Will Inquiries Lower Your Credit Score?
What are inquiries?
When you apply for credit the creditor or lender checks your credit report to verify that you qualify for the credit or loan you are applying for. The "inquiry" is then reported to the credit bureaus and shows up on your credit report.
Does this affect your credit rating or score?
Yes, it does. Although only a few points are deducted from your score for each inquiry, having multiple inquiries may drop your score to a lower bracket, forcing a higher interest rate. You may not even qualify for the loan or line of credit at all.
Will requesting your credit report generate an inquiry?
This is a common misconception and is totally false. You should view your report at least once a month. Doing so will not generate any inquiries.
What if you did not authorize an inquiry, can you dispute it?
Yes. If you did not authorize any of the inquiries on your credit report you can and should dispute them. To dispute inquiries obtain your credit report, then make a copy of your credit report, highlighting the inquiries in dispute. Finally, send the copy of your highlighted inquiries along with a letter demanding the inquiries be deleted from your credit report to the credit bureau.
Is it worth it?
The next time you are out shopping and the salesperson asks you, "Would you like to apply for our credit line and receive 15% off your purchase?" Ask yourself, "Is it worth it?"
Scott Brown is a fair credit reporting advocate and the author of his own website Credit Repair, a free information site dedicated to help consumers repair bad credit and optimize their credit reports and credit scores.
MORE RESOURCES:
 AFP | Your Money One Thing You Can Control: Your Credit Score New York Times, United States - Your credit score, however, is something that you have a fair bit of control over, since it reflects your behavior as a borrower. ... Credit Crisis Collapse What Happens Next? Regional financial experts focus on lending; say credit crunch is ... Market news this week for strong stomachs |
 Calgary Herald | Stock markets end week of credit crunch worries Newsday, NY - Credit-crunch worries continued to weigh on US stock markets Friday, but the hemorrhaging evident for most of the week was contained. ... Video: Stocks Fluctuate After Fed Corporate Debt Plan Easy credit and financial crisis Overseeing Finance's New Era |
 Voice of America | Global leaders seek answer to credit crisis San Francisco Chronicle, USA - At the same time, loan markets everywhere remained broken, especially the critical wholesale credit markets, in which financial institutions lend each other ... Video: Bernanke: More Economic Pain Ahead TREASURIES-Surge in Europe as shares skid on credit woes Stocks down despite government moves to free up credit |
 The Associated Press | US will work with partners on credit crisis: Bush CBC.ca, Canada - It was the 21st time in 26 days that the president has spoken publicly about the credit crisis gripping financial markets and dragging down stock markets. ... Meeting G7, Bush Vows World Economic Fix |
 New York Times | Lehman Credit-Default Swap Payout Could Climb as High as $365 Billion Washington Post, United States - By Heather Landy NEW YORK, Oct. 10 -- In what may shape up to be the most expensive payout ever in the credit-default swap market, sellers of insurance ... STOP FINANCIAL WMD'S: Credit Default Swaps Insurance on Lehman Debt Is the Industry’s Next Test Lehman Credit-Swap Auction Sets Payout of 91.38 Cents (Update1) |
Fears Grow That Tight Credit Could Crush GM, Ford NPR - Standard & Poor's downgraded the credit of both companies and their financing arms this week. AFP/Getty Images Ford F-150 trucks sit at a dealership in ... Video: Money Minute: GM, GE, Oil GM, Ford too big to fail? CREDIT WATCH HITS GM, FORD |
 BBC News | IMF endorses G7 plan to fight global credit crisis CTV.ca, Canada - The International Monetary Fund is backing a plan by Canada and the other G7 countries to fight the worldwide credit crisis, which continues to play havoc ... Video: IMF: Timing right for G7 Credit CRISIS ALERT Press demands some G7 credit crunch punch |
 Boston Globe | Transcript: President Bush's Radio Address FOXNews - The Fed has joined with central banks around the world to coordinate a cut in interest rates — a step that should help free up credit. ... Text of Bush's remarks Friday on the economy Comprehensive strategy to tame crisis: Bush Bush says financial rescue plan big enough to work |
DTCC Addresses Misconceptions About the Credit Default Swap Market MarketWatch - Since that time, the vast majority of credit default swaps traded have been registered in the Warehouse. In addition, all of the major global credit default ... |
 Dividend.com | CME Group Details On Future Credit Default Swaps Market istockAnalyst.com (press release), OR - ... owned in the past (we just rebought CME Friday morning) are positioning for a piece of the very huge (and very troublesome) credit default swaps market. ... Credit swaps dragged out of shadows State Controller Chiang to Treasury Secretary Paulson ... Financials Got You Down? CME Pitches Credit-Default Swaps the ... |
Credit - Google News
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