Hard vs. soft inquiries — what actually moves your score
Only hard inquiries affect your score, and only some of those are even disputable. Here's how to tell the difference.
Every time someone looks at your credit file, the bureau records it as an inquiry. Soft inquiries — pre-approved offers, your own credit checks, employer screenings — are invisible to lenders and have zero effect on your score. They show up only on the version of the report you pull yourself.
Hard inquiries happen when you apply for credit and the lender pulls your file to make a decision. Each hard inquiry can knock a handful of points off your score, the effect typically fades within a few months, and the inquiry itself drops off your report after two years.
The rest of this is inside the portal
The step-by-step tactics, exact wording, and escalation sequence live in your Fix My Reports workspace, where they're applied to your own report items. Start with a $1 trial, then $50/month — cancel anytime.