Transcription
In today's video, I'm going to show you exactly how to remove hard inquiries from your credit report, step by step. In fact, what I'm about to share with you is exactly what credit repair companies charge an arm and a leg for. I'm trying to be as transparent as I possibly can because I don't want to take your hard-earned money on something that should be completely free to help you fix your credit. All I ask of you guys is to give this video a like and maybe even a share because everything in this video is what credit card companies will help you with.
What's up, winners? My name is Nam. If you're new here, welcome! On this channel, we talk all about personal finance. Start now by subscribing so you don't miss out on any future videos. So in this video, I'm gonna try to break things down as simply as I possibly can, but if you still need some step-by-step help, feel free to contact me for consultation at nomwin.com.
So now let me explain who this is exactly for. This can really help anyone, but individuals with less than good credit will benefit from this the most. I would say anyone with a 720 or less. Each point on your credit score can have a dramatic effect whenever you're trying to get a loan, getting a new credit card, and also your interest rates. One of the simplest ways to increase your credit score within 24 hours or even less is by removing hard pulls. This can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars when you need financing.
So before I actually go over the steps, I'm gonna give you guys a quick breakdown of what a hard pull and a soft pull is, so you guys have a better understanding of how this all works. So first off, a hard pull is a type of credit inquiry that affects your credit score. If you guys ever apply for a loan or a credit card, usually this results in a hard pull, and this will have a dip to your credit score, usually for a few months before it resolves on its own. For hard pulls, they usually stay on your credit report for a maximum of 24 months. Once the 25th month rolls around, it will automatically be deleted from your credit board, and no one will reference them in their decision to approve you for the next credit card or a loan.
For a hard pull to actually happen, this requires authorization from you. But make no mistake, there has been time when people go to car dealerships, ask for quotes, and the dealership pulls your credit multiple times from different lenders when you did not authorize them to do so. The majority of times when you do have multiple hard pulls in a short period of time, credit bureaus they would just look this bunch of hard pulls just as one. But there are some mistakes that happen on your credit board where multiple hard pulls just remain there, which in turn will bring down your credit score. These are the perfect inquiries to go for. Now let's move on to soft pulls.
This type of inquiry does not affect your credit score. The most simple example when a soft pull is performed is when you get pre-approval offers in the mail concerning credit cards or mortgages. The main reason on why pre-approvals happen is that they can have an idea of what your credit is like and can predict whether or not you can get approval. There are also times if you're trying to rent your apartment or apply for a new job; landlords and employers can do a soft pull on your credit just to see how your finances are. If you guys ever sign up for any apps such as Credit Karma or your own personal bank provides you with a FICO score, this is considered a soft pull. So hopefully, by now you guys have a better understanding of what the difference is between a hard pull and a soft pull. So now let's get right into exactly how you remove hard inquiries from your credit report.
So the first thing you guys need to do is get a copy of your credit report. You can get a free credit report from each one of the three big credit bureaus from annualcreditreport.com, or whenever you go to any of their websites. All of the links will be in the description below. If you're not able to get one of these, then another option is to download an app like Credit Karma, and you can see all the hard inquiries that you've had in the past two years, but they may not be 100% correct. So once you get your reports, just make sure you highlight, circle, and number them so it's just easier to refer to in your letter. Now you want to make two copies of these: one for the credit bureau and one for yourself.
When trying to decide which hard inquiry you want to remove, it is best to start working from your oldest ones first rather than a recent one. I would not suggest trying to remove a hard inquiry that was started within the past 60 days, just due to the fact that these will be more difficult since, most likely, these companies that have pulled your credit will already have your information on file, and they have your authorization. So the key here is to start with the oldest ones. Once you know which hard inquiries that you want to dispute, now let's move on to what you need to do first before disputing.
So before you intend to file the dispute, there are some things that you have to do first to make this process as quick as possible. You're going to need some documents ready inside of the letter as well. This will be a copy of your social security card, driver's license, or any form of government ID, and a utility bill with your address. Each one of these credit bureaus they require different forms, so it's best to Google these companies to see what they require so you don't waste any time sending letters back and forth. So once you have an idea of what paperwork that you do need, the next step is to freeze a bunch of accounts.
Whenever you're filing a hard inquiry dispute, the first thing the credit bureau is going to do is going to look into your public records. The reason why they do this is they have a collection of personal information data that they can search with just a click of a button. But the thing is, you want the credit bureaus to do the dirty work; they need to be able to dig up the proof that it was you who approved these hard inquiries. The company that they probably use will be LexisNexis. If this is your first time hearing about LexisNexis, don't be surprised because the majority of people never even heard of this company. LexisNexis is a public company records that many businesses use. Some information that this company can provide is all the addresses that you live at previously, property that you own or sold, judgments, liens, relatives, and pretty much any personal information out there that you don't want people to know. So once you go onto their website, you can request for a freeze or an opt-out of the companies getting access to your personal information.
One thing to keep in mind is that when you're trying to decide to open up a new account like a checking or credit card, the company that you are applying for they may request for your personal information through LexisNexis. If they are unable to get your LexisNexis report, then it may deny your application, or they may just request you to lift that freeze so they can get access to your personal information. So when exactly should you unfreeze your account? It is best to unfreeze your account if you're deciding to open up new accounts, get a new job, or renting a new apartment; pretty much for most things that require an application, more likely than not they would try to get your personal information to LexisNexis. But in the meantime, I will keep your LexisNexis personal information frozen.
So now what you want to do next is go to innovis.com and place the security freeze on your Innovis credit report. Again, this is probably another company that you might have heard of for the first time today, but this is just another credit bureau. The three biggest players in the credit card game is TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian, but there are also 200 alternative credit reporting agencies that collect data and help lenders determine how risky you are as a borrower. Innovis will be the first one that we will be talking about. This company is often referred to as a fourth credit bureau because it collects similar data to the big three. This company provides ID verification data and many businesses that use it for pre-screening potential customers. They also collect other non-traditional credit information like your rent payments, magazine subscriptions, and utility bills. So what you want to do here is go to their website and request for a security freeze. Once you're on their website, all you gotta do is plug in your personal information, then you're all set. The reason why you want to put a freeze to this credit bureau is that when a lender is going to be checking your credit, you want them to run the big three; this is just one less thing that you have to worry about.
The next one that I want to talk about is SageStream. Again, this is probably another company that you heard of for the first time today. There have been numerous accounts when people trying to buy a car, they got their financing denied just due to the fact that their SageStream score is low. With SageStream, their credit score ranges up to 999, while the most common FICO score ranges from 300 to 850. Depending on which credit bureau lenders pull, this will dictate the likelihood of getting approved for an auto loan or credit card. So it would be best just to get your account frozen with them too. But if you have no choice, which means a lender will only look at one of these credit bureaus, then you might as well dispute them as any other credit bureau because you can still get a free annual credit report through them, and if there's any discrepancies, then you can still fight them. I feel like you should only do this if you have no other option and the lender that you're trying to get financing from needs this specific type of credit report. The reason why lenders go to these reporting agencies is due to the costs.
So now you guys have identified which hard inquiries that you guys want to remove, and you placed security freezes on those companies that I mentioned earlier. Now let's move on to the next step. There will be two ways that you can do this: you can either do it by mail or electronically through the credit bureau's website. So is one better than the other? Well, it really depends on how comfortable you are with computers, honestly. If you're pretty tech-savvy and you know how to use a computer fine and plug in information, you should totally be fine doing it online. If not, the old-school way of sending a letter works the same way as well. So let me go through the first way: sending a letter.
So down in the description below, I'll link a letter template that you can use for free. So once you download the letter template, you can just plug and play the information of the credit bureau and just your own personal information. I know that other YouTubers actually charge you for this letter, but this is totally free if you just do a quick Google search. But before you send this letter, just make sure you attach all the required paperwork that the credit bureau will need just to expedite the process. The last thing you want to do is have repeated back-and-forth letters because this is going to delay the process so much longer. So where you would find this information is by doing a quick Google search, but I'm trying to over-deliver the value you get from this video, so I'm gonna post a link in the sites in the description below so you guys can check it for yourself. But for example, here are some documents that you may need: you need a copy of your driver's license or another photo ID, a copy of your social security card, utility bills, and maybe a bank statement with your name on it. There are many other options of documents that you can provide as well, so just make sure that you send the correct ones.
Alright, so by now you guys should have your letter, a copy of your credit report, and all the personal identifying paperwork that I just mentioned inside of this letter. Now what you want to do next is to send this letter to the company by certified mail. Again, make sure that it is certified mail. The key reason on why you want to send it by certified mail is to make sure that companies actually receive this letter. The last thing you want to hear is that they lost all the paperwork and that you need to resend everything. That is why it's good to have a copy of everything that you sent them and have a paper trail that you can fall back onto. Once you sent them the letter, you should probably hear a response back within the next 30 days. If you have not, then you should just follow up with them just to make sure that they are processing the dispute.
So now let's move on if you were to do this online. If you were to go this route, this will have the quickest turnaround since everything is done electronically. So let me give you an example. If you were to do this online, whichever credit bureau that you want to dispute the process is going to be very similar. So let's go with Experian. So now go to Google and search Experian hard inquiry dispute. I'm not going to go into the details because this is pretty self-explanatory. Once you have done that, this will bring you to a new window where you can start your new dispute. So now this will go on to the sections that you want to dispute, but you want to mainly focus on hard inquiries. So once you review this list, just double-check if you are able to do a dispute online because sometimes you're not able to do it online. If that is the case, you either have to call them or just resort to sending them a letter in the mail. Now once you decide which inquiry that you want to dispute, just make sure that you indicate the reason on why you want to. Then all you got to do next is just submit all the information, and you just gotta wait until it plays out. I've heard many cases where individuals were able to get their disputes resolved within hours to 24 hours. The great thing about doing disputes online is that you have live tracking where you can see the whole process. If you were to send a letter in the mail, they may provide you with information in an account where you can register online and you actually see the whole process of your dispute as well. If all goes well, the hard inquiry is removed from your credit board, and now you have a jump of points to your credit score.
Alright guys, so that pretty much does it for me. If you guys got some value from this video, just make sure you give this video a like because that really helps support the channel. And if you want to hang out with me some more, check out my videos over here.