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2 Types of credit inquiries: Hard and soft

Posted on: 01st Sep, 2008 06:38 pm
Credit score plays a crucial role in personal finance. It gives a reflection of your creditworthiness. Before granting a loan, lenders pull your credit report. For pulling your credit report, lenders are not required to obtain a signed contract from you. When you apply for a loan, lenders have the legal rights to pull your credit report so as to judge your creditworthiness. You can also pull your credit report on your own so as to check whether there is any error in your credit report or not. There are 2 types of inquiries on your credit report-
  • Hard inquiry
  • Soft inquiry
Here we discuss about these 2 types-

1. Hard inquiry


When a credit card issuer or a lender checks your credit report for making the lending decision, it comes under hard inquiry. Hard inquiry occurs when you apply for a mortgage, credit card or an auto loan. In fact, when you apply for a loan, you authorize the lender to do hard inquiry. However, lenders don't require any written agreement from you for doing the hard inquiry. Anyways, hard inquiry lowers down your credit score by few points and it shows up on your credit report for 24 months.

2. Soft inquiry


A soft inquiry does not lower down your credit score. A soft inquiry occurs when you pull your credit report on your own so as to ensure that it does not contain any error or fraudulent activity. A soft inquiry may be recorded in your credit report but it does not lower down your credit score.


Before applying for a new credit or loan, you need to build up good credit. A good credit score augments your chance of getting approved for a new loan at better rate.

They are not. They may take your application over the phone and pull your credit with your verbal approval. Giving them all your information is giving them authorization to pull your credit.
Posted on: 01st Sep, 2008 09:05 pm
Welcome ckirk,

I agree with the guest poster.

Pulling out a customer's credit report without authorization isn't illegal.

The only time you need to provide a written authorization is when your employer seeks to check your credit report.

Thanks
Posted on: 01st Sep, 2008 09:38 pm
I was working with a broker who the loan officer pulled my credit report & the loan officer no longer works for this broker & went to work for another broker is it legal for this loan officer to pull my credit report with the new broker without my consent?
Posted on: 08th Sep, 2008 09:42 am
Hi guest,

If the loan officer is working with the new broker in order to process your loan, I think it's legal for him to pull your credit report.

Regards,

Jessica.
Posted on: 09th Sep, 2008 04:51 am
i'm in agreement with jessica. if your relationship is with the original lender and not the loan officer, you might want to contact that loan officer to advise him not to pull another report. otherwise, it makes sense for him to have done so.
Posted on: 09th Sep, 2008 10:39 am
Pulling your credit without verbal or written permission is illegal.

The LO should have informed you he had moved to a different company and asked if you would like to have him complete your loan. If you said yes he would then need to pull another copy of your credit.
Posted on: 12th Sep, 2008 08:38 pm
Worried,

I agree with vegas_storms. THe new company is not allowed to pull your credit without your consent. When you gave consent originally it was to the old company. What the loan officer did is wrong and you could contact the state licensing agency and enter a complaint. Most states require loan officers to be licensed so that they can govern them. If you don't inform them of the wrong doing, they will never know and this could continue on with others.
Posted on: 16th Sep, 2008 12:00 am
WHAT CAN I DO WHEN MY CREDIT REPORT WAS PULLED BY A MORTGAGE SPECIALIST WIYHOUT MY PERMISSION
Posted on: 15th Sep, 2011 07:00 am
Hi DELACEIA!

Welcome to forums!

Well... I don't think you can do anything. Nevertheless, you can contact the credit bureaus and check out if you can take any steps in order to stop that. You can even contact an attorney and take his opinion in this matter.

Feel free to ask if you've further queries.

Sussane
Posted on: 15th Sep, 2011 11:00 pm
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