HOW DO INQUIRIES AFFECT CREDIT SCORE

[thornback]

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@Dreams_Come_True wrote:

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What happens when you earn points with added inqueries? Do we lose them when they reach 365 days? When I started my credit rebuilding journey I had no credit activity or accounts open.  So, everytime an inquiry was added I was gaining between 4-10 points, depending on the CBR.  

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FICO doesn't grant points for inquiries.   However, you would've received points for opening your first 3 accounts since you had no credit history.   So no, you won't lose your points gained from adding new accounts.   You may gain a couple of points when your inquiries age to 1 year.  You should also gain points for your accounts reaching 1 year. 

[Dreams_Come_True]

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@thornback wrote:

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@Dreams_Come_True wrote:

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What happens when you earn points with added inqueries? Do we lose them when they reach 365 days? When I started my credit rebuilding journey I had no credit activity or accounts open.  So, everytime an inquiry was added I was gaining between 4-10 points, depending on the CBR.  

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FICO doesn't grant points for inquiries.   However, you would've received points for opening your first 3 accounts since you had no credit history.   So no, you won't lose your points gained from adding new accounts.   You may gain a couple of points when your inquiries age to 1 year.  You should also gain points for your accounts reaching 1 year. 

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Yes, I received points when the accounts were added but I thought the points you see on the screeshot were for the added inquiry. Well, as long as I do not lose them I'm happy .  Thanks for the Info!

[thornback]

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@Dreams_Come_True wrote:

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Yes, I received points when the accounts were added but I thought the points you see on the screeshot were for the added inquiry. Well, as long as I do not lose them I'm happy .  Thanks for the Info!

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Oh... no.  That's a prime example of an alert for an alertable event that also includes any updates to your score since the last time it was pulled.   The alertable event is not always causation for the score change - it's just the trigger for an updated score to be pulled.  It can be really confusing sometimes. 

[Dreams_Come_True]

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@thornback wrote:

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@Dreams_Come_True wrote:

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Yes, I received points when the accounts were added but I thought the points you see on the screeshot were for the added inquiry. Well, as long as I do not lose them I'm happy .  Thanks for the Info!

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Oh... no.  That's a prime example of an alert for an alertable event that also includes any updates to your score since the last time it was pulled.   The alertable event is not always causation for the score change - it's just the trigger for an updated score to be pulled.  It can be really confusing sometimes. 

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I'm glad I asked because I was under the impression that I received points.  Confusing indeed!  

Thanks for the clarification, very helpful, as always . .

[Revelate]

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@Dreams_Come_True wrote:

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@thornback wrote:

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@Dreams_Come_True wrote:

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Yes, I received points when the accounts were added but I thought the points you see on the screeshot were for the added inquiry. Well, as long as I do not lose them I'm happy .  Thanks for the Info!

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Oh... no.  That's a prime example of an alert for an alertable event that also includes any updates to your score since the last time it was pulled.   The alertable event is not always causation for the score change - it's just the trigger for an updated score to be pulled.  It can be really confusing sometimes. 

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I'm glad I asked because I was under the impression that I received points.  Confusing indeed!  

Thanks for the clarification, very helpful, as always . .

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Actually where did you get that screenshot?

If you have zero open accounts and no activity within 6 months you cannot generate a FICO score at all so your being at 500 suggests some other scoring model anyway.

[seattletravels]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I currently have 30 inquiries on TU 40 EXP and 35 EX

How much of hit is this taking on my scores? Currently my scores are TU 575 EX 565 EXP 575. All inq. Are hard hits.

Please help? If anyone has suggestions about getting them off credit report?

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Yo OP - for real - can you provide some insight on the inquiries?

[Anonymous]

For those interested about inquiries and their impact, reading this post may help:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO-Scoring/Inquiry-Master-Thread-demystifying-hard-...Inquiry Master Thread demystifying hard inquiries and their impact on your score 

[Dreams_Come_True]

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@Revelate wrote:

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@Dreams_Come_True wrote:

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@thornback wrote:

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@Dreams_Come_True wrote:

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Yes, I received points when the accounts were added but I thought the points you see on the screeshot were for the added inquiry. Well, as long as I do not lose them I'm happy .  Thanks for the Info!

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Oh... no.  That's a prime example of an alert for an alertable event that also includes any updates to your score since the last time it was pulled.   The alertable event is not always causation for the score change - it's just the trigger for an updated score to be pulled.  It can be really confusing sometimes. 

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I'm glad I asked because I was under the impression that I received points.  Confusing indeed!  

Thanks for the clarification, very helpful, as always . .

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Actually where did you get that screenshot?

If you have zero open accounts and no activity within 6 months you cannot generate a FICO score at all so your being at 500 suggests some other scoring model anyway.

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At that time I didn't have any open account or activity, just a bunch of closed, derogs and collection accounts. Then I got 3 secure credit cards. 

[Anonymous]

@Anonymous high app behavior will lead in a direction that is the opposite of your screen name...

The signature block of @thornback has an aphorism - a short saying that captures much wisdom. In essence, patience, grasshopper...

Credit scores are risk measures, not attractiveness measures.  Experts like  @Anonymous @Thomas_Thumb and @Anonymous have mentioned this across many posts: lots of math goes into a credit score.  While it is one simple number, very complex math is used to measure how risky it is to lend / loan money to a person based on their past credit behavior. High credit scores mean low credit risk.

Credit scores measure credit risk - how probable it is of someone defaulting (not paying as promised) on a card or loan. Lender hate defaults.

Setting application records is a BIG RED FLAG to credit issuers (credit card companies, banks, credit unions, etc).  A high number of inquiries or applications is an indicator that someone is either desparate for credit (that is bad and lenders do not like it), or does not know or care about how issuers look at too many applications (that is bad and lenders do not like it).  

The more - and more often - that someone applies for credit, the less desirable they appear to a lender.

As others have stated, there are inquiry limits ("bins" or counts of inquiries) that once that number is crossed, any additional inquiries do not lower a score. That's OK, you might think. It is not. Even if one more INQ does not lower your score due to binning (search these boards if you do not know about binning), a high number of inquiries from a high number of applications lowers the likelihood of an approval.  (I wrote another post on this matter, using an example of my personal story that I was going to post here - here is a link instead.)

A low score tells a lender that a person has a higher risk of default. That is bad.

A low score AND a very high number of inquiries tells a lender that a person has a very high risk of default. That is worse.

Don't be that person.

Garden. No applications. Keep the credit you have now and manage it carefully to meet your payment requirements. The single best thing you can do to improve your score is pay 100% your bills on time 100% of the time.

Yes, it will take time for your inquiries to become unscorable. It will take much longer if you don't.

I think you will find that the patience in holding off on new applications and inquiries will be worth the wait.