How to Remove Credit Inquiries

You applied for a loan and found out that it was not approved. You are informed that your credit profile does not meet the underwriting guidelines but you can get a copy of your credit report if you want to dispute the inquiries you have with the business credit bureaus. When this happens, you will want to do whatever possible to remove the authorized inquires from credit reports to increase your credit score. Today we will discuss how to remove credit inquiries from your credit report.

What Is an Inquiry?

An inquiry is a document record that has the details of who has reviewed your credit report. Whenever anyone reviews your credit report, it is shows up on your inquiry and is on your credit report for two years, unless the inquire is disputed and removed.

A credit profile has two different types of inquires; hard inquires and soft inquires. You can learn how to remove authorized inquiries from credit report for either.

Hard Inquiries

A hard inquiry is a credit request that you initiate yourself such as submitting an application for approval. It is called a hard inquiry because it is derived from the hard data used by a creditor. A hard inquiry negatively impacts credit scores and lending decisions so if this shows up on your credit report, you should learn how to remove it.

When the creditor pulls up your credit report and sees a hard inquiry, it is a red flag. The creditor presumes that the inquiries will lead to an increase in your debt. Lenders get extremely concerned when they see a hard inquiry because it says that have been overspending and making late payments.

Each time you submit an application to a bank results in a request to view your credit. Hard pulls are really impactful when your credit report shows an excessive amount. This is the biggest reason to why you need to learn how to remove authorized inquires from credit reports.

A hard inquiry reduces a credit score by 5 points. If there are three hard inquiries or more, this indicates the credit applicant could be in financial trouble.

Soft Inquiries

When you request to view your own credit report, soft inquiries requests are not visible to anyone and do not affect your credit score. They are also known as soft pulls. Soft inquiries include employer credit check or credit reviews done by existing creditors.

How to Dispute

You have the right to dispute any kind of inquire on your credit report. When you are disputing, a credit bureau or creditor verifies your authorization, or they remove the inquiry. Creditors have certain time fames to follow and when they fail your dispute is deleted by their inability to meet a preset deadline.

If you cannot remember requesting credit from a company that appears as an inquiry on your credit report, send a letter of dispute because the burden of proof is on the creditor or the bureaus. There are times when a company makes a hard inquiry without your authorization. If this happens, you need to proactively dispute the validity of the hard inquiry.

Alternative Ways to Remove Inquiries

Find the company’s address and send a dispute letter to remove the inquiry. It is best you send this letter by certified mail, so you have proof of delivery. Below are other tips to helm you remove inquiries from credit reports.

  • The best time to dispute a hard inquiry is between November through January.
  • Remember to contact each credit bureau independently.
  • Only dispute creditors you have no relationship with and dispute it as a fraud. For the incorrect inquiries that you do have relationships with you must contact directly.
  • If you have an Experian hard inquiry, call them to report your discovery and ask them to remove duplicate inquiries that are over two years old.

The Bottom Line

Credit scores affect lending decisions. Be sure to remove any inquiries on your credit report that you believe are a mistake as quickly as possible. Lenders are more likely to give you funds if you have a good credit score and no hard inquiries on your credit report.