Do you know, excessive credit enquiries in your CIBIL report are also responsible for loan rejection? If you do too often enquiries in different banks, creditors will find you as a risky borrower and it also hurts your CIBIL score significantly. At this point, you might be wondering “Can I remove enquiry from CIBIL report?” The answer is “Yes, but not in all cases.”
In this article, we have discussed the various scenarios in which enquiries can appear on an individual’s CIBIL report and the possible solutions to them. Let’s begin with the basic understanding of credit enquiry in CIBIL.
What is Credit Enquiry?
In simple words, when your credit information report is accessed, either by you or by creditors, then it is known as credit enquiry or loan enquiry. Usually, credit enquiry is categorized in two ways, soft enquiry, and hard enquiry.
- Soft Enquiry: Many of us have a misconception that if I check my credit report frequently, will my CIBIL score go down? However, the reality is quite different.
When you check your own CIBIL report from the credit bureau’s official website or any other third-party sites like Paisabazar, Bankbazaar, Onescore, etc., then it is considered a soft enquiry or soft pull. Soft enquiries are not updated in CIBIL report and don’t have any effect on your CIBIL score.
In some special cases, soft enquiry also can be conducted by the bank for the purpose of pre-approved loan offers or by the employer for background checks of potential employees.
- Hard Enquiry: A hard inquiry occurs when a creditor checks your credit report during the loan approval process. Typically, when you apply for a loan or any other credit facility, the lender retrieves your credit report from their banking server to assess your creditworthiness. All these hard enquiries leave a footprint on your credit report and lower your CIBIL scores temporally. Always remember, hard enquiry can’t be conducted without the borrower’s consent. Typically, you provide the permission to the lender at the time of loan application. Let’s understand how the hard inquiry impacts your CIBIL score.
How does credit enquiry impact CIBIL score?
- Short-term dip in credit score: Do you know, 10% of your total CIBIL score depends upon new credit enquiries reported in your credit report? A new hard enquiry can cause a small drop in CIBIL score, typically around 5 points. This record stays for 24 months, after this stipulated time, they will fall from your credit report automatically. So, when you do a hard enquiry, it creates temporary negative effects on your credit score.
- Multiple enquiry in a short span: Well, a single enquiry has a nominal impact, but numerous hard enquiries within a short period severely impact the CIBIL score. It also indicates an individual’s financial instability and raises a red flag for the lender. In fact, if you apply for an unsecured loan in premium PSU and Private Banks, they can even reject your loan application because of excessive enquiries in your CIBIL Report.
Different cases for which a hard enquiry can be reported in your CIBIL report?
At the beginning of this article, we highlighted one thing, you can remove enquiry from CIBIL report, but in some specific cases only. Let’s explain why,
Case 1: Unknown enquiry due to data-mixing error:
In some cases, you may notice unauthorized enquiries are reported in your CIBIL report, which is not done by you. Basically, this happens when your identification details (Like Name, DOB, Address, etc.) are quite similar to another borrower.
In such instances, you may not only see unauthorized enquiries but also find unknown loan accounts and incorrect contact details in your CIBIL report.
If this happens, you can remove all those unauthorized enquiries from your CIBIL report by raising an online dispute through TransUnion CIBIL’s official website. In this article, we have discussed the process briefly.
Case 2: When you did a loan application:
As discussed earlier, a hard enquiry occurs when you apply for a loan. Now, if the reported hard enquiry on your CIBIL is genuinely done by you, then it will remain for the next 24 months. You can’t remove such genuine enquiries from your CIBIL report before that time.
However, you can avoid unnecessary credit enquiries, by taken few wise decisions, like
- Don’t apply to multiple banks simultaneously. When seeking a loan or credit card, first determine your specific needs. Research various lenders and identify those whose eligibility criteria align with your profile before submitting a final application.
- If your loan application is rejected, avoid reapplying immediately. Instead, speak with the bank manager to understand the reasons for the rejection. Fix the issues and then apply again.
- Avoid consulting with unprofessional loan agents. Usually, when you provide your KYC and other documentation to an unprofessional loan agent, they do arbitrary loan applications without proper knowledge and experience.
Steps to be taken to remove enquiry from CIBIL report?
Now, if you have unauthorized enquiries in your CIBIL, follow these steps to get removed from your CIBIL permanently.
- Raise an online dispute through your CIBIL portal:
- First visit TransUnion CIBIL’s Official website www.cibil.com and login to your CIBIL Portal through your CIBIL User ID and Password. Now, your CIBIL dashboard will open to you. In the dashboard, you will find the “Credit Report” section as highlighted in the picture. Be noted that we have hidden all confidential information for security purposes.
2. Then scroll down the new page, on the downside you will notice the “Raise a Dispute” option as shown in the below picture. Click on the page.
3. Then the CIBIL Dispute Center page will open. On the same page, you will get options to raise a dispute in different sections. like “Account Section”, “Personal Information”, “Employment Information ”, “Credit Application History” and so on.
Now, to remove enquiry from CIBIL report, choose the option “Credit Application History”.
4. As the enquiry does not belong me, so choose the option “I have not applied for these loans/ credit cards” as marked in the picture. Click on the “Find Solution”.
5. On the next page, click on the button “Raise a Dispute”.
6. On the next page, the Enquiry Information Form will open to you. This is the step, where you can edit the changes.
7. Now, all of your recent credit enquires are mentioned here. Now, identify which enquiries are not done by you, then “Tick” the check box as placed beneath the each enquires. Then, click on the Continue button. Review again the disputed items and continue further.
8. On the next page, you will be requested to update your account information, as per the RBI’s new compensation framework for Credit bureaus. Fill your savings or current account number, IFSC code, Bank details, and so on. Click on the check box and click on the final submit button as highlighted in the picture.
9. After submitting the dispute, a Dispute ID will generate start with CDS….; exactly similar to the below picture. And, your job is done.
Write a complaint letter in CIBIL:
Apart from this, there is another channel to raise your complaint in TransUnion CIBIL. In this method, you get the opportunity to write your concern in detail along with the supporting documents.
Click here to access the complaint form directly and follow the instructions carefully. Don’t forget to attach your CIBIL report and KYCs, so that CIBIL can verify the disputed information from their end and do the rectification accordingly.
In this method, you will receive a Service Request Number. These two methods are enough to remove enquiry from CIBIL Report.
Precaution to avoid unauthorized credit enquiry:
- Check your CIBIL report regularly to verify whether all the information are authentic or not.
- You can also take CIBIL subscribe plan to get notified about any unauthorized enquiries.
