Skip to main content

How Does An Inquiry Affect Your Credit Score?

By November 19, 2014May 21st, 2020Insurance

Picture

Many people believe that every inquiry affects a credit score however, that is not the case.  Don’t be fooled certain types of inquiries do affect your credit score. To help keep a good score it is important to know what credit inquiries make an impact, and which ones do not.

The most often inquiry that will not affect your credit report is a soft inquiry. These inquires have nothing to do with a consumer’s attempt to get credit, and are not harmful to the report at all. Things like credit checks made by potential employers are examples of soft inquiries.

A hard inquiry is used if a person is attempting to get a loan, and it does have an effect on a person’s credit report. This information can be seen in the future by a bank, or any other lender. Whenever a person applies for a mortgage, car loan or credit card they are considered hard inquiries, or an attempt at a loan. Problems can arise if a person attempts a large amount of hard inquiries in a short amount of time. Lenders may think that the consumer is trying to obtain as much credit as possible.

In order to avoid excessive hard inquiries on your credit report it is a good idea for you to run your own credit report to see where you stand before trying to obtain a credit card or loan. It is also a good idea to wait awhile if you are turned down for a credit card before you attempt again.