1. I am not inclined to publish my credit score on a public forum, but let it suffice to say that number of inquiries has impacted it enough to push me into higher interest rates, which, of course is the goal of the credit industry. What right-thinking capitalist would want to offer a 6% rate when they can find an excuse to bilk someone for 8, 10, 12% or higher? This is what FICO scores are all about, giving banks the best opportunity to make the most money. I have a bridge to sell anyone who thinks a FICO score has anything to do with clean-living or personal responsibility.
2. I patently reject the notion that five inquiries somehow multiplies risk factors by five. The person who really believes that five inquiries might mean I have just taken on five credit obligations has no clue about how credit systems operate today. In the last year, I bought a car and refinanced my house. Those two events netted about twelve inquiries on my credit report. I tried to prevent multiple inquiries, but to no avail. My only alternative is to write to each of the inquirers, inform them that I did not authorize their inquiries, hope they are nice enough to notify the credit bureaus that they really did not have authorization to conduct an inquiry (yeah, right), and then sue them. Do I really have the time, patience, and stomach for all that? No. I shouldn't have to. If we are going to accept living in a society where every time we try to do anything, like apply for a job, buy insurance, or go to the doctor, six or seven entities are going to look at our credit reports, then those inquiries should not be a factor.
I go back to my original premise, which reveals the idiocy of this notion: How is a person supposed to establish good credit, if the very act of applying for credit creates a negative mark?