I would like to know what information is on a soft inquiry and what information is on a hard inquiry. Working for a credit card company, I know you can answer this. This is a great board, some people do get out of and but please continue to post. Thanks
SOMEBODY ALREADY ANSWERED THIS~~~they get to see the score DROP with the "HARD" that they can't with the "SOFT"...
George, I know the score drops with a hard inquiry. What I want to know is what is shown on the reports that credit card companies see on the soft inquiry and on the hard inquiry. That is what bothers me. Thanks
Basically what you're saying is, the creditor gets the same information from either a hard or soft inquiry, but they get to see the score drop with the hard. So why would anyone need to do a hard?
When a lender obtains a copy of your credit report to evaluate you for credit as a result of a credit application, it is considered a â??hardâ?? inquiry. Anytime you apply for credit, a 'hard' inquiry will be posted to your credit report. Hard inquiries indicate to lenders that you are looking for credit, and this will generally lower your credit score. 'Soft' inquiries do not hurt your credit score. They are posted to your credit report for several reasons, such as when a lender evaluates you for a pre-approved offer. These inquiries are called â??promotionalâ?? inquires because they are part of a lenderâ??s promotion for pre-approved offers. Your existing creditors may obtain a copy of your credit report from time to time to evaluate your standing. These are known as â??account reviewâ?? inquiries and are also soft, non-damaging inquiries. When you request a copy of your credit report either directly from the credit bureau or through a certified third party , it is considered a â??consumerâ?? inquiry. You may request a copy of your credit report as many times as you like with no damaging effects to your credit rating. Best Wishes, RJ
RubyJean, I may have misunderstood, but I think the question was actually what is the difference in the information the creditor receives with a soft versus a hard inquiry. Is there something left out of the soft that is included in the hard...? Or vice versa...? I've wondered about this too. Can you shed any light on it? DemPooches
From what I understand, they are exactly the same, but the hard will show that you are looking to obtain more credit. That's why it's important to the creditors.
George pretty much hit it on the nose in his post.. -------------------------------------------------------- Whenever you or someone else (be it a bank, potential employer, etc.) checks your credit report, it shows up in your file as an "inquiry." There are two types of inquiries: hard and soft. Hard inquiries come mainly from lenders from whom you are seeking a loan. They look at your report to see what kind of credit risk you pose. If you're in good shape, and you get the loan, a hard inquiry will do no harm. If you apply for a bunch of credit at one time, however, prospective lenders may see that as a sign of desperation (or that you're going to try to make a run on the credit system). If you are shopping rates for a mortgage, your report may reveal a cluster of hard inquiries. In the eyes of credit scorers (like FICO), this should not count against you, as long as you do your inquiries in a concentrated period of time (say, during a one-month period). When you are shopping around, ask the lender if they are going to make a hard inquiry to your credit report. A soft inquiry will show up when you request a copy of your credit report, for instance. Soft inquiries do not stay on your credit report. RJ
Rubyjean, You are saying then, when someone pulls your report (whether hard or soft) the information received from the credit report is the same. The only difference is whether the inquiry, however it is coded, impacts your score or not. The coding though, does not impact the information received. Is this correct? Sassy
This has to be true, because CRA's can't sell header information anymore. You have to have a permissable purpose for either, no matter how coded. Sassy
What I want to know,are all of my accounts listed with the #'s plus my credit limits on a soft inquiry or on the hard inquiry? I don't think anyone needs this unless I appled for credit. That is what I want to know. I really don't care about the credit score as much as how much of my personal information. I don't guess I am asking the right question. All I want to know is what information is given on a soft inquiry and on a hard inquiry. Pleasw hep me understand why there s a difference..
I understand that the information is the same, Sue, only how they are coded by the CRA is different. Sassy
but do they get my ss# ,address and all my credit card # and credit limits? That is what I want to know? I am sorry that I keep asking.
yep. Your SS# and demographic information is protected personal information and can't be released without permissable purpose. Sassy
Thsi is regarding a credit card that was opened in my husband's name that we knew nothing about. The companiy never had a permissable purpose to pull the first report and now it has been pulled by two different CA. I want to know how much information as been given to people who did not have a permissional reason to pull the report. I can not understand why we have to suffer for the credit card companies that will issue a card with a wrong address. Different from my address for over 27 years I still need to know what is on the inquiries that they pull. Please help.
Sue, That's what identity theft is all about. I believe it was Marie that previously posted that if you are getting lots of inquiries that you don't know anything about -- that should be your red flag. They get all your information. SS, Name, Address, Birthdate, list of accounts, numbers, employers, spouse, previous address -- the whole enchilada. Sassy
Sue, Maybe this will help. From this thread: http://consumers.creditnet.com/stra...p?s=&postid=234750&highlight=theft#post234750 Re: No Permissible Purpose Letter: Marie | 2362 posts since Mar 2000 209.86.31.113 | 09.08.2002 @ 21:54 Inquires appearing mysteriously may be a sign of several things. fraud starting: a: someone is getting your info and is about to become you b. someone has your info and is using it to apply for credit Errors: c. you have a file that's being confused with another d. the bureau is just making mistakes and has system glitches that's adding odd inquiries to your file if it's the first 2... you need to seriously consider a fraud alert on all 3 bureaus and NOW... id theft isn't fun. You can also try to add a consumer statement "do not confuse with consumers of similar identity... verify all identifying information".. those 2 actions make it difficult to impersonate you and it lets the bureaus know your file may have errors... This is my take on who's responsible for this. 1. Company xyz has a rogue employee who's in your file for no permissible purpose...guess the worst and go from there. Ask company xzy who accessed your file and why. they're supposed to have reasonable procedures and security so not every person can play in the credit files... only people with PP are supposed to be in the system... ask WHO accessed your file... and go after them personally... ask the bureau for the certification under which xyz pulled your file. Ask the bureau for an investigation... tell them you're concerned about fraud... if the same company pulls your report again (as in the case of the marketing stuff from companies you used to have a business relationship with but no longer do)... tell the bureau you want a block on your file from that specific creditor... the bureaus have contracts that contain clauses about companies pulling reports illegally... and it's my opinion that after you've put Credit bureau A on notice that their subscriber is violating their contract.. the bureau also becomes liable for dissiminating your info after notice... negligent and willful noncompliance... after all. Once they know it's a problem.. you could try for criminal prosecution of someone at the bureau as they're knowingly now giving out your file...perhaps asking for a criminal investigation of the supervisor who told you no.. or the CEO of a bureau might get this looked into... nobody wants jail time for "company" issues... they should either have a way to block you file from that creditor... or terminate their contract with that company... The latter will never happen... but the bureaus also don't have mechanisms in place to protect you from unauthorized access from a specific company... remedy? go after both in both a civil and criminal manner... after all, once you give notice, the bureaus are just enabling someone to have access to your info... there are criminal penalties and fines for individuals doing this... and some state laws are much better than the FCRA... use every law to your advantage... As to inquiries being fact... read fcra def: file "ALL INFO NO MATTER HOW REPORTED OR TRANSMITTED"... as to permissible purpose... look above it and catch the word "eligibility"... it's meaning is huge. Permissible purpose refers to eligibility for services... For any non current creditor then it's just a "business" relationship... they can pull you if you give them permission... or if you're applying for service and they're determining "eligibility for" service... but once they've determined to give you service... they can't be in your file to collect later.. after all, it's not ongoing credit... eg: doctor's offices, hospitals etc are NOT considered credit as per the fcra... they can see if they want to originally do business with you... but cannot use your info later for either collections or "processing of your claim"... FTC opinion letters to this and even Doctor's forms that say "we may pull credit" aren't specific enough. it's a "we're pulling your credit" or it's a violation... It's my hope that you all will soon hear about a situation in Atlanta that's being looked into by our AG.. for this very reason. They can't provide service then later say "we pulled your header info from Exp including score... just cause we wanted to in the processing of your current hospital account"... I'm hoping this will curtain not only adding ssns to files needlessly but will also curb id fraud originating in hospitals (if you knew HOW MANY people then have access to all your info nationwide... you'd pass out)... they'll add your dob and ssn even if you don't give them to the hospital.. 2. If you had an account once... (this is now credit) and you've paid it off and closed the account (as in the case of a revolving account) then they cannot mine for marketing info via your file.. No PP... NONE. the FTC is very clear on these. once the business relationship is terminated... seeya on PP for credit. 3. But... if you pay off a credit card but it's still open... they can go in every day of the year and it's permissible... but I dare say, improper as hard inq's connote an "application for NEW credit"... and not an AR... so while it's not technically a permissible purpose deal... I hope eventually case law will hammer hard inquiries for ar purposes... they tank your scores... 4. I'd say the same thing for PRMs that are supposed to be for "firm offers for credit" if you get denied based on credit... after all... what's so firm about that offer then? No PP Just my .02 on this thing. I think there are so many PP violations that the laws will eventually be changed to open it up more (eg: hospitals)... but for now... a lot of the inq are so illegal it's a joke. What would you do if you were certain you would always succeed...
Why do insurance companies typically pull "hard" inquiries instead of "soft"? Insurance is not credit. You pay your premiums and you have your policy. You don't pay your premiums your policy goes bye-bye. I personally think they get to see more of your personal information with a hard inquiry such as job occupation.
THE ONLY HARD INQUIRIES SHOULD BE FROM LENDING INSTITUTIONS. UNLESS WE'VE ASKED FOR CREDIT FROM ANY GIVEN INSTITUTION, ALL INQUIRIES SHOULD BE [COLOR=LIGHT BLUE]soft[/COLOR]. ESPECIALLY COLLECTION AGENCY INQ's. THESE SHOULD ALWAYS BE CODED AS SOFT. TECHNICALLY THEY DON'T EVEN NEED TO SEE A CONSUMER'S REPORT (ANOTHER TOPIC). THEY'RE JUST BEING NOSEY. WANNA SEE WHO'S GETTING PAID INSTEAD OF THEM. THE CODES SHOULD BE AS FOLLOWS FOR THIRD PARTY REVIEWS... CF-CREDIT APPLIED FOR...HARD CR-COLLECTION ACCOUNT REVIEW...SOFT OR-OPEN ACCOUNT REVIEW...SOFT ALL OTHERS CAN PRETTY MUCH STAY THE SAME. I THINK EVERYONE GETS MY POINT THOUGH. I'M DONE.
