#hard inquiry

A hard inquiry can be hard on your credit score, especially if it is an unrecognized one. 

Now you must be wondering how it could be unrecognized. Well, a hard inquiry could have happened for several reasons. 

I have always been particularly keen on keeping an eye on my finances - I have never missed a payment, my accounts are in good shape, and I always keep my credit utilization within 30%. 

Why Did My Credit Score Drop? There can be a few surprising but very pertinent reasons for a sudden fall in your credit score. Let us dig deep into them.

Old and Inactive Accounts Have you ever found an interesting promotional offer in a shopping mall or a retail outlet and applied for a credit card? Well, I did at some point in time. And being my ever-forgetful self, I had conveniently forgotten about it.

A New Hard Inquiry My mobile phone connection was pathetic, and I had decided to switch over to a different teleservice provider. A gentleman from the new phone company visited my house to get all the paperwork done. There were a handful of forms to be filled, read, and signed. As I was running late, I had blindly signed wherever the person asked me to. Unknowingly, I had permitted the company to conduct a credit check to ensure that I have the financial capability to afford their services. In short, a hard inquiry was made without my knowledge.

Paying off a Loan This one was my strangest finding. That feeling of satisfaction and relaxation when you finally settle a loan isn’t relaxation in the financial world. You need to have a variety of accounts for maintaining a good credit score. If you pay off a loan, the loan account is closed, and you lose an account. Your credit score drops inevitably.

A hard inquiry can be hard on your credit score, especially if it is an unrecognised one. Now you must be wondering how it could be unrecognised. Well, a hard inquiry could have happened for several reasons. It could have come from an authorized lender, it could be a reporting error, or it could even indicate possible identity theft.

Authorized Lender A hard inquiry on your credit report can ideally be made only with your permission. An organization cannot make a hard inquiry unless you authorize it. However, some situations can be confusing.

Similarly, applying for auto financing can also result in several hard inquiries. You might have authorized one dealer assuming that it'll lead to a single hard inquiry. However, your dealer might have reached out to multiple lenders, and you end up with several hard inquiries that you weren't aware of.

Reporting Error If you find a hard inquiry that you didn't authorize, it could either be a reporting error or fraudulent activity.This tool shows you the source of all hard inquiries made on your credit report. Once you know the name of the lender under suspicion, you can search online for contact details and approach the concerned lender to check the reason for the hard inquiry.

There can be a few surprising but very pertinent reasons for a sudden fall in your credit score. Let us dig deep into them.

Old and Inactive Accounts Have you ever found an interesting promotional offer in a shopping mall or a retail outlet and applied for a credit card? Well, I did at some point in time. And being my ever-forgetful self, I had conveniently forgotten about it.

An inactive account is of no profit to a lender, and a lender can automatically close it without giving you notice. Also, there’s no standard law to decide on how long your account needs to be inactive for before the lender can automatically deactivate it.

The solution to this problem? Well, I have learned my lesson, and so I have set up my internet bill to be auto-deducted every month from another one of my long-forgotten credit cards. You could do the same. Remember to set up auto-pay so that you don’t miss a single payment.

A New Hard Inquiry My mobile phone connection was pathetic, and I had decided to switch over to a different teleservice provider. A gentleman from the new phone company visited my house to get all the paperwork done. There were a handful of forms to be filled, read, and signed. As I was running late, I had blindly signed wherever the person asked me to. Unknowingly, I had permitted the company to conduct a credit check to ensure that I have the financial capability to afford their services. In short, a hard inquiry was made without my knowledge.

Although you haven’t applied for a loan or a credit card recently, you might have undergone similar minor changes in your lifestyle that resulted in a hard inquiry. You might have inadvertently permitted your internet service provider, cable company, teleservice provider, and even your landlord to conduct a hard inquiry on your credit report. Upgrading your credit card or applying for an increase in credit limit can also result in a hard inquiry.

The solution to this problem? I have become super vigilant. Now I read documents before signing on them; additionally, I always ask a service provider or a lender if the transaction involves a hard inquiry. I keep a close eye on my mymoneykarma account and ensure that all hard inquiries are made with my permission. If you find an unauthorized hard inquiry, it could be fraudulent activity, and you must take action immediately.

Paying off a Loan This one was my strangest finding. That feeling of satisfaction and relaxation when you finally settle a loan isn’t relaxation in the financial world. You need to have a variety of accounts for maintaining a good credit score. If you pay off a loan, the loan account is closed, and you lose an account. Your credit score drops inevitably.

It is better to have different types of accounts running. Keep a mix of credit accounts and loans if you want to maintain a consistent record of credit score. It indicates that you responsibly manage your finances. Lenders thus consider you to be a creditworthy candidate.

The solution to this problem? Well, it is not a great worry. Paying off a loan might reduce your credit score at the moment, but it also proves that you’re capable of repaying loans and makes it easier to get approval for loans in the future.

Being an Authorized User of a Delinquent Account A few years ago, my grandfather had added me as an authorized user(second account holder) of one of his accounts to help me build my credit score. Unfortunately, my old and forgetful grandfather missed a payment. Since I am an authorized user, credit bureaus include that account in my credit report although I never actually use it.

There can be ups and downs of being an authorized user. If the primary account holder pays the bills responsibly, you benefit from the account. If the account holder misses payments, it brings down your credit score as well.

A hard inquiry can be hard on your credit score, especially if it is an unrecognized one. Now you must be wondering how it could be unrecognized. Well, a hard inquiry could have happened for several reasons. It could have come from an authorized lender, it could be a reporting error, or it could even indicate possible identity theft.

A hard inquiry on your credit report can ideally be made only with your permission. An organization cannot make a hard inquiry unless you authorize it. However, some situations can be confusing.