A soft inquiry is a review of credit-report information that does not affect your credit scores. It can occur when you check your own report, when an existing creditor reviews an account, or when a company screens consumers for certain offers.
The practical meaning.
Inquiry sections often mix checks that affect scoring with checks that do not. Identifying a soft inquiry can prevent an unnecessary dispute or fear that monitoring your own report lowered a score.
In a credit report section labeled soft inquiries, account reviews, promotional inquiries, or inquiries visible only to you.
Similar words, different jobs.
A hard inquiry can be considered by scoring models; a soft inquiry does not affect your scores.
Checking your own credit report is a soft inquiry and does not hurt your score.
Existing creditors may review account information without a new application.
A soft inquiry is different from a hard inquiry associated with an application for new credit.
