Unlike hard inquiries, soft inquiries won't affect your credit scores. (They may or may not be recorded in your credit reports, depending on the credit bureau.) Since soft inquiries aren't connected to a specific application for new credit, they're only visible to you when you view your credit reports.
Soft inquiries do not hurt your credit score. A soft inquiry is all inquiries where your credit is NOT being reviewed by a possible lender. Also, if a lender/credit card company pulls your credit to offer you a loan or credit card that you did not initiate does not hurt your credit score.
A soft inquiry happens whenever you check your credit report, or when a lender checks your credit report without your knowledge or permission. Soft inquiries have no effect on your credit score. Lenders can't even see how many soft inquiries have been made on your credit report.
Checking your free credit scores on Credit Karma doesn't hurt your credit. These credit score checks are known as soft inquiries, which don't affect your credit at all.
There are two types of credit score inquiries lenders and others (like yourself or your landlord) can make on your credit score: a "hard inquiry" and a "soft inquiry." The difference between the two is that a soft inquiry won't affect your score, but a hard inquiry can shave off some points.
A FICO® Score of 650 places you within a population of consumers whose credit may be seen as Fair. Your 650 FICO® Score is lower than the average U.S. credit score. Statistically speaking, 28% of consumers with credit scores in the Fair range are likely to become seriously delinquent in the future.
Even a soft credit pull requires that your credit be unfrozen. A soft credit check is when a creditor checks your score without lowering it, and a hard check is when your score can be affected. Good news: It's free and easy to unfreeze your credit before applying for a new credit card or loan.
Hard inquiries stay on your credit reports for up to two years before they fall off naturally. If you have legitimate hard inquiries, you'll likely need to wait until the 24-month period is over to see them disappear. However, they likely won't impact your credit score once they're more than a year old.
There's no such thing as “too many” hard credit inquiries, but multiple applications for new credit accounts within a short time frame may point to a risky borrower. Rate shopping for a particular loan, however, may be treated as a single inquiry and have minimal impact on your creditworthiness.
Contact the lender directly to ask them about the inquiry. If they find it was made in error, ask them to inform the credit reporting agencies. If the lender finds the inquiry was made fraudulently, report it to the FTC.
Late or missed payments can cause your credit score to decline. The impact can vary depending on your credit score — the higher your score, the more likely you are to see a steep drop.
A hard inquiry typically only causes credit scores to drop by about five points, according to FICO.
Soft pulls can be as accurate as a hard credit pull and provide much of the same information. However, they won't affect your credit score like a hard pull would. Can lenders see soft pulls? Lenders cannot see a soft pull on your credit report -- only you can.
For a score with a range of 300 to 850, a credit score of 670 to 739 is considered good. Credit scores of 740 and above are very good while 800 and higher are excellent.
No Impact on Credit Score: Soft pulls do not affect your credit score. This means you can allow as many soft pulls as needed without worrying about damaging your score. Not Visible to Lenders: Apart from you and the company that carried out the inquiry, no one else can see these checks on your report.
Soft inquiries do not affect credit scores and are not visible to potential lenders that may review your credit reports. They are visible to you and will stay on your credit reports for 12 to 24 months, depending on the type. The other type of inquiry is a “hard” inquiry.
A 700 credit score is considered a good score on the most common credit score range, which runs from 300 to 850. How does your score compare with others? You're within the good credit score range, which runs from 690 to 719.
Since hard inquiries affect your credit score and what is found may even affect approval, you might be wondering: How many inquiries is too many? The answer differs from lender to lender, but most consider six total inquiries on a report at one time to be too many to gain approval for an additional credit card or loan.
A soft credit inquiry does not impact your credit score or require your permission. It is typically done for informational purposes and not for lending decisions.
In summary, freezing your credit report is an effective way to prevent unauthorized access and protect your financial information. While it won't remove existing soft inquiries, it will stop new ones from occurring without your consent.
Even better, just over 1 in 5 people (21.2%) have an exceptional FICO credit score of 800 or above, all but guaranteeing access to the best products and interest rates.
While older models of credit scores used to go as high as 900, you can no longer achieve a 900 credit score. The highest score you can receive today is 850. Anything above 800 is considered an excellent credit score.