Can I Have an Unrequested Credit Check Removed From My Report?

Every person who has taken out a form of credit is given a credit report. This report includes information about the person's lending activity and forms the basis for the individual's credit score. The report can be consulted by lenders and other parties with a legitimate business interest in knowing a person's credit history. If a company checks on a person's credit, it is noted in the report. These checks cannot be removed.

Credit Checks

Whenever an outside party checks an individual's credit, this check is noted on the credit report and is available to others who subsequently check the report. In some cases, a credit check can harm a person's score. There are two types of checks: "soft" and "hard."

Soft Checks

Many credit card companies and other lenders will look at people's credit reports -- without asking them -- in an effort to determine whether they will offer them credit. Generally, people with good credit reports are offered more credit than people with poor credit scores. Individuals do not generally request these offers or these checks on their credit. Unsolicited checks are known as "soft" checks. Because an individual did not request them, they do not hurt a credit score.

Hard Checks

Credit checks that an individual did solicit by applying for a loan are known as "hard" checks. These checks do generally drop a person's score down a few points, because they indicate the person may be seeking to take out additional forms of credit. To credit rating agencies, this suggests an increased credit risk, as the person may be preparing to take on more debt. Therefore, each hard check renders the individual slightly less creditworthy. Although there is no way for an individual to shop for more credit without hurting their score, the drop in score is small and temporary, if the pattern shows that the borrower was shopping for a loan.

Removal

A person can request to have an unrequested credit check removed from his credit score, but a credit reporting agency will be unlikely to agree to his request. However, there is little reason that a person would wish to have this credit check removed. Any party that looks at the person's credit report will know that the individual did not request the credit checks and they do not count against his score.