Low score, not my fault

[Anonymous]

Hey everyone, first time posting,

I've had many inquiries, and on a few occasions, accounts, put onto my report which unfortunately were negative.  The inquiries I am still working to resolve and remove, but the accounts created such a negative impact on my score.  What I'm asking is, how long does it take for my FICO Score to get to where it should be.  All fraudulent accounts have been removed, and there are still a few inquiries that I'm resolving, yet my score is still in the 670 range.  I have 1 installment and 1 revolving, both with excellent history

[Anonymous]

probably need a broader credit file if you only have the two accounts.  Also, what is your utilization on the CC.  You want to keep it as under 10% of the available credit to maximize your credit score.  Make sure you pay it before the day it gets reported to the CB's, not when you get your bill.  that way the lower balance will show up on the statement.

[Junejer]

Hi Red, welcome to the forums, please read credit scoring 101, if you haven't already. I don't know how many INQs there are, nor when they took place, so it's hard to determine. Also, don't know what your CC utilization is. Where are you looking to get your FICO score?

[Anonymous]

Even if you pay your balance in full every month, have a high utilization rate on your only revolving tradeline will kill a FICO score. I too recommend you pick up an additional card or two in the long haul (maybe after you pay down your balance if it is above 30 percent).

[Anonymous]

What do you mean you're looking to "resolve and remove" the inquiries?

You do know about the dangers of disputing legit inquiries, right?

[Anonymous]

The accounts and inquires..... were these put on your CR by someone other than yourself? Is that why you are saying it isn't your fault?

[Anonymous]

To chedder and Amy,

The inquiries are not mine, most likely my father's.  We have the same name.  A few months ago I had 2 accounts of his that were on my report, unfortunately they were negative -- regardless, I had them removed successfully.  Now the inquiries are for mortgage loans, several actaully.  I've never applied for these loans, my father has (just for reference, I had several inquiries on my Equifax report a few months ago, some were mortgage loans, I disputed them and they were removed...).  So they are either fradulent accounts, or (most likely) my fathers.  I'm assuming that they are my fathers, regardless though, if they are not mine they will be taken off of my account, correct?

-Rednl 

[Anonymous]

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Rednl wrote:

I'm assuming that they are my fathers, regardless though, if they are not mine they will be taken off of my account, correct?

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Not necessarily.  Most of the time CRAs regard inquiries as a statement of fact, and as such they are often not easily removed, even if they are not legitimate.

Think of it this way.  The FCRA requires a CRA to produce a record of inquiries when the report is pulled.  Even if someone pulled your report and they had no permissible purpose to do so, the CRA still has an obligation to report (to you) that the inquiry happened.  When you dispute an inquiry, you are not saying, "XXX had no right to pull my report."  Instead, you are saying, "XXX did not pull my report," to which the CRA often responds, "But, in fact, they did."

Now, having said that, you may still get lucky.  The CRA may still remove the inquiry altogether or recode it to soft.  Either way, whether the inquiry is removed or not, you likely have recourse against anyone pulling your reports who doesn't have permissible purpose (PP) to do so.

[Anonymous]

Hi Red,

To avoid future mix-ups, you can call all three CRAs individually and ask to "add an indicator" to your reports/name. My DH also has the same name as his father, and taking this step has virtually eliminated the credit cross-pulls and cross-postings.

[wmarat]

IMHO.

You should dispute inq.'s with a lender and lender must remove it ( those inq's are without PP) and you may be entitled for $1000 per inq.

Fraudulent accounts should be disputed with CRA as not mine accounts.

Good Luck.