By 
An inquiry removal request is generally used to warn the credit reporting agencies of an illegal inquiry into your credit and request that it be immediately removed. Upon receipt, it’s the credit reporting agencies’ responsibility to investigate your complaint and determine if it should be deleted or remain on your credit file. In most cases, it will remain on your credit history file for seven years unless it’s deleted, or corrected, in which case it will be removed permanently. If it remains on your file after seven years, you can request a credit score check using one of the online tools offered by many credit reporting agencies. (The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives consumers the right to request a free credit score check once every 12 months.)
Many people believe that requesting an inquiry removal is illegal. While there are some parts of the law that may make these activities illegal, most experts don’t agree. The laws regarding these inquiries (also known as “spam”) do not specifically mention an individual or entity. Rather, the Fair Credit Reporting Act refers to a “thing or document” that is “indicated” or “known” to result in an inquiry. So if a creditor sends you a letter advising you that they are not making any new requests for your credit or are removing any older requests, this is considered a form of permissible communication under the FCRA and is likely legal.
Legally, you have the right to challenge any of these “indication” letters and request the documents are removed from your credit file. You should write to each credit bureau that received the letter challenging their findings: that they were incorrect, in error or misleading. If you’ve received a number of letters like this, you should seriously consider asking the creditor to remove the reference to the original creditor within 30 days. A court order may be necessary to get the order lifted, but the records should be deleted. In most cases, creditors will remove references to third parties if requested.
Another possible method for credit score improvement through credit inquiry removal is through “soft inquiries.” There are several different types of soft inquiries. For example, if you go on vacation, the company doesn’t send out a credit check. However, some companies will check your credit when you return to find that you’ve cleared your vacation schedule and you’re down the street shopping! Again, this is a form of permissible communication if you have cleared your vacation intentions.
Other forms of credit inquiry removal include requests made directly by consumers such as those who order utility services, rent a mortgage, open new checking accounts, or even credit cards. These requests are often accompanied by a request for permission to send the company a “thank you” letter after the sale. Under FCRA rules, you can legally request a copy of this correspondence and you have the right to send the letter after the transaction closes if you so choose. The good news is that the credit bureau must issue a response to your request or provide you with written permission to send the letter.
If you’ve received a collection on your credit score and would like to have it removed, there are a few steps you should take first. Before contacting the creditor, review the item on your credit report and see if you can find any errors. If you do, challenge them in writing. If they are unable to prove the entry is not yours, the entry will be deleted from your credit history report. You can get your dispute turned over to a credit repair organization, which can then attempt to recover the item from the company or you can have the dispute considered a “rejective response” and it will be deleted.
This post was written by Kristian D’An, owner of https://bestcreditrepairservices.com/ and CCA board certified credit repair specialist. Lux Credit offers credit repair services for those looking to improve their credit!
