what causes a hard inquiry??

[Anonymous]

within the last 17 months I've opened 4 credit cards, 1 installment loan (around $13,000) and called PNC to request a CLI but I just checked my credit reports and I don't have any inquiries showing on my profile in the last 2 years, shouldn't I have at least four?? I always thought that applying for a new card/loan will trigger a HP but I guess not lol 

[Anonymous]

Generally you are correct and applications for new credit do result in a HP.  There are some exceptions, like if the CC you were approved for was from a lender with which you already had a card from (or recently apped with) sometimes they'll use your last pull.  The chances of that happening with several different lenders is pretty slim, though.  What source are you using to pull your credit reports and are you pulling them from all 3 bureaus?

[Anonymous]

Did you check all 3 reports? Most lenders pull either 1 or 2 of the 3 so you get the inquiry on the one the pulled.

[iv]

Not all monitoring systems actually show you everything on the reports - even MyFICO's own 3B reports hide inquiries that are over 12 months old (not scorable), even though the actual inquiries remain on the reports through 25 months...

Pull direct from the CRAs or through ACR to see the full report data.

[RobertEG]

The definition of a soft inquiry is one that does not show in any credit reports that are available to anyone other than the named consumer.

Credit monitoring services dont normally have access to records of soft inquiries, and they dont show on their normal credit reports.

An inquiry, regardless of whether coded as soft or hard, is a request for yoour credit report that identifies the purpose as being any one of the permissble purposes that are listed under FCRA 604.

All of those permissible purposes, with the sole exception of so-called promotional inquiries under section 604(c), can be coded as hard.

The CRAs, however, have internal procedures that will record certain types of inquirires as soft if they are for coded as being for such permissible purposes as internal account reviews or consumers requesting their own credit reports.   The CRAs also have internal procedures, unregulated by the FCRA, that optionally permit creditors to code their inquiries that normally are coded as hard as soft, which means they are excluded from credit reports obtained by others, and thus from scoring.

To get a record of soft inquiries, you need to request your report thru a process that clearly idenfies you, and you alone, as the recipient of the report.  The government-sanctioned site at annualcreditreport.com was created for consumers to obtain their free annual reports from the CRAs,and thus can show soft inquiries.