Too Many Inquiries: How These Can Pull Your Credit Score Down

Whenever someone requests for a credit report - the person does what is known as an “inquiry”. According to credit experts - making a credit report inquiry only eats up around 10% of the criteria for a credit score adjustment - and some experts say that credit score may go down each time a credit report is requested. Will too many inquiries pull your credit score down? Here's a look at the real score when making credit report inquiries.

When Making Inquiries - Check Your Credit Report With A Fine Comb

According to most credit experts - a lot of people often check out their credit report every month. However - the sad thing is that whenever they check the report - they don't look at the finer details - and usually don't check the report for any errors - or any inconsistencies and flaws in the data entered. While making too much inquires can have a little negative effect on your credit score - missing out on the possible errors and wrong entries can do more damage to your credit standing.

What Are The Two Types Of Credit Report Inquiries?

According to credit experts - there are basically two types of credit report inquiries - the soft and hard inquiries. A soft inquiry takes place when a consumer requests their credit report from a bureau - or when a credit report is requested by an existing creditor who's investigating a dispute. This type of inquiry does not have much of a negative effect on an individual's credit score - sicne it was made at the request of a consumer or established creditor. A hard inquiry though,can considerably lower down a person's credit score. A hard inquiry happens once a credit report request is made by a lender who's considering the new loan - or by another party who has debts or liens to collect from the individual. A hard inquiry also refers to a credit report that's requested by the Internal Reveue Service or the courts.

How Too Many Inquiries Can Damage Your Credit Score

Each time someones looks at your credit report - an inquiry is often noted. However - if a lot of inquiries are made - you could appear to be shopping or looking around for different loans at once. This may also indicate that you've been rejected by a number of creditors - which could make you appear as a poor credit risk. If you wish to shop for a loan - try to do it on a short period of time - because inquiries that are done within only a few days of each other - are usually counted as just one inquiry.

You can also reduce the number of inquiries you make on your credit score - by going to lenders whom you've already done research on - or show an inclination for doing business with you. By dealing with one lender at a time - only a few creditors will access your credit report - and this helps enhance the credibility of your credit report. Always remember to avoid sending a lot of credit applications - because too many inquiries will cause a blemish on your credit history - particularly if one of your loan applications gets rejected.