Your credit report reflects your borrowing and repayment history, which lenders use to decide your creditworthiness. A “credit inquiry” shows when a company has checked your credit report. There are two types of inquiries:
- Soft Inquiry: Occurs when you check your own credit or when lenders preapprove offers. These do not affect your credit score and are visible only to you.
- Hard Inquiry: Happens when you apply for new credit, such as a loan or credit card. Hard inquiries may slightly lower your credit score and are visible to lenders.
Sometimes, an unauthorized or erroneous hard inquiry appears on your report due to errors or identity theft. A credit inquiry letter is your formal tool to dispute these inquiries with credit bureaus.
How to Use a Credit Inquiry Letter:
- Obtain your credit reports for free at AnnualCreditReport.com.
- Identify the hard inquiries you don’t recognize.
- Draft a dispute letter to the specific credit bureau reporting the inquiry.
- Send it via certified mail with a return receipt to create a documented paper trail.
- The bureau investigates within 30 days, contacting the creditor to verify your authorization. If unverified, the inquiry is removed.
What to Include in Your Letter:
- Your full name, address, phone number, and date of birth
- The date and credit bureau’s dispute department address
- A clear statement disputing the unauthorized inquiry under the FCRA
- Specific details of the inquiry (creditor name and date)
- Reason for dispute (e.g., unauthorized or identity theft)
- Copies of your credit report highlighting the inquiry and identification documents (never originals)
- Your signature
Common mistakes to avoid:
- Disputing legitimate inquiries you authorized
- Sending disputes to creditors instead of credit bureaus
- Not using certified mail for proof of delivery
- Omitting personal information or documents
For more on disputing credit report errors, visit our article on Dispute Credit Report and learn how accurate credit records impact your Credit Score.
Resources:
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau guide on disputing credit report errors
- Experian’s guide on disputing hard inquiries
Using a credit inquiry letter correctly helps ensure your credit report reflects only legitimate inquiries, protecting your credit standing and reducing risk of fraud.
