Credit Inquiries from other lenders can lower Credit Score?

Question

I have 4 total credit inquiries on my credit report; is this too much?

Answer 1

Yes. Too many inquiries can hurt you.

Answer 2

After having to go through a bankruptcy I had to learn a little about how your credit score is determined.

Too many applications for credit will hurt your rating, to many unsecured lines of credit (to many credit cards) will also hurt your credit score, and yes CREDIT INQUIREIES FROM OTHER LENDERS WILL HURT YOUR CREDIT SCORE. The idea is that if you are trying to expand your credit then you may be overextended. Or if you expand your credit they you could get overextended.

But, all of this gets better with time. Credit card companies are interested in your habits and your long-term use of your credit so 6 months to a year after all these credit inquires rise they will be less important. To build your credit ratings you need to make sure the credit card companies know the good parts of your credit history. If you make a regular rental home, apartment or mortgage payment that is a good long-term pattern you have established, especially if you haven’t missed any of these payments. Car payments are equally good, but a lease contract can be canceled too easily so it is not as important to your credit rating. Rental contracts don’t work well, nor do utility payments, but if you miss a utility payment then it can show up on your credit report. Usually though the utility companies won’t report a single missed payment, but if you miss three or more payments than you can be sure it will be reported. To avoid that contact your creditors if you have problems making the payments. Your creditors and utility companies want to get paid so they should be willing to work with you to get their money.

The idea is what are your long-term habits. If you build a good payment record then you build a good credit rating. When you pay a mortgage or rent your home you sign a contract with a long-term commitment. That is what the credit card reporting agencies are looking for. You can’t just pick up and move. However, you can just pick up and change your utilities, and if you rent or lease something then you give it back at the end of the rental period or cancel the lease. These are short-term commitments so they don’t help your credit rating. If you use a rent-to-own program you sign a long-term contract, which can be an indicator of your long-term habits. Buying large furniture can be treated the same way. You can report these types of payments to the reporting agencies yourself. If you include the company’s contact information, and a copy of the contract with the company that you are paying off then it can be helpful.

You can stop so many credit inquires with the Credit Company Opt in or Opt out program call: 1-888-567-888 (no I am not missing the last digit). This lasts for 5 years and you can opt in again at anytime. If a bank or a credit card company are making these credit inquires then you will have to call them and ask them to stop.

You can get a free credit report form the credit agencies once a year. Credit reports are available for $8 each from each of the three credit reporting bureaus.
Equifax: 1-800-685-1111
Experian: 1-888-397-3742
TransUnion: 1-800-916-8800

If you join a credit check service you usually end up paying, as much as if you ordered your own credit report every quarter so they are not a good deal. If there are any errors or omissions on your credit rating then you can inform the credit companies and get those errors fixed.

Answer 3

Yes and no. It depends on what the inquiries are for. It will hurt you if these inquries are for credit cards, stuff like that, however, if you are shopping mortgages to purchase a home, all inquiries within a certain time frame are counted as one inquiry (I think they allow you 7-10 days to shop mortgages)

Answer 4

A company or car dealership that looks at you credit can hurt you, but 4 is not that much. Also, if you have one company look at your credit, (say it's your bank, and theyre researching whether to give you a loan for a house.) if they look it up again within ten days, (say to research giving you a loan for a car), there is no penalty. If you go to one ca dealership after another, they are all looking, and not alot of people know this, but they are asking up to 20 banks at a time to finance you, and that means 20 hits on your credit record. You have to be very careful.

Answer 5

Yes four is too many but ONLY if you check it more than once a year. Your credit score is not effected when you look at it once a year. After that it starts effecting your credit score but not significantly.

Answer 6

Yes.

Answer 7

yeah.. i always wonder how thats right.. how just looking at something can hurt you.. (i bet a chick thought that one up!)