COMMON CENTS:A HARD INQUIRY vs A SOFT INQUIRY (What’s the difference?)

A “Hard Inquiry” (or hard pull) is when a lender checks your credit report to determine if you meet their criteria to approve you for a mortgage or car loan, a hardware store like (like Home Depot or Lowes), department stores (like Macys or Dillard’s), a credit card (like MasterCard, VISA, American Express, DISCOVER, etc.), or an on-line service like Amazon, Amazon Prime, Netflix, or Hulu that you’ve applied for.

Having one or two hard inquiries is not a big issue; it’s when you have multiple inquiries in a short time frame (3 or 4 in a couple of weeks) that it has an impact. 

The next time you go looking for a car, be sure to take your credit report with you. Many car dealerships will “shop you” for the best rate, which means you can easily have four or five hard pulls from each dealership you visit, whether you buy a car or not. This will adversely affect your credit rating and cause your FICO scores to drop. 

By taking your credit report and/or first getting pre-approved by your bank or credit union, it shifts the focus away from simply getting you an automobile loan, to making certain they have the car, truck or SUV you want with the options you like and at a price you’ll accept.

A “Soft Inquiry”, also known as a soft pull, occurs when you OR someone you authorize (such as a potential employer) checks your credit report. This is quite common when you apply for a government job or work with a company that does business with a government agency that requires a security clearance, and they perform a “Background Check”. 

The primary difference (and a distinct advantage) is that “Soft Inquiries” DON’T impact your credit rating or lower your FICO scores because they aren’t attached to a specific application for credit (like a bank loan, car loan credit card or mortgage).

When you have credit issues and concerns,
don’t just call anyone – call an EXPERT

THE MANNING GROUP, “where we measure by results, not promises”!
Don’t leave GOOD credit to chance, leave it to us!®