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Inquiry
Also known as: credit check, credit pull
Definition: An electronic request to view an individual’s credit report. Inquiries are segregated into “hard” and “soft” inquiries. Hard inquiries are acquired whenever a potential creditor pulls one’s credit report. Soft inquiries are acquired whenever an individual pulls their own credit report for the purposes of preventing credit fraud or for personal credit management. Hard inquiries, if too many are accrued over a short time frame, can negatively impact one’s credit score. On the other hand, soft inquiries carry no ill effects for one’s score.
Inquiries and credit reports: Inquiries will remain on your credit report for a period of two years.