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Yesterday I did my "free yearly" credit check plus score and I found out that a company called First USA (sometimes noted as First USA, NA) has been making hard inquires on my credit through TransUnion and Experian over 10 times in the past year! Thus, my Experian score was lowered about 20 points from last year.
I have excellent credit overall, never a late payment nor a high balance on a CC, so I am a bit perplexed about how this happened. What clued me off what that I was recently denied a business credit card and the reason given was "too many recent inquiries" of my credit. I am in the process of writing a complain to the credit bureau as well as contacting Experian/TU myself to see if I can get it off my record, as well as STOP this from happening.
Does anyone have any idea how this occurred?? Has anyone else had this happen?? I searched online and saw that apparently many other people have had the same thing happen.
I did find this for you. It is a template of a letter you can send regarding that unauthorized inquiry and they will remove it. That should fix your score.
The credit reoporting agency is the source of my unauthoriezed hard inquiry
What if it is the Credit reporting agency that posted the erroneous data?
My Equifax credit report shows a hard inquiry from Discover in January. When I disputed it, it was not removed and was indicated as a factual record.
I called the Discover folks and they show no record of me whatsoever after searches of my social, name and address-archival records and all. They stated that they couldn't have reported info that they dont have, and the Equifax problably confused my name with someone else's.
I called Equifax about disputing the dispute, and they stated to my suprise that inquiries cannot be disputed or removed by them. The only way that inquires can be removed is by a request from the source.
So I called back the "source" and they once again stated that they cant request to have something removed that they dont have.
Ive been through 2 iterations of this mess and am stuck as to what to do now. My wife and I are planning on house hunting soon, and other than this mysterious inquire, our credit rocks.
I solved that problem years ago, by freezing my credit. It's the best solution for ID theft, and NO ONE will be checking on your credit. I can post my SS number on line and sleep well, knowing no one can touch my credit information... It's cheap and easy... I'm surprised more people don't do it...!
I solved that problem years ago, by freezing my credit. It's the best solution for ID theft, and NO ONE will be checking on your credit. I can post my SS number on line and sleep well, knowing no one can touch my credit information... It's cheap and easy... I'm surprised more people don't do it...!
I like that idea, especially since I have little reason to apply for credit these days. How do you go about freezing your credit?
It's easy and inexpensive. Contact all three CU's and pay $10 each, X 2 if married, and for$60.00 you freeze it and no one, not een you, can access it.If ou nt credit, you have a PIN number and you call the CU's and unfreeze it or as long a you wish. It cost's$10 dollars to unfeeze it if you want to buy something requiring credit. I have never had to unfreeze mine in over 6 years...
$60 total for both is much cheaper than payng some of those moitoring companies $19.95 a month...!
Clark Howard: Credit Freeze and Thaw Guide on clarkhoward.com (http://clarkhoward.com/topics/credit_freeze_states.html - broken link)
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