Applications for Credit on your Credit Report

Posted on February 25, 2009

The FICO score formula takes into your inquiries.  These are any time your credit report has been reviewed.  This means wither you, an employer, or creditor have taken a look at it.  The only that is taken into account when calculating your FICO score is when a creditor looks at your account when you apply for new credit.

These are known as hard inquiries.  And if there are several of these they can drag down your FICO score.  Imagine you go out an apply for ten new credit cards.  Creditors are going to get worried and think, “Why does this person need all this credit all of a sudden?”  They have a right to be scared of you and this is the reason why applying for several credit cards will lower your FICO score.

So how long do hard inquires stay on your credit report?  Two years. After this time is over they can be removed from your credit report.  I do say can becuase that always doesn’t mean that they are.  Bankrate.com states that 70% of consumers have some error on thier credit reports.  Often these are inquires.  If you get a copy of your credit report and see these long standing inquiries, you can dispute them to have them removed.  This is a little quick way you can inprove your FICO score.

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