Sample letter to remove credit inquiry and fix credit score

Submitted by Richard on Sat, 07/22/2006 - 06:02
Forums

Hi,

We often notice unauthorized hard inquiries made by creditors listed in our credit report. These inquiries hamper our credit profile and cause problems in acquiring credit benefits. I have prepared a sample letter that you may use to ask the creditor to remove the inquiry and it will also help you to know how to get credit inquiries removed. Please make sure that you use fax or certified mail instead of ordinary mail in order to get a prompt response.

Your Name __________
Your Address __________
Your Phone # __________

Creditor's Name _____________
Creditor's Address ____________

Date ___________

Dear Sir or Madam,

RE: Unauthorized credit inquiry

While checking my personal credit report, which I acquired from [insert Credit bureau name], I notice an inquiry made by your organization.

Since I have not, to the best of my knowledge, authorized anyone employed by your organization to make an inquiry, you are not legally entitled to make the inquiry. Therefore, I request that you contact the concerned credit bureau and remove the unauthorized hard inquiry immediately, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Section 1681b(c): Transactions Not Initiated by Consumer. I also request that you remove my personal information from your records. Please send me a written confirmation that you have complied with my requests.

If you believe that you posses sufficient documentation that supports your authorization to make the inquiry, please send me a copy to my current address so that I may verify its validity.

Sincerely,

Your Signature ______________

Your Name ______________

Hi Richard,

Thanks so much for this sample letter. "Unauthorized inquiry" is pretty common to all of us. This letter will help us remove them from our reports and improve my credit score. That's why I think all of us should check our annual credit reports on a regular basis so that we can easily find out the credit inquiries.

Thanks,
~Carol

Wed, 07/26/2006 - 11:49 Permalink
Johnson12 (not verified)

Can anybody in this forum tell me how to get credit inquiries removed from my credit report? If I remove credit inquiries from my credit report will it improve my credit score?

Sun, 09/23/2007 - 08:32 Permalink

If it is a legitimate debt they are collecting on, then it is a permissible purpose for them to pull your credit report. You really can't prevent it. Unless they are pulling your credit more frequently than would be justified in the normal course of business - then you may be able to consider it as harassment.

If you don't know who the collection agency is, you may want to draft a letter to them stating that you 1) noticed their inquiry, 2) you are not aware of any delinquent accounts you may have, and 3) demand them to furnish evidence that they are pulling your credit for the lawful collection of a debt that you rightly owe. So it's better for you to check your annual credit reports on a monthly basis to make sure about the hard inquiries.

Sun, 09/23/2007 - 16:41 Permalink

If you have any contact number of this agency do call up and personally ask the reason for their inquiry. I think you might have a debt that has been sold to this agency. If possible, try to remove this credit inquiry and fix credit score.

Tue, 09/25/2007 - 08:17 Permalink
candiceann2003… (not verified)

excellent letter......best i've seen yet.

Fri, 10/05/2007 - 21:32 Permalink

Yes this is one of the best even i have seen. I used it as well and improve my credit score . :)

Sat, 10/06/2007 - 05:53 Permalink

Thanks..this will help me, too! I never knew there was such a letter. Now..I do have a question. If 'pre-screened' offers ( etc.) are inquiring on my credit report, can I use this letter? Or.....is a 'pre-screened offer a 'hard' inquiry?

Sat, 10/06/2007 - 09:19 Permalink

Pre-screened should not ever be a hard inquiry. In a pre-screened offer, the creditor has bought a list of consumers from the bureau who meet certain criteria -- so a soft iquiry shows up just because the bureau included your name in the list they sold.

If you act upon a pre-screened offer and fill out a credit application with the company, then they will go pull a hard inquiry so they can see what's actually on your annual credit reports.

Sat, 10/06/2007 - 16:37 Permalink

Pre-screened offers cannot be hard inquiries. They just do a soft inquiry to match criteria for their business purpose.

Mon, 10/08/2007 - 05:17 Permalink
candiceann2003 (not verified)

I am proud to say I have successfully removed 34 inquiries off my Transunion Report....But, the way I did it was to fax these letters directly to the Creditor rather than mail.......after about 2 months they were all removed. I faxed rather than Certified Mail......that was a massive savings....not sure how much Certified Mail is....but it also saved me a lot of trips to the Post Office. It is very easy to remove credit inquiries from the credit report and fix credit score.

Thu, 11/29/2007 - 01:39 Permalink

Superb Candiceann. You have some luck it seems :)

Thu, 11/29/2007 - 09:29 Permalink

That is really good news for us Candi. 34 inquiries in two months is a great accomplishment. Were they soft inquiries or hard ones as well?

Fri, 11/30/2007 - 05:38 Permalink
usestaubs (not verified)

Id prefer reading in my native language, because my knowledge of your languange is no so well. But it was interesting!

Thu, 12/13/2007 - 13:24 Permalink

Hi Usestaubs,

Here we discuss in English and you are welcome to do so. We can explain if you have any difficulty. :)

Fri, 12/14/2007 - 09:58 Permalink
TSACGIV (not verified)

LAURA YOU REALLY ARE A FANTASTIC GUARDIAN ANGEL.

Thu, 12/20/2007 - 00:10 Permalink

Thanks a lot TSA. Can I know the reason of this appreciation?

Thu, 12/20/2007 - 05:12 Permalink

Thanks for the information Candiceann.... I have often considered faxing everything instead of certified....

Mon, 12/31/2007 - 03:49 Permalink
glassblower1 (not verified)

I have read if you do a removal of inquiry they will put a frad alert on you CR

Mon, 03/03/2008 - 09:27 Permalink

Faxing gives you confirmation that they recieved it, but no signature, sending it certified, return reciept requested will get you the signature in hand.

Sat, 03/29/2008 - 11:25 Permalink

Is putting a fraud alert on your account good or bad? I have heard of this being done but never knew if it would give the creditor trouble in getting loans. At least it would be better than someone racking up bills under your name. Goodnatured makes a good point. Although faxing will give you a record of proof..you should really do it certified. That signature will hold up alot better.

Sat, 03/29/2008 - 12:59 Permalink

That is what I am trying to figure out. Hope someone answers. I would like to know more about it.

Sun, 03/30/2008 - 01:22 Permalink

If you go to any of the three credit reporting pages you will see that they all offer it for a price, there are different packages that you can buy, one has a credit rebuilding tool in it. Just go to any of the three, transunion, experian or equifax and you will see them all posted there.

Sun, 03/30/2008 - 02:51 Permalink

Sounds like some good advice. Maybe I will be surprised if I check my score. If there is a fee..how do you pay it...surely not by crdit card?

Sun, 03/30/2008 - 22:32 Permalink

I think that you would be able to pay for it with your credit card, mac or any other card that has the master/visa logo on it. I would think that it would walk you right through the process on the webpage. Hope you get what you are looking for, a descent score.

Mon, 03/31/2008 - 02:44 Permalink

So do I. I imagine they would guiade you in the paymen t process. Still think I have to hold off. Right now I just started back to work and everything is nickeling and diming me before first pay. Exhaust went on truck...expensive!! The creit report may not cost much but right now it just has to wait. Should be able to do it in a couple more weeks. It will hold until then.

Tue, 04/01/2008 - 22:50 Permalink

You could demand all correspondence in any language you want when it comes to debt collection, you can only get this forum in english so far, you may want to pm the admin department and ask if you can have it in your language.

Sun, 04/06/2008 - 23:27 Permalink

I have only seen this forum in English...hopefully there are forums out there for other languages.

Mon, 04/21/2008 - 01:47 Permalink

The debt forum has the site in other countries, I thought it was great that they expanded out to other countries, probably eventually this one will too. Hopefully.

Tue, 04/22/2008 - 01:08 Permalink

Thats pretty cool. It is knida weird to think of just how many million people find themselves in such finacial distress..probaly from all walks of life.

Wed, 04/23/2008 - 20:49 Permalink

Awareness is required in all countries. Its great to see the debt forum taking initiative and doing things for the rest of the world as well.

Thu, 04/24/2008 - 06:31 Permalink

Hopefully it will be helpful to all the ones that they have started it for and maybe they will continue to expand out to others as well. I visit back every now and then, there really is not much participation. I am hoping that will people will soon realize it is there.

Sun, 04/27/2008 - 12:13 Permalink

I think it is maybe hard to relize any certain forum because when you google something like "debt help" the search engine(s) bring up advertising crap and so on. Sometimes yolu have to dig forever to find a reliable site as this one is.

Mon, 05/05/2008 - 22:26 Permalink

It sure is and there are many sharks out there that just waiting for someone to fall into a trap.

Thu, 05/15/2008 - 01:16 Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

Yes goodnatured, you are correct. These agencies take advantage of the financial distress of the people and earn dollars. So I think awareness is the best thing to avoid these people.

Thu, 05/15/2008 - 11:59 Permalink

..also, ALOT of times a 'Debt Consolidation/Credit Repair' Co. advertises that you pay " nothing until they get results" ( I've seen this advertisement recently, on a 'credit repair' co.) However.....when you actually talk to them, you DO need " money up front to put into an 'escrow' for yourselve." However..... the way the ad was 'set-up-, it stated you did not have to pay until everything was finished. Seems deceptive to me. No guarentees...of course.

Fri, 05/16/2008 - 11:18 Permalink

Yes that definately is deceptive. The sad fact is most people do not have money to put in an escrow account. It is the lack of funds that got them where they are to begin with.

Sun, 05/18/2008 - 23:09 Permalink

The quote "nothing until they get results" as sdchargers pointed out is a type of marketing strategy these debt consolidation and credit repair companies use to drag in customers. But one should always note that there are many hidden conditions in these type of ads which one must first look into. Although it looks deceptive, it is the strategy which most companies use now a days.

Mon, 05/19/2008 - 04:55 Permalink

Very true Scott. That is why I think if someone put enough interest into their own credit they could clean it up themselves. I would at least give it a good try.

Mon, 05/19/2008 - 11:38 Permalink
joey123 (not verified)

hello,
the letter looks great, but i noticed it doesn't include a social security number, so how is the creditor going to know its me? and how is he going to report to credit agency? by name only??

Tue, 05/27/2008 - 13:57 Permalink

I am wondering if giving the SS number is a wise thing. I will let someone else with more knowledge answer this one and check back. I am interested in the answer myself.

Mon, 07/28/2008 - 15:00 Permalink

NO, do not give your SSN to ANYONE unless you have to. The CA or company that pulled your report should be able to find your info by simply looking up your name and the dates your provide which the inquirys were made. If they claim that they did not make the inquiry or, can't prove that you approved it, Have them send you a letter stating that it should be removed and you can send it to the CRA with a dispute letter *you can give the CRAs your SSN* and the CRA can call the CA or whoever to validate the letter.

Wed, 07/30/2008 - 19:12 Permalink

That is exactly what I was thinking. You are always advised to not give out your number. Like CMBV says if they can't pull it with other info then I wouldn't. Thanks for responding so quickly CMBV.

Thu, 07/31/2008 - 12:13 Permalink

You know there is all this information out there on identity theft and people still give out the one thing that is sure to make them a victim. Do Not give you number out.

Mon, 08/04/2008 - 15:47 Permalink

I wrote a more in depth article about idenity theft on my website, It gives some tips on how to prevent and repair damage from identity theft. If anyone notices anything I left out I would appreciate the heads up :)

Mon, 08/04/2008 - 21:21 Permalink

Thank you for the sample letters.I will get a lot of use out of them.Thanks.

Sat, 09/20/2008 - 23:55 Permalink