Credit Inquiries

A credit score is a funny thing. It is very sensitive to little bumps in the road, which is worrying business for many people. After all, your credit score is your lifeline in a sense. It determines whether or not you can get the credit you need to buy a house, buy a car, get a loan, get a credit card, or in some cases, even get a job or get insurance. There are a lot of ways your credit score can take a hit that you might not even realize. Credit inquiries are a big one of these. Credit inquiries can lower your credit score and send out a bad signal to lenders. The bad news is that most people don’t realize this and end up hurting their credit score without meaning to. Getting the facts about credit inquiries can help you keep that score high, which saves you big money in the long run.

Credit inquiries are checks made on your credit report. Some of these checks come from companies that you have authorized to check your reports, like when you are applying for a loan or for a new credit card. Other credit inquiries are made by companies who want to see if you are right for their product or potential employers. These credit inquiries that you do not authorize are the reason for all of those credit card solicitations that you get in the mail.

The credit inquiries that affect your credit scores are only the ones that are authorized by you. If you have allowed the credit inquiry, then it may affect your score. The other ones done without your say so are not factored into your score. With the credit inquires you do request, you should be careful about the timing and number of them. A big flurry of credit inquiries raises a huge red flag for lenders. There are special circumstances for mortgage credit inquiries – if you sign a loan within 30 days of a rash of mortgage credit inquiries, then these will not affect your score.

Getting credit inquires removed can be difficult, or next to impossible. You can write a letter to remove credit inquires from your credit report to the credit reporting bureaus. If you want to opt out from receiving unsolicited credit offers, you might have to contact the company directly. DirectTV credit inquiry complaints, for instance, should be directed towards them.