by Michelle Black, CreditWriter.com
Credit scores, like FICO and Vantage Scores, are based upon a variety of different factors. For FICO Scores the factors which make up an individual’s credit scores fall into 5 categories. The least influential categories, Mix of Credit and Inquiries, each account for 10% of a consumer’s overall credit scores.
While 10% may seem like a small percentage, and it is small in the grand scheme of your credit scores, it is still not an insignificant number of points. FICO Scores range from 300 – 850. That’s a total of 550 points that any given consumer has the opportunity to earn. Since the Inquiry Category accounts for 10% of those points, there could be potentially be as many as 55 points up for grabs (depending upon the score card being used to determine the consumer’s scores) within this category of your credit reports.
Why Inquiries Appear on Credit Reports
Whenever anyone requests access to your credit a record known as an inquiry is placed on your credit report. What most consumers do not realize is the reason that the credit bureaus place inquiries (aka records of credit pulls) on credit reports is because they are legally required to do so.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act [FCRA 15 USC Sec. 1681g(a)(3)(A)] requires the credit bureaus to record whenever a consumer’s credit report is accessed and to keep the record of that access listed on the consumer’s credit report for a period of at least 1-2 years, based upon the type of inquiry. In an effort to comply with the FCRA, the general policy of the 3 credit bureaus appears to be that all inquiries will remain on a consumer’s credit report for 2 years.
Hard Inquiries
Credit inquiries can be sorted into one of two categories – those that may have the ability to negatively impact a consumer’s credit scores and those which do not have the ability to negatively impact a consumer’s scores. Inquires which have the potential to cause credit score damage are known as “hard” inquiries. Not all hard inquiries will automatically cause credit score damage and, in special circumstances, numerous hard inquiries might be counted as only “1” inquiry for credit scoring purposes. Below are some examples of hard credit inquiries.
Soft Inquiries
Inquiries referred to as “soft” are treated differently by credit scoring models. Soft inquiries are still able to remain on consumer credit reports for 2 years; however, soft inquiries do not have any impact upon credit scores whatsoever. They will not help nor hurt a consumer’s credit scores. Here are some examples of soft credit inquiries.
Inquiries and Your Credit Scores
Consumers often find it frustrating to learn that certain inquiries have the ability to negatively impact their credit scores. After all, why should a simply application for credit be considered negatively by a credit scoring model?
The reason that hard inquiries may lower your credit scores is because inquiries can be a reliable indicator of credit risk. In other words, when FICO reviews credit reports samples it finds a trend which demonstrates that people who apply for a lot of credit in a short amount of time are more likely to pay their bills late. People who apply for credit less often are less likely to pay their bills late. Therefore, people with fewer hard inquiries are usually rewarded with higher credit scores.