A copy of your credit report is “pulled” or requested any time you fill out an application fot the extension of credit. Credit reports may also be requested periodically by lenders or creditors with whom you have existing accounts.
Because credit reports are a “history” of your credit activity, they will contain both current and past account data.
Important Note: potential creditors review your credit history every time you apply for credit. Each creditor review-called an “inquiry”- shows up on your credit report, even if you are denied credit or decide to decline the credit. Too many inquires showing up on your credit report can be a sign to creditors that you are overextending yourself and/or trying to transfer debt around onto additional cards. Inquires stay on your credit report for 24 months. Therefore, be aware of how often you apply for credit and do not apply for credit too often.
When shopping for a car or home mortgage, however, you do not have the flexibility of checking out your financing options within a short period of time. Doing so will show that you were comparison-shopping versus desperately seeking credit.
Specifically, credit scores do not include car or home mortgage loan inquires that occurred within a 30-day period of time prior to the score being calculated. Furthermore, for your benefit, car and home mortgage inquires that occurred within any 14-day period of time are considered as one inquiry.
Requesting a copy of your own credit report for your personal review is strongly encouraged and does NOT negatively affect your credit history. It is considered a soft inquiry.
Always try to avoid getting into situations that generate “public record” information that could be added to your credit report. Public record information is a sign that you may be, or are getting into financial trouble.
