You’ve verified and updated your personal information, residence history and employment history. You’ve gone through the accounts reporting to your credit report to verify they are accurately listed as discharged with a zero balance. You’ve requested any erroneous accounts reporting to your credit be removed. Now it’s time to talk about Step Four.
Step Four: Considering All Those Inquiries
An inquiry will pop up on your credit report for a number of different reasons. The most obvious are when you open a new credit account or request a credit limit increase. They can also pop up if you request a lower interest rate, a balance transfer, or a promotional interest rate. Sometimes employers will access credit for applicants for an open position. Landlords may pull a credit report when determining eligibility for a rental property. These actions will also result in an inquiry listed on your credit report. Consider all of these possibilities as I explain Step Four.
Make sure that you recognize all the creditors that have made inquiries to review your credit. The inquiries you need to question are those that you did not authorize or that were not from any of your original creditors.
Don’t bother disputing these inquiries – they are valid:
- Current creditors at the time you filed bankruptcy. They may review your credit simply because the account was delinquent at the time.
- Collection agencies that were reviewing your credit at the time they purchased an account from one of your original creditors.
- Creditors or collection agencies that look at your credit report after your bankruptcy case is closed.
- Collection agencies that look at your credit report mid-bankruptcy may not have been made aware that you filed. They may have only realized your were in the midst of a bankruptcy after they pulled your report and reviewing your credit.
Most invalid credit inquiries that need to be contested are from future lenders that review your credit report without consent. In some cases, a lender may accidentally view your report numerous times. The additional inquiries would be invalid and should be removed.
If you have other questions about life after bankruptcy or how to manage your bankruptcy, please get in touch with one of the experienced southern California bankruptcy attorneys at Westgate Law so we can assist you.