cable Company credit inquiry drops score 10 points

[JohnnyB]

Hi All,

I am new to the forum and this is my first post;

I just received a notice from Score Watch that a credit inquiry decreased my score 10 points and the reason stated it could signify I am looking for additional credit.

In this situation Uverse is now available in my area and I was simply changing cable providers.

I am not looking for new credit and I was wondering if I can do anything to have this adjusted and if not; how long might could this affect my score if they see no new credit accounts have been opened?

Thank you for your responses,

Johnny B

[Pap22]

"Hard" inquiries affect your score for 1 year. Are you sure the inquiry alone is what caused the 10 point drop?

If you didn't authorize the credit check then you can dispute it, but you might not be successful. This also happened to me two years ago, although I did not end up disputing it:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/Unauthorized-credit-check-worth-disputing/m-p/...

[JohnnyB]

Thanks Pap22,

Yes, it was caused by the inquiry and I was surprised as it was a cable company.

It is what it is and as they say; "Time heals all wounds" so it's a good thing I wont be looking for any new credit for a while.

BTW- Score dropped from 693 to 683.

Thanks again.

[JM-AM]

I have had this happen to me in the beginning of the year on EQ losing 10 points for a utility inquiry. After about 60 days that passed the report was updated again and my score actually gained 12 points. I don't know if this is normal but the end result was a 2 point gain.

[JohnnyB]

Thanks Jim,

Hope fully I will have the same experience.

[RobertEG]

Credit report inquiries are not limited only to requests for credit.

FCRA 604(a)(3)(F) authorizes credit inquiries in connection with a "business trransaction intiated by the consumer."

The FCRA does not regulate how a inquiry is coded (i.e., as a so-called "hard" or "soft" inquriy code).

To challenge this, you cant dispute coding under the FCRA.  All you can really do is to contact the cable company, and get their agreement to revise their reporting.

The inquiry will remain in your credit file for two years, but FICO only scores it for one year.