Credit Inquiry is the term used by the credit and debt
industry to describe what happens when businesses request copies of your
personal credit history. Certain inquiries can hurt or lower your credit score
while others are harmless!
Businesses, with a permissible purposes, can request a copy of your personal credit history and when they do, these inquiries appear on your credit reports and usually remain there for 1 to 2 years.
|
Soft Credit Report Inquiries
|
Hard Credit Report Inquiries
|
Soft Inquiries are generally called: (Also See Unauthorized Inquiries)
Promotional: Your name and address were provided to a person or creditor who then gave you a firm offer of credit or insurance. Promotional inquiries typically remain on your credit file for 12 months.
Account Monitoring / Review: This is a periodic review of your account by one of your existing creditors. This type of inquiry is usually pre-authorized by you when signing credit contracts. See your credit disclosure statement for more information. Account monitoring or review inquiries generally remain on your file for 12 months.
Employment: These inquiries are the result of your application for employment and DO NOT count against your credit score. They usually remain on in your credit file for 12 months.
Internal Inquiries: These inquiries are the result of your contact with the credit reporting agency. You either requested a copy of your report or requested an investigation into an item being reported. Internal inquiries usually remain on in your credit file for 24 months.
Does shopping around for credit effect my score?
Shopping for auto loans or mortgages within a 14-day period is counted as a single inquiry and has little to no impact on your score. Additionally, the score ignores all mortgage and auto inquiries made in the 30 days prior to releasing your score and most creditors disregard inquiries more than six months old.
Keep in mind that other credit inquiries such as credit cards, personal loans and insurances count separately and DO effect your score! Too many recent inquiries indicate to potential credit grantors that your debt-to-income ratio may be much higher than you claim. A good rule of thumb for these type of inquiries is you lose 5 points per inquiry from your credit score.
Up What about unauthorized Inquiries?
If you discover unauthorized inquiries on one credit report, it's a good bet you'll find other unauthorized inquiries on all your reports. Always check your report with each of the national credit reporting agencies (CRA). Use this link to TrueCredit to request your very own
3-in-1 Credit Report .
If after receiving copies of your credit reports, you discover unauthorized inquires, consider sending a "remove your inquiry letter" to the creditor or business that caused the unauthorized inquiry.
Here is a sample "remove your inquiry letter" to help you get started writing your own letter.If the creditor or business fails to respond to your request to remove their unauthorized inquiry, consider sending a letter to the credit reporting agencies requesting they delete the unauthorized inquiry from your credit file.
Here is a sample remove unauthorized inquiry letter to help you get started writing your own letter.
Rich's Enterprises, L.L.C.,
Prattville, Alabama
Legal Disclaimer
| Sitemap | Privacy Policy |
Search Site