A positive personal credit report is crucial when trying to gain access to new opportunities such as loans, credit lines, and rentals that can improve your current situation. Therefore, it’s imperative that it remains in good standing and accurate. However, sometimes our credit report can include inquiries for credit, which can be damaging to a credit score.
Many of us don’t know how to improve our credit scores on our own. To do this, you need to know if a credit card company can remove a charge-off and how you get judgments off your credit report. If you find yourself needing to work on your credit situation, it’s worth seeking the best credit-fixing service to help you with your financial issues.
What Is a Credit Report?
A credit report is a statement of your financial standing. It includes the status of credit accounts, payment history, credit inquiries, and public records, such as bankruptcies and taxes. They are maintained by credit bureaus, which are private companies that gather information about consumer credit and payment behavior.
The three major credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. They compile credit reports by collecting information from banks, credit card companies, landlords, and other creditors. Credit reports are used by lenders and other financial institutions to determine the likelihood that you’ll repay your debts.
What Is a Credit Inquiry?
A credit inquiry occurs when someone requests to view your credit report. There are two types of credit inquiries: hard inquiries and soft inquiries.
Hard Inquiries
These occur when you apply for credit and the lender checks your credit report. Hard inquiries can lower your credit score because they indicate that you are actively seeking credit and may be taking on more debt, which suggests to lenders that you are a potential borrowing risk. Hard inquiries remain on your credit report for up to two years.
Soft Inquiries
On the other hand, soft inquiries occur when someone other than a lender requests your credit report. This could include potential employers or landlords. Soft inquiries don’t affect your credit score because they suggest that you’re not actively seeking credit. Soft inquiries remain on your credit report for up to one year.
Removing an Inquiry From Your Credit Report
While hard inquiries can cause your credit score to drop, soft inquiries do not. However, if a credit inquiry (either hard or soft) is inaccurate or fraudulent, there are steps you can take to dispute it and potentially have it removed from your credit report.
The ways to do this are:
File a Dispute With the Credit Bureau
If you believe an inquiry was made without your permission or done incorrectly, you can write a letter to the credit bureau explaining this. The bureau is required to investigate the dispute and, if deemed correct, remove the inquiry from your credit report.
Contact the Creditor
If the inquiry was a hard inquiry made by a lender, you could contact the creditor and ask them to remove it. This might be possible if you didn’t authorize the inquiry or applied for credit but didn’t end up accepting it.
Use a Credit Monitoring Service
Credit monitoring services alert you to a new inquiry soon after it appears, giving you the opportunity to dispute it immediately. By dealing with the inquiry early on, you may be able to get it removed from your credit report more easily.
Wait Until It Is Removed
Hard inquiries will remain on your credit report for up to two years, while soft inquiries only last for one year. If there’s no dispute or inaccuracy involved, your only option may be to wait until the inquiry runs its course and is removed automatically.
Wrapping Up
Credit inquiries, both hard and soft, can have an impact on your credit report and score. While you can’t always prevent inquiries from showing up, there are options available to you to dispute inaccurate or fraudulent inquiries. By following the above steps to get inquiries removed, you can keep your credit report positive and accurate!