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Inquiries can negatively impact your credit score.

What is a credit inquiry? Credit inquiries allows the person lending you credit to review and access your credit score.

Inquiries typically stay on your credit report for about two years. But they only impact your FICO credit score for one year. Sometimes credit inquiries may occur without your knowledge or permission. If this happens, it’s possible the credit inquiry is based on fraud and may be the result of identity theft. Your credit report should tell you who has accessed your credit information and when.

If the information is not familiar, it’s time to take immediate action to project yourself from further damage.
Credit inquiries can be one of two categories: hard or soft. Examples of soft credit inquiries include:

You check your own credit report.
One of your creditors checks your report.
An insurer pulls your credit for a quote.
A company views your credit report for a background check.
You seek preapproval for a loan or credit card or apply to prequalify for credit offers.

Hard inquiries have the most damaging impact to your credit score. A hard credit inquiry is an application for credit, such as a mortgage, a credit card, or an auto loan. It will appear on your credit report, and too many could hurt your score.
If you’ve noticed hard inquiries on your credit file that you do not recognize, contact TCC today. Our credit repair agency knows how to contact the creditors and advocate on your behalf.