Will "monitoring" my credit make my beacon score go down?

Question

I friend recently told me that if I sign up for a credit monitoring service and regularly check my credit reports, my beacon score will go down each time as though a potential creditor were running my report. Is this true? Or do potential creditors know that it is me that is looking at the credit? Basically, if I frequently check my credit through one of these services, will it make my credit worse? Thanks!

Answer 1

Monitoring your own credit report through a credit monitoring service will not cause your credit score to go down. This is considered a "soft" inquiry. Only you and the credit bureau see these type of inquiries. A "soft" inquiry may also include these scenarios:

1. Your credit card company checking your credit to see if you qualify for a credit line increase.
2. Credit card/loan companies checking to see if you might qualify for credit with them. If you qualify, they will send you an application.

Only "hard" credit inquiries will affect your credit score. This is when you actually apply for a credit card or loan. These type of inquiries are seen by a potential lender when you apply for credit.

Answer 2

Paying a monitoring service is really a waste of money. You can monitor your own credit by spreading out your free annual credit reports from each credit bureau -- get one every 4 months.

Unless you've had some kind of identity theft or been exposed to a potential theft, you really don't need to check your credit that frequently.

Remember, a creditor will review your whole credit report and your score is only a small part. If you have a good payment history, your credit should be fine.

Answer 3

I was wondering that too. I have read that monitoring your own credit score does not count against you but if a company does it I'm not sure the credit reporting agencies will be able to tell the difference between a company in business to do this and any other business. I think asking the credit bureau directly would be a good idea. The company trying to sell you the monitoring service would have a conflict of interest in answering that question and I wouldn't trust the response.

Answer 4

NO! The Fair Credit Reporting Act let's you inspect your credit report as often as you like without negatively affectiong your credit score.I really recommend the website listed below. They have an RSS feed and the site is still under developement and adding new relevant information all the time. Even though this is about credit repair, there is something here for everyone!

Answer 5

no. They just look to see who has requested information about your credit or takes out new loans. You can check your credit all you want. Its when other people check out your credit is when it can go down.