Too Many Inquiries: How These Can Pull Your Credit Score Down

Whenever someone requests for a credit report, the person does what is known as an “inquiry”. According to credit experts, making a credit report inquiry only eats up around 10% of the criteria for a credit score adjustment, and some experts say that credit score may go down each time a credit report is requested. Will too many inquiries pull your credit score down? Here's a look at the real score when making credit report inquiries.

When Making Inquiries, Check Your Credit Report With A Fine Comb

According to most credit experts, a lot of people often check out their credit report every month. However, the sad thing is that whenever they check the report, they don't look at the finer details, and usually don't check the report for any errors, or any inconsistencies and flaws in the data entered. While making too much inquires can have a little negative effect on your credit score, missing out on the possible errors and wrong entries can do more damage to your credit standing.

What Are The Two Types Of Credit Report Inquiries?

According to credit experts, there are basically two types of credit report inquiries, the soft and hard inquiries. A soft inquiry takes place when a consumer requests their credit report from a bureau, or when a credit report is requested by an existing creditor who's investigating a dispute. This type of inquiry does not have much of a negative effect on an individual's credit score, sicne it was made at the request of a consumer or established creditor. A hard inquiry though,can considerably lower down a person's credit score. A hard inquiry happens once a credit report request is made by a lender who's considering the new loan, or by another party who has debts or liens to collect from the individual. A hard inquiry also refers to a credit report that's requested by the Internal Reveue Service or the courts.

How Too Many Inquiries Can Damage Your Credit Score

Each time someones looks at your credit report, an inquiry is often noted. However, if a lot of inquiries are made, you could appear to be shopping or looking around for different loans at once. This may also indicate that you've been rejected by a number of creditors, which could make you appear as a poor credit risk. If you wish to shop for a loan, try to do it on a short period of time, because inquiries that are done within only a few days of each other, are usually counted as just one inquiry.

You can also reduce the number of inquiries you make on your credit score, by going to lenders whom you've already done research on, or show an inclination for doing business with you. By dealing with one lender at a time, only a few creditors will access your credit report, and this helps enhance the credibility of your credit report. Always remember to avoid sending a lot of credit applications, because too many inquiries will cause a blemish on your credit history, particularly if one of your loan applications gets rejected.

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Harry Johnson