Are you wondering how to check your credit score without affecting it? These are the kind of questions that go on in the mind of those that take credit. Well, I want to announce to you that it is possible to do that. In this article, you will find out if checking your credit score will not hurt it or not.
How To Check Your Credit Score Without Affecting It
When you get your credit report on a regular basis and as well check your credit scores always, it helps to ensure that your information is accurate and correct. Many people still have this question to ask, which is if checking your credit score always will affect or damage it? Recently, people are not sure of what the outcome will be because they think that the regular check will affect or have a negative impact on their credit scores.
The good news you need to hear and know is that checking your credit score regularly does not have any impact on your credit scores or even your credit reports. Rather checking your credit scores regularly is a very important way to ensure that your personal and account information is correct. Regular checks may also help you to detect any signs of potential identity theft.
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The Impact A Soft And Hard Inquiry Can Have On Your Credit Score
A request for a copy of your credit report or to check your credit scores is known as a soft inquiry. You can use it to check your credit score without affecting it. There are other types of soft inquiries that may exist due to the fact that some companies can send a promotional credit card offer as well as existing lending account reviews by companies you opened an account with. The soft inquiry on your credit score does not in any way affect your credit score.
Such inquiries are not also visible to potential lenders that may want to review your credit reports. They are only visible to you and will stay on your credit reports for a period of 12 to 24 months depending on the type of inquiry.
A hard inquiry on the other hand is the type of inquiry that happens when you apply for a credit card or a loan. Using hard inquiry is one of the ways to check your credit score without affecting it. This happens because the potential lender wants to review your credit history. This type of inquiry does not also affect your credit scores, But when you want to purchase big items like a house, or you want to secure a mortgage, or even shop around at the most competitive rates, the multiple hard inquiries will be treated as one hard inquiry for a given period of time which is always within 14 to 45 days.
This situation gives you enough time to check the different lenders available for you and their different loan terms to find the one that is best for you. In general, this particular type of multiple hard inquiry exception does not apply to credit cards.
How To Get Your Credit Reports
Every individual is entitled to a free copy of their credit card reports every twelve (12) months from each of the three nationwide credit bureaus. You have to do to have access to it by visiting their website at www.annualcreditreport.com. You can as well create a myEquifax account in a bid to get six (6) free Equifax credit reports every single year.
In addition, you can also click “Get my free credit score” on your myEquifax dashboard to easily enrol in Equifax Core Credit to get the free monthly Equifax credit report as well as a free monthly VantageScore 3.0 credit score based on the Equifax data. A Vantage score is one of the many types of credit scores you should know.
While checking your credit report, it is very important to ensure that all your personal information, such as your name and address is correct and accurate and that there is no information on the report you do not recognise. Also, ensure that your account information is complete and accurate. Check if your account balances, payment history and credit limits are also accurate. You should use the opportunity to check if there is any information listed on your credit report that you don’t believe is