An inquiry on your credit report shows when a creditor runs a credit check on you.  It doesn’t matter whether it’s a retail store or your buying a house.  To the FICO system, it looks like you are trying to get more money.  The FICO systems tries to match up an inquiry with an active line of credit.  If it cannot, the system assumes the creditor rejected you, not that you rejected them.

Inquiries stay in the FICO system for 24 months.  It is your responsibility to as the credit agency to remove lingering inquiries.

FICO Score Inquiry Tip

Request (to each credit bureau) that all inquiries dated more than 24 months be removed from your credit report.

Always ask for a copy of the updated credit report.

FICO Score Inquiry Myths

Multiple inquiries that run in the same industry count as one. Not true.

Inquiries run in a 30 day period count as one.  Again, not true.

Each inquiry shows up as a different name and has an affect on your FICO score.