Removal of Hard Credit Inquiries by a Collection Agency

Hard credit inquiries appear at the bottom of your credit report and are added each time you apply for credit. For example, if you apply for a mortgage, auto loan or credit card, the hard inquiry will appear after the lender checks your credit. Debt collectors do not extend credit and should not be making hard inquiries against your credit. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan reported on her website in July 2010 that everyone has the right to to have unauthorized hard credit inquiries removed.

Instructions

1

Get a copy of your Experian credit report. According to Madigan, of the three nationwide credit bureaus, only Experian lists the addresses of companies making hard credit inquiries. The only way to have the inquiries removed is to write the companies directly. The credit bureau will not remove the inquiries unless directed by the company that initiated the inquiry. Get a copy of your Experian report for free from the website Annual Credit Report (see Resources). The credit bureaus all offer free credit reports through the site as required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

2

Find the hard inquiries that you wish to dispute. Also look on the report for the names and addresses of the companies that initiated the inquiries. Write letters to each of the companies. Tell the companies that you did not authorize the credit inquiry and that such an inquiry without your permission is a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a federal law. Tell the company to send you proof that you authorized the inquiry, or have the inquiry removed from all three of your credit reports within 30 days. Ask the companies to notify you that the inquiries have been removed if they cannot provide documentation that you authorized the inquiry.

3

Send a second request after 30 days if the company does not respond to your initial request. If that doesn't work, have an attorney send a letter after 60 days.