A credit inquiry is basically a notice on your credit report, that shows the attempts you made to apply for some type of new credit. This new credit can be a mortgage, auto loan, or credit card. Whether they are approved or not, credit inquiries show up on your credit report, so that other creditors know if you’ve been trying to secure new lines of credit recently.
If you take the Fico score into consideration, about 10 percent of the score comes from new credit, which includes credit inquiries. Thus, it is important to think before you apply for a credit in order to make sure that you don’t cause unnecessary harm to your credit score.
If your credit report displays the message, “too many credit inquiries”, it means that you have exceeded the limit of credit pulls within a certain time period, and as a result, will lose points on your credit score.
The limit of credit pulls is unknown. It also depends on your overall credit profile and your credit history, but typically, more than 6 pulls on your credit report can be dangerous.
How Long Do Inquiries Stay on My Credit Report?
There are different opinions regarding this issue, but most of the time the credit inquiries remain on your credit report for two years.
It is possible that your credit score may drop because of a series of new credit accounts, as they pose a greater credit risk. But if you have multiple inquiries related to the same type of loan within a 14-45 day period, you will generally see no adverse effect to your credit score, as only one inquiry will be counted.
Do Credit Inquiries Lower My Credit Score?
It is possible for a credit inquiry to lower your credit score. Typically, a single credit inquiry will take less than five points off your credit score, but this can range depending upon the type of inquiry and the overall makeup of your credit profile.
In case you have a limited credit history, a single inquiry may have a greater impact than a consumer with a solid 10-year credit profile.
A greater number of inquiries can be alarming for potential creditors, and could result in a lower credit score. Even if you do have a solid credit score, a large number of inquires could cause a creditor to decline your application.
Not All Inquiries Count Against You
Although by now, you may be scared of a credit inquiry, but don’t worry too much. You can pull your own credit report every now and then, as not all credit inquiries count against you. It won’t also be factored into your score, if you order a credit report online from any of those free credit report sites, because it’s not an application for credit.
It’s simply to check on your score, and doesn’t signal a greater credit risk for the consumer. Same is the case with employee credit pulls and pre-approved credit offers, if the credit pull doesn’t involve new credit, it shouldn’t affect your credit score.
Hard Pull Vs. Soft Pull
A hard pull includes credit inquiries that affect your credit score, which are mostly initiated by the consumer and involve new credit. Whereas a soft pull is harmless, and includes credit reports that you pull yourself, or those pulled by an employer.
I used the above stated website a while ago to remove inquiries off of my credit report. Then my FICO score went up. It was also only $15 to remove them. I guess they also do late comment / delinquency removal too. I recommend them.
I also found a non profit that had lawyer style credit dispute letters. BestCreditRepairLetters.com is a site ran by volunteer credit repair experts that offers credit dispute letters for credit inquires, late comments, collections, charge-offs, etc. They have examples on the website that show their letters work.