|
Home / Finance / Credit
Your Credit Score Can Be Destroyed By Simple Credit Inquiries
By:Thomas Rendleman
What you don't know about credit inquires can destroy your credit score and effect what you can qualify for. Whether you are shopping for a cell phone, car, home loan, insurance, or just curious about wanting to see what you could qualify for, a credit inquiry can cost you points on your credit score. Even a reduction in credit points may seem trivial. A change in credit points over a 30 year period can cost 1000's if not 10,000's of dollars in higher interest payments. Furthermore to some it can mean the difference of being able to qualify for a home, car, or other financing that is necessary in today's world. Usually a credit inquiry will result in a less than a five point reduction in your credit score. However with multiple inquiries comes the likelihood that the score will plummet and the interest rates for purchases will go up. This will result in the consumer with a lower credit score to make higher payments for home, car, of other credit purchases.
There are several different credit inquiries. An inquiry for a specific purchase will have a freezing point for a 2 week period. In other words if you were shopping for a car you could have your credit pulled, (also called an credit report inquiry) at several car lots during a two week period and it would only count as one inquiry. This type of inquiry usually results in less than five point drop in the credit score. This is because the credit bureau considers all the credit inquiries done in the two week period for the same credit purchase to only affect the credit score once.
The second type of credit inquiry is when a person is attempting to obtain different types of credit that is not related, such as car financing inquiry and purchase of a cell phone. These two items are not related. When an inquiry is placed on the credit report it will cause the score to go down. This results in the score going down twice because of the different types of credit inquiries. Applying for credit to see what you can get and trying for different types of credit can lower your score significantly enough not to qualify for credit purchases at all.
Another common credit inquiry is when a marketing company purchases a list from the credit bureau. Then the company uses that targeted list to send out unsolicited pre-approved credit offers. These offers usually come by mail and this type of inquiry does not affect your score. The credit bureau's theory is it would be unfair to penalize a person who hadn't inquired about a credit purchase and had no control of receiving the unsolicited offer. Even though these offers do not affect your credit score they can be an annoyance. This type of offer can be used by potential thieves as a source for identity theft or credit fraud. For that reason any unsolicited credit cards should not been thrown in the trash prior to shredding them completely.
Reviewing your own credit from credit bureau sources will not affect your credit score. Your credit request (for simply review) does not hurt your score. It is your right to know what is in your complete credit file. The information on these credit reports are identical to what a lender, underwriter or creditor will see. However the credit scores on these credit reports can vary because of the way credit bureaus interpret your score. When considering a purchase of a home or car it is always best to check with a professional in that field of financing. That expert can help you determine the score that is relevant to your purchase and which credit bureaus will be used.
Your credit score can be destroyed by simple credit inquiries. The way to avoid loosing credit points is to have your loan approved for a car, home, or other credit purchase prior to going on a shopping spree. The difference in a credit score going down even 5 points could result in getting a less desirable interest rate, the credit lender requiring more down payment, or even denial of your desired loan.
Credit Inquiries are supposed to remain on your credit report for up to two years. The fact is you may have to ask the credit bureaus/creditors to have them removed after their expiration. The below numbers are directly to the credit bureaus and will allow you to order your credit reports directly. Reviewing credit through these sources are the best as they won't lower your credit score even when viewed often.
Trans Union 1-866-887-2673
Equifax 1-800-685-1111
Experian 1-888-397-3742
Another good reason to review your credit report inquiries is to protect your credit from identity theft or credit fraud. By reviewing your credit you can see recent inquiries for credit purchases. Should you notice names of unfamiliar creditors, it could be an early sign of identity theft or credit fraud. Simply call the all three credit bureaus and have them place a fraud alert on your credit report. This will stop most credit theft. Today credit fraud and identity theft are more prevalent than ever before.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: Raise your credit score, Credit, Loans, Real Estate, Inquiry, Credit Score, Credit Inquiry, Home, Car, Credit Bureau, Experian, Equifax, Transunion, Trans Union, Credit Report, Building Credit, Articles, Articles
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Thomas Rendleman, a licensed real estate broker who can help you pay less interest for your home, car, and even recreational vehicles. Raise your credit score. Get more credit news and other money saving information at his website www.GreatCreditSecrets.com. Save this article for future reference.
|
|
| Top Credit Articles |
- 1). What Is a Good Credit Score – How Can I Raise Mine? By : Peter Crump
What is a good credit score? When you request a free copy of your credit report, you will find a score assigned to your credit history. This score will determine whether or not creditors will grant you the loan or credit that you want because it gives them an idea of your risk to repay. Generally, the answer to the question “what is a good credit score?” is the higher the better.
|
- 2). Paying Off Your Credit Card Balances: Running The Numbers By : Stephen L. Nelson, CPA
Ever thought about paying off your credit card balances? Maybe you would like to be debt free just to reduce your stress. Or perhaps you need to be debt free to retire.
If you have Microsoft Excel running on your computer at home or work, you can use Excel’s NPER function to calculate how quickly you can pay off a debt such as a credit card balance.
|
- 3). Credit Card Faq - Credit Card Security And Authentication By : Joseph Kenny
With the ever rising reports of credit card fraud, fraudulent use, internet phishing and identity theft, people are rightly concerned about credit card security. Fraudulent credit card use can be an annoyance at best, and seriously damage your credit at worst. It's only reasonable that people have questions about credit card security and authentication methods.
|
- 4). Online Credit Card Application: The Easiest Way To A Customer’s Heart By : David Riewe
Many credit cards are offered in the market today thus, making companies more aggressive in advertising and marketing their card services. These companies (e.g. banks, department stores, specialty stores, airlines, hotels, etc.) have found a powerful tool in catching the attention of prospective card holders: online credit card application.
What advantage/s does online credit card application offer?
The bottom line of online credit card application is “convenience”.
|
- 5). How To Build Up Your Credit By : Ken Snow
There are many effective ways to build credit. In order to keep creditors from bothering you, and in order for you to get a loan with a reasonable interest rate, you need to learn how to build your credit. The best place to start is to not buy things that you don’t need. If you always make impulse buys, you will find yourself in deeper debt very quickly.
|
- 6). Best Rewards Credit Cards By : Richie Chapin
It's almost a guarantee when you check your mailbox you will have a couple pieces of mail offering you a pre-approved credit card. Now most people will casually discard them without any regard to the offer that is inside. But before you throw away that credit card offer you may want to take a peek at it. Many credit card companies are now offering you FREE rewards just for using your credit card.
|
- 7). How to Choose the Right Credit Card For You By : Richie Chapin
So your thinking about getting a credit card but your not exactly sure what to look for right? Well there are a lot of different things to consider when applying for a credit card. Some things to think about are the interest rate, annual fees and features the credit card may offer. Here are a few tips that will help you choose the best credit card for you.
|
|
|
- 9). Credit Bureaus Adopt New Credit Scoring System By : Rick Hendershot
The three major consumer credit bureaus in the U.S. have recently created a new credit scoring system that will give financial institutions a more consistent evaluation of the credit worthiness of applicants.
The three agencies -- Equifax, Experian and Transunion -- have introduced the new system called "VantageScore". The new scoring system will be used immediately for reporting to banks, lenders, and credit card companies, and will be available to consumers later in the year.
|
- 10). The Travails Of The Pros And Cons Of A Small Business Credit Card By : Sohel Katir
For small business credit card getting a sense out of a deal is, in some instances, the most difficult thing to do. This is because most people could not instantly figure out the benefits they can derive from obtaining it.
Take for example the case of small business credit card. Some people contend that business credit cards are crucial in the growth of a business, while other s contend that it is just one way of losing their investments.
|
| New Credit Articles |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- 10). Paying The Price Of Credit Card Jumping By : Joseph Kenny
Having a debt and paying no interest on it seems almost too good to be true. But many consumers use their credit cards to do just that. The process is known as rate surfing or credit card jumping.
|
|
|
