But if you're applying for, and repeatedly being rejected for, extension of credit by third parties that is absolutely something a pre-existing lender would rea

But if you're applying for, and repeatedly being rejected for, extension of credit by third parties that is absolutely something a pre-existing lender would reasonably consider when thinking about risk. You have to understand that there is a no "credit denied" feedback into the credit rating system. The standard pattern for an approved credit application is a hard-pull followed by the opening of a new tradeline, both of which affect your score. If you're applying for credit, but not being approved, then that just shows up as a hard-pull with no new line. The FICO score is also set up specifically to ignore additional hard-pulls for the same type of credit within a bounded period; so if you go shopping for a mortgage (or an auto loan, or a student loan), then multiple queries within a 30 day period are coalesced, and only count once from a scoring perspective.