Do you have a question about consumer credit? You may find an immediate answer by using the search engine. If you can't find what you're looking for, please fill out the form, being as specific as possible.
Please note: The Ask Experian team cannot respond to each question individually. However, if your question is of interest to a wide audience of consumers, the Experian team will include it in a future column.
Our policies
The information contained in this column if for educational purposes only and is not legal advice.
You should consult your own attorney or seek specific advice from a legal professional regarding
your particular situation.
Please understand that Experian policies change over time. Column responses reflect Experian policy at the time of writing. While maintained for your information, archived responses may not reflect current Experian policy.
Credit Advice
Topics addressed on September 1, 2009:
Report shows all inquiries, but they may be counted as only one
Dear Experian,
I was under the impression that if you sought after a specific type of loan, such as an auto loan, within a 10 day time frame that it would only post on your report once. However, one car dealer hit my credit three different times for the same auto loan application. Why are all three on my report?
- KIR
Dear KIR,
Multiple inquiries for auto loans and mortgage loans typically are counted by credit scores as a single inquiry when they occur within a 14 day period. However, all of the inquiries will show on your credit report.
Auto dealers often share your application with multiple lenders in search of the best loan terms for you. The practice is sometimes called shotgunning. In your situation, they sent your application to three different lenders.
An inquiry was added for each of the lenders when they requested your credit report to review it in response to the application.
However, the inquiries are coded so that they can be recognized as auto loan inquiries. Even though all three appear in your credit report, the automated scoring systems count them as only one. Therefore, they will have very little, if any, impact on your credit scores.
All of the inquiries are shown because it is important that you have a complete record of who has accessed your credit report.
Thanks for asking.
- The "Ask Experian" team