AlwaysAngie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> zlinedavid Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Soft inquiries do not affect your credit score.
>
> > Hard inquiries do.
> >
> > If you have any type of credit in your name
> > (mortgage, auto loan, credit card, etc.), your
> > creditor will generally make a soft inquiry at
> > least once per year, if not quarterly, to
> ensure
> > you are still alive, haven't filed bankruptcy,
> > etc.
> >
> > Again, these types of inquiries DO NOT affect
> your
> > FICO score.
>
>
> It's also important to remember that hard hits
> only have a SMALL window of "damage" and the
> damage is relatively small. The more time passes,
> the less weight they have. After a year, I believe
> it is, they have no affect on your scores. If you
> have no intention of buying a car or a new home
> anytime soon, then even a hard hit is not going to
> affect you. Your FICO is only important if you're
> looking for a job, new insurance, or a new line of
> credit (with cars and mortgages being the
> heaviest).
>
> For anyone interested, CreditBoards.com is an
> AWESOME forum that helps you learn about cleaning
> up your credit and learning about what's important
> and what's not, how to deal with creditors, which
> collection agents you should work with and which
> you shouldn't, whether it'd be better to pay off
> an old bill or not, and so on. I found it
> extremely helpful when my husband and I were
> getting ready to buy a new home. His report had
> over 20 errors and mine about 10, all which
> negatively affected our scoure.
I knew I couldn't be the only MSer that was also a CBer.

You're not a Fat Wallet-er too, are you?
But yes, a big +1 to Credit Boards. VERY good site that will unveil the mystery of how credit really works.