smart Loans app, you may be asked to authorize a credit check. This authorization allows lending partners to access your credit report and evaluate your creditworthiness to provide you with personalized loan offers.
Types of Credit Inquiries
Soft Credit Inquiries
A soft inquiry (also called a "soft pull") does not affect your credit score. Soft inquiries may be used for:
- Pre-qualification and initial offer matching
- Identity verification
- Background checks for non-credit purposes
BG Smart Loans and its partners may perform soft credit inquiries during the initial matching process to help identify loan options that may be suitable for you without impacting your credit score.
Hard Credit Inquiries
A hard inquiry (also called a "hard pull") may have a small, temporary impact on your credit score. Hard inquiries typically occur when:
- You formally apply for a loan or credit product
- A lender needs to make a final lending decision
- You accept an offer and proceed with the application process
Hard inquiries will always be disclosed to you before they occur. You will have the opportunity to review and consent to any hard credit pull.
Your Consent
By using BG Smart Loans and submitting a loan request, you authorize us and our lending partners to:
- Access your credit report from one or more consumer reporting agencies
- Use your credit information to evaluate your loan request
- Verify your identity and prevent fraud
- Provide you with personalized loan offers based on your credit profile
We do not perform hard credit inquiries without your explicit consent. Before any hard inquiry is made, you will be clearly informed and given the opportunity to proceed or decline.
How Credit Checks Affect Your Score
Multiple hard inquiries for the same type of credit (such as loans) within a short period (typically 14-45 days, depending on the scoring model) are often treated as a single inquiry. This is known as "rate shopping" and is designed to allow consumers to compare offers without significantly impacting their credit scores.
Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
Under the FCRA, you have the right to:
- Know what information is in your credit file
- Request a free copy of your credit report annually from each of the three major bureaus
- Dispute incomplete or inaccurate information
- Have consumer reporting agencies correct or delete inaccurate information
- Know if information in your file has been used against you
- Limit "prescreened" offers of credit
- Seek damages from violators
For more information about your rights under the FCRA, visit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) website at consumerfinance.gov.
Opting Out of Credit Checks
You have the right to decline credit checks at any time. However, please note that if you do not authorize credit checks, lending partners may not be able to provide you with personalized loan offers through the BG Smart Loans platform.
If you wish to opt out of prescreened credit offers, you can:
- Call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688)
- Visit optoutprescreen.com
Protecting Your Information
BG Smart Loans takes the security of your personal and financial information seriously. We use industry-standard encryption and security measures to protect your data during transmission and storage. For more information about how we handle your data, please review our Privacy Policy.
Questions About Credit Authorization
If you have questions about credit authorization or how your credit information is used, please contact us:
Email: support@bgsmartloans.com
Subject line: "Credit Authorization Question"
BG Smart Loans is not a lender and does not make credit decisions. Credit checks are performed by our lending partners when you submit a loan request and authorize such checks. The impact of credit inquiries on your credit score may vary based on your individual credit profile and the credit scoring model used.