Do you know what a Hard versus Soft Credit Inquiry is?
Consumers are entitled to a free copy of their credit report once a year, available through sites like CreditKeeper.com, AnnualCreditReport.com or IdentiryGuard.com. While the credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com is free, it doesn’t include a credit score. For this, consumers must pay a nominal fee.
When a consumer asks about their own credit score, it’s considered a “soft inquiry”, which doesn’t impact their FICO score. Credit card, insurance companies, banks, and others can also make soft inquires, in order to identify consumers for marketing purposes.
In contrast, “hard inquires” for a consumer’s credit history are made if you apple for a loan, a mortgage, or open a new credit card. Depending on other factors, too many hard inquiries could have a negative impact on a consumers FICO score.
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