HOW TO REMOVE HARD INQUIRIES FROM YOUR CREDIT REPORT (Guide)

HOW TO REMOVE HARD INQUIRIES FROM YOUR CREDIT REPORT
image source: American express

Even if hard inquiries only slightly lower your credit score, it’s still important to monitor these changes if you’re seeking to establish credit, particularly if they’re mistakes. Errors in credit reporting do occur, and deleting false hard inquiries from your report will help you maintain excellent credit. Hence, to learn how to remove hard inquiries from your credit report within 24 hours and the best inquiry removal from your letter.

How to Remove Hard Inquiries From Your Credit Report

A hard inquiry happens when a potential customer, such as a lender, requests a copy of your credit report. They take this step in order to assess the risk you represent to them as a potential borrower and how you have handled previous debt obligations. When you apply for a new loan or credit card, a hard inquiry takes place. In order to evaluate if you meet the lender’s creditworthiness requirements, the lender will review one or more credit reports. A hard credit check or hard pull is another name for this. There are two key ways that hard inquiries differ from soft ones. First, when you apply for a loan, credit card, or other finance, there are hard inquiries made.

Before they naturally disappear from your credit reports, hard queries are kept on file for two years. You’ll probably have to wait until the 24-month window has passed in order to see any valid hard inquiries disappear. Not every hard inquiry has an effect on credit ratings. As lenders evaluate your credit to decide what terms and rates to offer, you can experience many hard inquiries while rate-shopping for a mortgage or vehicle loan. Credit scoring algorithms will count your loan applications as one inquiry as long as you submit them within a 14-day window (or occasionally for a little bit longer).

Why It’s Important to Remove Inaccurate Hard Inquiries From Your Credit Report

There is nothing you can do to get a hard credit inquiry removed if it appears on your credit report and is valid (i.e., you were aware that you were seeking credit). After a year, it has no effect on your credit score, and after two years, it is removed from your credit report.

But it’s important to get rid of any hard credit inquiries you find that you don’t recognize. This is due to a few factors. First of all, even if the error only has a minor effect, you are still being unfairly penalized. Second, it might be an indication of fraud, thus it’s critical to look into it further and have it taken down.

How Can I Get Inquiries Removed From My Credit Report?

A high credit score is necessary to qualify for loans, credit cards, and even some employment chances. Because of this, it’s crucial to make sure your financial situation is appropriately reflected on your credit report.

#1. Obtain Free Credit Reports Annually

Getting a free credit report from each of the three major credit agencies, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, is the first step towards eliminating queries from your credit record. You are entitled to one free credit report per year from each bureau, which is available at annualcreditreport.com thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

#2. Identify Errors and Inconsistencies

Once you have your credit reports, thoroughly check them over for any mistakes or discrepancies. Look for any inquiries from businesses you don’t recognize or any other potential mistakes. Your credit may have been frozen by your credit card company if you were the victim of identity theft.

#3. Fix Mistakes to Quickly Improve Credit

If you discover any mistakes, fix them right away because they could hurt your credit report. To dispute the inaccuracy and get it removed from your report, get in touch with the creditor or the credit bureau.

#4. Regularly Monitor Your Credit Report

It’s wise to routinely check your credit report to make sure it accurately reflects your financial situation. Every year, you are entitled to a free credit report; however, if you want updates more frequently, you can pay for credit monitoring services.

#5. Understand Credit Score Calculation and Factors Affecting Your Score

You must comprehend how your credit score is determined and the things that influence it if you want to raise it. Your credit score is influenced by a number of variables, including payment history, credit usage, credit history duration, and the sorts of credit accounts you have.

#6. Implement Strategies to Improve Your Credit Score

You may put plans in place to raise your credit score if you are aware of the things that influence it. You can raise your score by, for instance, making on-time bill payments, paying off your credit card debt, and carefully creating new credit accounts.

#7. Consider Credit Counseling and Debt Management Programs

Consider contacting a credit counselor or enrolling in a debt management program if you’re having financial difficulties. These services can assist you in developing a budget, negotiating with creditors, and devising a debt repayment strategy.

#8. Learn How Long Hard Credit Inquiries Stay on Your Credit Report

For up to two years, hard inquiries are recorded on your credit report. They may have a negative effect on your score the first year, but less so the second year.

#9. Request Removal of Erroneous Inquiries

Contact the creditor or the credit agency to ask them to remove any unauthorized inquiries from your credit record. You’ll need to show that the query was false or unlawful.

#10. Take Steps to Dispute Errors With the Credit Bureaus

You can dispute a mistake on your credit report with the credit agency if you locate one. Each bureau includes a mailing address or an online dispute site where you can submit a letter of dispute.

Best Hard Inquiries Removal Letter

The results below show the best hard Inquiries removal letter:

#1. Equifax

You can find a score on your credit file, which Equifax maintains, that compares you as a borrower to the rest of the Australian populace. Your Equifax Score is one of the elements that lenders take into account when evaluating your mortgage application. Australians with active credit have an average score of 550, although individual scores can range from -200 to 1,200.

A score of 200 would indicate a one in two possibilities of having a default recorded on your credit file in the following year, while a score of 550 would indicate a one in twelve chance. Scores higher than 900 or lower than 200 are quite uncommon.

How Do I Get a Copy of My Equifax Score?

When you apply for a house loan with one of our mortgage brokers, you will be able to view your Equifax Score and VedaScore. We’re sorry but we are unable to send you a copy of your Equifax Score.

Contact Equifax to request a copy of your score if you’re still interested. View their promotions on their price page. Their Starter Pack, which starts at just less than $80, comes with your complete credit report. Each year, you’ll get this report.

#2. Experian

A lender’s perception of the data in your credit file is reflected in your Experian credit score. Their score goes from 0 to 1000, with a higher number indicating a healthier credit record. Experian bases its credit score on the following range:

  • Your score is outstanding and far above the national average if it falls between 800 and 1,000.
  • Getting a score of 700 to 799 is regarded as being very good.
  • Your credit score is regarded as good if it is between 625 and 699.
  • Your credit score is regarded as fair if it falls between 550 and 624.
  • Your credit score is viewed as poor if it is less than 549, which is considered to be below average.
  • You must stay current on your credit score and credit report because they change over time based on your financial behavior.

How to Remove Hard Inquiries in 24 Hours

A procedure called the “24-hour inquiry removal method” tries to eliminate hard inquiries from a credit report in a single day. Every time you or a client has their credit checked, whether it’s for a loan, car, mortgage, phone application, or occasionally even when applying for a job, acquiring insurance, or trying to rent an apartment, a credit inquiry is made, and each inquiry lowers the credit score.

You must personally call the businesses that received the inquiries and request their removal in order to get them removed within 24 hours. All of this is accomplished quickly over the phone without ever writing a letter or purchasing a stamp.  

However, there are two restrictions to be mindful of when you want to remove inquiries in 24 hours.

  • One, the majority of businesses demand that customers call. It won’t work if you call on someone else’s behalf or if you disclose that you work for a credit repair company. Only the customer whose inquiry is on file will be given access to this information.  
  • Second, you need to provide them with a good excuse for deleting the query. Usually, they will only erase the query if the credit report was obtained without permission, without consent, or in some other way violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Things to Avoid When You Want To Remove Hard Inquiries from Credit Report Within 24 Hours

So, if you want to successfully pull this off for you or your clients, you must be aware of the following:

1) You should never lie or be dishonest if you are calling on behalf of a client and the business asking the question asks you who you are. Lying is never a smart idea, and it may even land you in legal trouble.  

2) You shouldn’t make up the fact that you are phoning on your own behalf if you don’t have a good reason to stop each inquiry.   

Bottom line: When used correctly, the 24-hour inquiry elimination procedure is valid, permissible, and efficient. Just make sure you adhere to the limitations set up for you. Have a compelling explanation for the removal, and ask the person whose inquiry you’re trying to get rid of to contact the business directly.

Can You Remove Inquiries From Your Credit Report?

Inquiries can only be taken down from your credit report over time if there isn’t an error.

How Long Does It Take for Credit Inquiries to Come Off My Credit Report?

After two years, hard inquiries are removed from your credit reports. However, the impact on your credit scores might only last a year or even a few months.

What Is the Fastest Way to Remove Inquiries From a Credit Report?

A formal dispute is the quickest option to have hard inquiries removed from a credit report.

How Can I Get Inquiries Removed From My Credit Report Fast?

Only by contesting them as errors will you be able to get hard inquiries deleted off your credit report within a single day.

Can You Get Credit Inquiries Removed From Your Credit Report?

You can submit a dispute letter and ask the bureau to have a hard inquiry that was carried out without authorization or with incorrect information removed from your report. Unless they decide your disagreement is frivolous, the consumer credit bureaus are required to look at dispute petitions. Even so, not every disagreement is resolved following an investigation.

Can You Remove Inquiries Online?

You can challenge a hard inquiry online if you can’t determine why it was made or you think it was done without your permission. The credit bureau is required to remove the query if it cannot verify that it is a legitimate inquiry.

How Many Points Does a Hard Inquiry Take Off Your Credit Score?

FICO®, a business that calculates credit ratings, states that while a hard inquiry does affect your credit scores, it normally only lowers them by roughly five points. Additionally, if you have a solid credit history, the effect might even be little.

References 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like