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 soft inquiry can occur even if you didn't apply for credit. It is primarily used to screen for preapproval offers or for a background check. Credit scores are not impacted by soft credit checks. A hard credit check can temporarily affect your credit score.
A soft credit pull can show information such as credit accounts, late payments, collection activity and hard credit inquiries. Only you can see what soft credit inquiries have been run on your credit report.
How long do soft inquiries stay on your credit report? Promotional inquiries can stay on your credit report for one year, while other soft inquiries may stay on your credit report for two years. Only you can see all the soft inquiries on your credit report.
Can I 'fail' a soft credit check? Don't worry, you can't 'fail' a soft credit check. With a soft search, you're not actually applying for anything – so it won't result in a lender's decision.
Income is not part of your credit report. And while lenders often factor your income into their lending decisions, they'll typically get that information directly from you during the credit application process.
However, it's crucial to note that soft credit checks do not show defaults, missed payments, or County Court Judgments (CCJs). This makes them a useful tool for individuals and lenders to gauge creditworthiness without affecting the credit score.
But that doesn't mean your permission is always needed before a credit check — if someone is performing a hard credit check, they have to ask for permission, but if someone is performing a soft credit check, they don't have to ask for permission.
A soft credit check mortgage preapproval is hard to come by since lenders want a close look at your financial history during this process. 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.
A soft credit check shows a top-level view of your financial history. Lenders may want to do a soft credit check so they can pre-approve any offers, or show you what you could potentially be eligible for. A soft credit check doesn't leave a visible footprint on your credit file, but it is recorded.
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.
No, requesting your credit report does not hurt your credit score. You can check your credit at no charge at annualcreditreport.com . You can review your credit report online for free once a week, from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion).
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.
FICO Score
Very poor: 300 to 579. Fair: 580 to 669. Good: 670 to 739. Very good: 740 to 799. Excellent: 800 to 850.
If you'd like to limit soft inquiries, you can use the website OptOutPrescreen.com to opt out of the prescreening process that companies use to send you offers for items like credit cards, mortgage refinancing and insurance.
A soft pull on your credit shows basic personal information, a summary of your credit history, recent inquiries, any public records related to your credit, and sometimes a summary of your credit scores. It does not reveal detailed account-specific information and doesn't affect your credit score.
There are some differences around how the various data elements on a credit report factor into the score calculations. Although credit scoring models vary, generally, credit scores from 660 to 724 are considered good; 725 to 759 are considered very good; and 760 and up are considered excellent.
Does a credit freeze prevent soft inquiries? Because a soft inquiry is not necessarily to open a new credit account, a credit freeze usually doesn't prevent soft inquiries. Certain companies (insurance providers, for example) can still look at your credit report, as can your existing creditors.
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.
There are many factors that lenders consider when looking at your credit history, and each one is different. The typical timeframe is the last six years.
Smith explained that even if a potential employer isn't looking at your credit history specifically, they may still pull your credit report: “A credit score can affect your job chances by getting you denied employment. There are limited reasons why someone can obtain a credit report or consumer report about a person.
When taking out a personal loan or applying for a mortgage or credit card, a credit check normally impacts your score. A soft credit check occurs when you're not accessing any money or credit (like when browsing potential loan offers), so the inquiry has no effect on your overall credit score.
Soft credit checks show most of the information that appears on your full credit report. This includes current and closed credit accounts and loans, your payment history, and any tax liens or bankruptcies in your name.