Adding to this, when a credit report holder has many inquiries, he or she suffers a blow in his or her credit score. Some of these inquiries may be the normal process when you are seeking credit, such as when you are applying for loans or credit cards, while others may be due to unscrupulous lenders pulling credit reports on your behalf without your knowledge. No matter the cause of the said inquiries, you might be interested in knowing how to go about having the particular inquiries expunged from your credit report. But the good news is that it is feasible in many situations if certain procedures are followed.
Inquiries that are reported as ‘hard’ contribute but a small score to your overall credit score. While having one or two are usually acceptable, having many can be seen by lenders as a sign of desperation for new accounts. This makes you look less safe on paper. It is also a way to cut through all the unnecessary or unrelated inquiries that persist on your credit report over the years, which seems to give a clearer picture to future lenders.
Further, inquiries can also be deleted which may sometimes slightly help to increase your credit score since you have lesser recent credit checks shown. Simple score increase for 10 or 20 points at least can be translated into more favorable loan conditions and interest rates when you have to borrow money.
This article explains the circumstances under which one can have his/her inquiries deleted from the credit report.
The rules around removing inquiries depend on a few factors: The rules around removing inquiries depend on a few factors:
- Type of Inquiry: When you apply for credit, the lenders may pull hard inquiries, which can remain on your reports for up to two years. Employer inquiries or checks that you carry out usually fall under soft pulls and therefore will not affect your score at all. Sometimes, hard inquiries listed on your credit report were made in error or did not follow the right procedures in recording the details.
- Time Limit: In general, the vast majority of hard inquiries that contribute to credit reporting are considered valid and should not be removed from your report for at least a year. But, you may likely challenge more recent inquiries if, for instance, you have information that they were made opportunistically.
- Reason for Removal: It is necessary to explain why each inquiry must be deleted from the consumer’s file, including denying authorization for the check, or the lender’s lack of a permissible purpose.
If you have determined that a particular inquiry on your credit report should not be there, here are the steps to follow: If you have determined that a particular inquiry on your credit report should not be there, here are the steps to follow:
1. Log in to AnnualCreditReport.com to obtain a copy of your credit report to check all current inquiries. This enables you to look at the date of each and the source as well in case you want to look at them.
2. To ensure that each inquiry you wish to be removed is handled effectively, send dispute letters to the three major credit report agencies: Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. Be sure to describe very clearly why it is not allowed to make the inquiry or why the data provided in it is outdated and does not reflect your credit history accurately.
3. Gather any supporting documents. This may entail documents showing that you did not fill a credit application, documents that prove that your identity was stolen, or records that show that the time allowed to report the matter has exceeded the permitted statistical period.
4. Responsible: Mail the letters and documents through certified mail or, preferably, use the dispute portals of the credit bureaus. This is because it provides a record that shows you tried, creating proof of your efforts on paper.
5. Wait for investigation results. It usually takes the credit bureaus 30 to 45 days to investigate the dispute you made. If such inquiries are deemed to be genuine, they should be deleted from credit file.
6. Confirm that the information was deleted and request further examination if needed. Sometimes, it is not possible to get rid of an inquiry on the first try of dispute if the bureaus deem it appropriate. As for the issues raised in the complaints, I would like to note that you can open additional disputes until the problem is solved.
Having numerous hard credit checks in your credit report can be a prejudicial factor for your credit score. But if those inquiries were done in a wrong way or unlawfully from the business point of view, you can always challenge it. Remember however to do it correctly and have evidence to back up the information that is being given.
In the long run, I will be able to improve my credit score by eliminating those invalid inquiries that will make me stand a better chance when applying for any future credit facilities. It is best to be persistent and specific when disputing each unwanted record with a view of attaining the highest success rate.