Hard or soft credit check on phone upgrade

[sarahamy14]

Hi 

I have been with three for 10 or 15 years and always upgrade my phone after a two year contract. I did this a couple of weeks ago to get a new phone and 24 month data package. I didn't really think about credit check implementation at the time, but I am currently in the final stages of house purchasing and am suddenly concerned about the impact that a hard credit search may have on my credit score. Can someone confirm whether a hard search a soft search or no search will have been carried out when I upgraded. I read somewhere that the new way that contracts are done means you get the phone on a 0% loan and this is concerning me. Thanks 

[sc1999]

3 have caught up with O2 and now separate the phone and airtime elements of the contract. This means that when you have paid for the phone your monthly bill is reduced to just the airtime so that you do not continue to pay for the phone you already own. There will be a hard credit check as you will be entering into an interest free loan.