Does Checking Your Credit Score on Experian affect it in any way?
Having a good credit report and score it is necessary to monitor the information regularly to ensure there is no sign of identity theft. However, the question that may arise is “Will I be checking my credit score and it will be lowered?” This is because many people do not differentiate between a credit check and viewing of credit score or report.
So, the short answer is no – the act of merely getting your Experian credit report or checking your FICO credit score will not decrease it. This is known as soft inquiry and does not decrease your score in any way or form. However, if you apply for new credit and a lender pulls your credit report, which is a ‘hard inquiry’, it may lead to a slight decrease, though temporary.
Soft inquiry refers to an investigation that is not aggressive or intrusive in any way.
A soft inquiry occurs when you, or a potential lender, request your credit report or credit score, but you have not applied for any form of credit. You can make soft inquiries without having to worry because they have no impact on the credit – They simply enable you to view the credit report.
Examples of soft inquiries include:
You can check your credit on authorized sites such as Experian or any other credit bureau. -Businesses and organizations conducting one’s background check -Personalized offers from lenders that are prescreened based on certain criteria -Soft credit checks done by creditors who already have your details in their system
These kinds of questions do not guarantee your approval because they do not influence your credit rating in any way. You can even look at your Experian report as often as you wish without having to worry about authority figures finding out.
What is the definition of Hard Inquiry?
These usually come about when you apply for a new credit such as when you are applying for a new mortgage, car loan, or credit card. These enable the lender to pre-screen your full credit report to establish your creditworthiness in opening a new account.
Raising an issue with excess hard inquiries in a certain period could mean higher credit risk and therefore can be bad for the score. However, credit is not used by most individuals regularly; it is used more frequently during purchases of valuable assets. Such inquiries are most often only tender and end up causing dings that are themselves fleeting. It is thus important to note that your score will most often bounce back in months as long as your credit behavior is appropriate.
On the same note, it is worth understanding why soft inquiries do not impact your score.
When using your Experian credit report, that is, the report details and score at the time only are available. All the information that is input into the program is fixed; you cannot manipulate it or alter the score. Consumers seek protection and lenders realize consumers have to check their credit report regularly and their financial situation. This would deter the public from being financially responsible since they are punished for trying to be knowledgeable about their investments.
But of course, lenders also still must prevent excessive access to your private data security, too. As for identity verification and security measures, Experian and other credit bureaus indeed have very strict procedures and tools in place. So long as you have passed those checks, you can then log in to your account to check your report any time of the day without complications. The best reason for checking your score more often is that it helps in noticing problems early enough and also is good practice on how to manage your money.
A basic understanding of when you should be checking your credit report is also important.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act of the United States provides every person a right to get a credit report from all the major bureaus annually. However, it is not very often, and checking only once per year is not sufficient in the modern threat environment. It is advisable to view it much more often to safeguard the financial state that an individual has.
People should review their credit reports from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion every 2-3 months This way, people maintain constantly updated credit information Whenever people make checks, they should never cause a rating dip This helps the identification of errors or fraud quickly.
You decide before you make any financial decisions and get to check your score before getting pre-qualified rates.
Consider viewing your Experian credit report when you plan to:
-Auto financing is taken out on cars. -Open a credit card or line of credit -Take a mortgage to acquire a home -Look for rental housing -Switch from the current insurer or cell phone service provider.
Maintaining relevancy ensures one is eligible for favorable loans, and also defines areas of strength and/or weakness anywhere economically. It is therefore important to make sure that you take charge of your financial life by conducting a credit check at least three to four times a year.
Effectively Understanding How Credit Score Is Built Over Time
Since there is no harm in checking it and it does not drop the score, it is helpful to check it often to encourage and remind oneself to work towards a better score. Self-monitoring helps track performance because it allows you to track your status in a particular task. Originate, pay all the bills on time, ensure the utilization of credit is less than thirty percent of the total limit, and have any error corrected to see the score rise higher.
Putting some effort into the development of financially responsible behaviors has its rewards as a person is prepared for better credit products with lower interest rates Saving for the long-term benefits of good credits early is always a valuable strategy especially when planning for big purchases
You can also check other ways where you are notified when changes occur to your credit file for free in addition to having an Experian credit score. This comes in handy to supplement the manual check-in so that you are always up to date. Alert options include:
New inquiries or accounts opened Notifications when certain conditions are met Changing scores of particular values above or below set values Some form of fraud is suspected
You may want to set alerts to ensure you get a notification when there are major changes to the Experian credit report. This offers additional protection between your physical check.
The Takeaway
Overseing the Experian credit score and report produces a soft credit check that has no adverse effects on your credit. It is ridiculous to ignore your credit score just to check your views because the views do not drop the score. Indeed, it becomes easier to track problems to correct them and track the change when doing it to increase your score. Scheduling for a visit two to three times per year also provides you with a strong financial standing to make any financial decisions.
The same should be done with Experian updates since the service provides free real-time notifications of all material credit changes to a given credit file until the next manual run. It is helpful to regularly check your credit report – checking your credit report has no negative impact on your score at all – and credit improves with time when people use it responsibly. You can check your Experian credit score daily so long as you have positive habits of managing your finances.
Call now for expert credit repair services: (888) 803-7889
Read More:
Does my credit score go down if I check it on Experian?
Why is my Experian score 100 points lower than TransUnion?
Can Experian see my bank account?
Is it safe to link your bank account to Experian?
