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Consumer Credit Protection Act: Congress passed these laws to protect you — the FCRA, FDCPA, CROA, ECOA and TILA are all part of it.
FCRA § 611: You have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information, and the credit bureau generally must investigate within 30 days — free of charge.
FCRA § 605: Most negative information must come off your report after 7 years. Most bankruptcies: 10 years.
FCRA § 605B: Identity theft victims can have fraudulent accounts blocked from their credit reports.
FCRA § 612: You are entitled to free copies of your credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com.
FCRA § 615: If you are denied credit because of your report, you must be told and told which bureau was used.
FDCPA § 809: Dispute a debt in writing within 30 days and the collector must stop collecting until it verifies the debt.
FDCPA § 805: You can tell a debt collector in writing to stop contacting you.
FDCPA § 806–807: Debt collectors may not harass you, threaten you or lie to you.
CROA § 404: No credit repair company may charge you before its services are fully performed.
CROA § 407: You have 3 business days to cancel a credit repair contract without penalty.
ECOA: Creditors may not discriminate against you for race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or receiving public assistance.
TILA: Lenders must clearly disclose the true cost of credit — including the APR — before you sign.
SCRA: Active-duty servicemembers can cap interest at 6% on many debts taken on before service.

Consumer Credit Protection Act: Congress passed these laws to protect you — the FCRA, FDCPA, CROA, ECOA and TILA are all part of it.
FCRA § 611: You have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information, and the credit bureau generally must investigate within 30 days — free of charge.
FCRA § 605: Most negative information must come off your report after 7 years. Most bankruptcies: 10 years.
FCRA § 605B: Identity theft victims can have fraudulent accounts blocked from their credit reports.
FCRA § 612: You are entitled to free copies of your credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com.
FCRA § 615: If you are denied credit because of your report, you must be told and told which bureau was used.
FDCPA § 809: Dispute a debt in writing within 30 days and the collector must stop collecting until it verifies the debt.
FDCPA § 805: You can tell a debt collector in writing to stop contacting you.
FDCPA § 806–807: Debt collectors may not harass you, threaten you or lie to you.
CROA § 404: No credit repair company may charge you before its services are fully performed.
CROA § 407: You have 3 business days to cancel a credit repair contract without penalty.
ECOA: Creditors may not discriminate against you for race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or receiving public assistance.
TILA: Lenders must clearly disclose the true cost of credit — including the APR — before you sign.
SCRA: Active-duty servicemembers can cap interest at 6% on many debts taken on before service.

Credit problems

Hard Inquiries on Your Credit Report

No one may pull your credit report without a legal reason. Inquiries you didn’t authorize can — and should — be challenged.

By Richie Barrett · Published September 26, 2026

Hard vs. soft inquiries

A hard inquiry is recorded when a lender reviews your report because you applied for credit. A soft inquiry happens when you check your own credit, when an existing creditor reviews your account, or with most prescreened offers. Only hard inquiries can affect your score, and usually only a little.

Permissible purpose

FCRA § 604 lists the only reasons a credit report may be furnished — for example, a credit application you started, account review, insurance underwriting, employment with your written permission, or your written instructions. An inquiry without a permissible purpose violates the FCRA.

How long inquiries stay

Hard inquiries generally appear on your report for about two years, and most scoring models count them for only the first 12 months.

Rate shopping

Many scoring models treat multiple mortgage, auto or student loan inquiries within a short window as a single inquiry, so you can compare offers without being penalized for each one.

Challenging an unauthorized inquiry

Confirm you didn’t apply — check with family members, dealerships and store cards you may have opened.
Contact the company that made the inquiry and ask what permissible purpose it relied on.
Dispute the inquiry with the bureau showing it.
If the inquiry came from an application you didn’t make, treat it as possible identity theft — see our identity theft guide and consider a free security freeze.

Sources: Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681b, 1681g(a)(3), 1681i, 1681n, 1681o.

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Common questions

Do inquiries hurt my score a lot?

Usually only a few points, and the effect fades within a year.

Does checking my own credit count?

No. Checking your own credit is a soft inquiry and does not affect your score.

Know where to go — the credit bureaus and the agencies that protect you

Links go to each organization’s official website. Kaironeek Financial is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.