I have a question regarding inquiries to my credit report....see below please?

Question

I just received a new copy of my credit report. I'm noticing "regular inquiries", "promotional inquiries", and "account review" inquiries being made to our credit. How can I get these to stop? Do I have a right to stop them?

Answer 1

Promotional inquiries do not effect your credit score. Regular inquires occur when you apply for credit. Account review inquiries occur when you apply for credit line increases, an account you have is sold to another lender, you request a balance transfer, or have an unpaid account that is in collections (they periodically review your credit to see if it's improved enough that they think you can pay the bill). Now for your second question... can you stop them? Usually. You can visit the 3 credit bureau web sites and tell them you do not want any more promotional offers and those inquiries will stop almost immediately but remember they don't effect your credit score. You can stop the second category by not applying for loans or credit cards. You usually can't stop the third one so long as you have open or unpaid accounts. You can stop all of them immediately if you file a fraud alert with the 3 credit bureaus. You will have to refile it every 90 days to keep it in force. Every inquiry except promotional inquiries drop your credit score 15 points and you don't get the points back for up to 2 years. The only exception is if you apply for a few loans at once (like shopping around for a car loan with the best rate) they will treat a few inquiries as one.

Answer 2

The inquiries that pre-approved offers do are called "soft inquiries", that don't go against your credit. It's mainly used to see if you would meet the basic requirements of their marketing offer. Once you do apply then a formal inquiry is performed to determine what you're credit line and APR will be. Be careful applying for too many of these cards can do a number on your credit score. Each "hard" inquiry can knock off up to 3 points off your score and it takes about 2 years for them to be removed. Another suggestion is to see if a low balance credit card or even secured credit cards are offered where you bank. A secured credit card is the easiest, but it has one major drawback: You have to make a deposit upfront that would equal the credit line. For example, if you deposited $500, then you would get the same amount in credit. This deposit is held anywhere from 6 months to a year depending on how well you pay. If you can establish and maintain a solid credit history, then your deposit is refunded with interest and the card becomes unsecured. A tip to keep control of your credit is to make small purchases that you can pay off completely every month. Use the card in emergencies (such as car repairs, medical emergencies) Also when you're applying, find out what the APR will be, or at least an estimate. A lot of companies use the bait-and-switch tactic to get customers by luring them in with a low or 0% APR, then gouging them later on with astronomical rates. A final piece of advice is to shop around, you're still young and trust me, those cards aren't going anywhere. Make sure that you get the one that will work for you! Good Luck!

Answer 3

You can't stop account review inquiries made by the institutions with which you have open accounts. These are soft inquiries; they do not have any effect on your credit score.

Read your Terms & Conditions pamphlets or call the cc company for a new copy. Look for the dreaded Universal Default clause. Chances are high that a firm, call it A, with which you have a cc, that looks frequently at your credit history is looking for your one mistake with ANY of your creditors so that A can trip your Universal Default clause and jack up your interest rates to the much higher default rates listed in your Terms & Conditions. This clause can be triggered even though you have perfect payment history with A.

You can cut down on the promotional inquiries in two ways.
(1) Opt out of promotional credit offers (see link, below). The 3 credit reporting agencies (CRAs) will stop selling your name to firms that want to offer you credit. As a result, these firms will stop making promotional inquiries to pre-approve you.
(2) Read the privacy policy pamphlets of every institution with which you do business. Look for language and directions concerning stopping their promotional notices to their own customers by all subsidiaries under the corporate name.

Promotional inquiries are soft inquiries; they have no affect on your credit score.

The only inquiries that affect your FICO credit score are those that occur as a result of your applying for credit. They hurt your score a few points each at first, but only temporarily. They lose their ability to hurt your score over time, and they cease to hurt your score after 1 year. Opening a new loan or cc account, getting cell phone service, etc., are cause for a hard inquiry. If you are shopping around for a secured loan (auto, mortgage), FICO has a nice exception for you: if you keep all your applications witin a two-week period (and the resulting hard inquiries), they will all count as exactly one hard inquiry, which does minimal damage to your score.

Other soft inquiries that do not affect your FICO score: your own personal inquiries into your account (often for purposes of pulling your credit reports or scores). Permissible purposes, like background checks for purposes of employment or auto insurance worthiness.

All inquiries fall off your credit reports in two years.

More discussion in the links below.

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Answer 4

OK: There are essentially 4 types that will show on your reports. Only one of them could have a negative effect on your score.
One type of inqiury is called "permissible purpose" inquiries. They are usually employers and life insurance companies that you have given permission by solely being involved or asking for some consideration of acceptance. These do not impact your score.
Two, there are Promotional Inquires which are simpley companies that view your credit to "pre-qualify" you for some type of product or account, like credit card companies. You can "Opt-Out": at any time by contacting them directly and requesting to opt-out or by calling [phone] and ask to stop receiving prescreen offers of credit from all potential inquirers.
Then, there are inquiries being made on a regular basis by companies you already do business with. These are the "Account Reviews" They will check your credit regularly to ensure whatever creditworthy criteria the required for you to maintain a relationship with them is still intact. Again, these would be like credit card companies you already have cards with. These do not impact your score.

Lastly are the ones that could hurt your scoring. Thes are extensions of credit that required an inquiry that you either initiated or agreed to at some point. like, car shopping our shopping for car insurance. Sometimes collection agencies will inquire as well. These (and all) inquires stay on your report for 2 years. Too many of these inquires lower your score if the take place within short periods of time between each other.

The general rule is 4 per quarter, but no one knows for sure as each of the three credit reporting agencies are privatley owned corporations and don't necessarily report to each other.
Hope this helps.

Answer 5

The majority of those will not be shown to people who pull your credit (such as when you apply for new cards/loans).

You most likely will not be able to stop "account review" inquiries, because they're with companies that you already have accounts with, and your agreement with them probably states that they can periodically check your credit. They do not affect your score. (By law, insurance companies can sometimes see inquiries made by other insurance companies.)

"Regular inquiries" are typically initiated by companies that you make an application with, such as a new loan or card.

"Promotional inquiries" are not seen by anyone but you and do not affect your score. I hear there is a way to stop them, but ultimately it doesn't really matter.

Answer 6

All you have to do is contact whichever credit bureau is allowing the "promotional" inquiries and ask them to stop sharing your name and your credit profile with other companies.
Or you can Opt Out by calling 1.888.567.8688 or using this site: www.optoutprescreen.com
That will take your name off of all the lists.