Understanding Inquiries - ?

Remlock — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:42:13 GMT

I'm VERY confused.

I've purchased my TU and EQ reports and scores and can't make sense of what I see, particularly with respect to inquiries.

EQ lists under its factors that are "Hurting your (my) score", "Short Account History" despite my oldest trade line being 21 years and 10 months, and my average account age being 8 years and "Seeking Credit" with 2 inquiries.

The first bizarre thing is that my report actually has 3 inquiries. Two came on 01/2/2010 from an auto lenders an unscrupulous dealer "shopped" my loan application without my consent, although one of those inquiries was by the lender through which I financed the purchase. A third was on 01/27/2010 from Scottrade when I opened a ROTH IRA.

The odd thing here is that they cite 2 inquiries when my report reflects 3.

Now, on to TU.

I have 4 TU inquires, all on 01/02/2010 from lenders the same car dealer had "shopped", including the one lender that ultimately financed my vehicle. All 4 inquiries show on my report and accurately reflect the tally on the explanation.

But here's the odd thing. There's absolutely NO mention that "Seeking Credit" is affecting my TU score, only "Short Account History" (TU shows 7 years average age). How can this not be?

Can anybody offer any insight?

On a side note, I'm VERY frustrated that paying-off a car loan today actually LOWERED my score.by 4 points.

Re: Understanding Inquiries - ?

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:00:59 GMT

When looking for an auto loan, any inquiry done within a 30 day period is considered 1 inquiry for FICO purposes.

That is why they are not considered to many.

As for paying off your car loan, if you now have no installment accounts, it would be a small ding from FICO. FICO likes to see a mix of different type credit.

topic Understanding Inquiries - ? in Understanding FICO® Scoring

Understanding Inquiries - ?

Re: Understanding Inquiries - ?