How to Remove Credit Inquiries

A credit inquiry is a record of any entities who may have viewed your credit reports, as well as when this was done. Credit reporting agencies are required to maintain a concise report of these inquiries for 24 months by the federal government. There are two types of credit inquiries: "soft inquiries," those that don't hurt your credit score, and "hard inquiries," those that do.

Soft inquiries include credit inquiries through a court order or a personal request of a copy of your credit report from one of the authorized sources. These also include:

(1) Inquiries done when applying for a job, homeowner's, auto, or renter's insurance;
(2) Account management inquiries; and
(3) Request by local child support agencies.

Hard inquiries are conducted by someone with permissible purpose to review your credit, such as a prospective lender, because you applied for credit, loan or financial assistance. Applying for professional or government license is also a form of hard inquiry.

However, there will be lenders who seek to review your credit report without permissible purpose and without your expressed and written consent. These unauthorized credit inquiries take a considerable number of points off your credit score so you must decide on a scheme on removing credit inquiries. Here's how:

1. Send the lender a letter requesting them to present proof that you granted them permission to review your credit report.
2. If they cannot provide proof have them send you a letter stating that the inquiry was erroneously made.
3. If the above-mentioned requirements are not provided, explain that they will be sued for violating the FCRA.

If the lender has not responded within 30 days seek counsel immediately. Have your lawyer send a more forceful letter and if that fails to elicit a response then take the action to court and sue them in a small claims court.

If, instead, you get a favorable response, make 3 copies of the letter and send one to each credit reporting agencies. These agencies will then contact the lender to verify the letter, then remove the credit inquiry and send you an updated copy of your credit report.

Don't let the fear of your debt or bad credit take over your life. Get the facts about credit scores and learn how to get control of your debt. To learn more about removing credit inquiries visit us at http://creditscoreanswers.org now