How to Dispute Credit Inquiries

Each time you apply for a credit card or loan, the lender pulls your credit reports from the big three credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian) to help them decide whether to loan to you. Each inquiry into your credit reports leaves a notation on your reports. These inquiries factor into your overall credit score, so it's important to avoid many inquiries at the same time. You usually have to give permission before a credit report inquiry. However, sometimes inquiries are made on credit reports that aren't authorized. If that's happened to you, then you want to know how to remove these inquiries to keep your credit score high.

Instructions

1

Request your credit reports from each credit bureau. Look over the listed inquiries on each report. Make a list of the inquiries you didn't authorize. The unauthorized inquiries are the only ones you can legally dispute.

2

Draft a letter to each of the credit bureaus. In this letter, provide any personal identifying information, such as name, address, social security number and credit report number. Write that you found unauthorized credit inquiries on your report and that they are required to investigate in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and notify you of the outcome of their investigation. Close the letter by asking that they notify you of their findings within a reasonable amount of time (usually within one month). This notification should be either the outcome of their investigation or an updated copy of your credit report with the erroneous inquiries deleted.

3

Send each letter certified with a return receipt requested. Doing this gives you proof that your letter was sent and arrived at the credit bureaus' offices.

4

Follow up with another certified letter if you don't hear back within a reasonable amount of time. Credit bureaus receive thousands of pieces of correspondence each week and it's possible that yours could fall through the cracks. You'll eventually hear back from the credit bureaus with a credit report showing that the unauthorized inquiries were deleted.