Clients often ask me about the “inquiry” section on their credit reports. A significant number of consumers don’t know what the inquiry section is or about the different type of inquiries.
 The inquiry section is a listing of all the companies and/or individuals who have asked to see your credit history. There are two types of inquiries:
Hard inquiries are based upon your request for credit, loans, or employment. Creditors and employers request your credit report so they can evaluate your creditworthiness. If a hard inquiry appears on your credit report and you didn’t apply for credit at the time of the inquiry, you have some investigating to do. You might be a victim of identity theft.
Soft inquiries are created when (1) a company requests to see your credit report before sending you a pre-approved offer for credit, (2) you request your credit report, and (3) when your existing creditors review your credit report. You are the only person who can see soft inquiries on your credit report. Soft inquiries do not impact your credit score. You can stop the credit bureaus from giving your information to companies who want to send you pre-approved credit offers by calling (888) 5-OPT-OUT.
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