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What is a Credit Inquiry Factual Data?

Dena Standley | April 23, 2024

Dena Standley
Legal Expert, Paralegal
Dena Standley, BA

Dena Standley is a seasoned paralegal with more than 20 years of experience in legal research and writing, having received a certification as a Legal Assistant/Paralegal from Southern Technical College.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Hannah Locklear
Editor at SoloSuit
Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

Summary: A credit inquiry entry from Factual Data occurs when you want to refinance your mortgage or are looking to buy a new home. The frequency it appears on your credit report depends on the number of lenders you approach and the timeline in between. Learn more about Factual Data’s credit inquiry and what you can do about it.

You may have been working hard to improve your credit score and were proud of your progress. On pulling your credit report, you are shocked to see not one but two Factual Data entries. You wonder what happened, and you are here seeking answers. If you see Factual Data on your credit report, you have likely applied for a home loan recently.

Sometimes, landlords can also use Factual Data to help them decide whether to let you rent their property. If it wasn't you, then it could be a case of mistaken identity. You can address the issue with the three credit bureaus. In the next section, we will give you more details on why Factual Data is on your credit report, how it affects your credit report, and how to remove it. But first, what is Factual Data?

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What is Factual Data?

Factual Data Corp is a company in the mortgage lending industry that operates as a consumer credit reporting agency. It sets itself apart as a company that can provide mortgage lenders with accurate and reliable credit checks. Most mortgage lending companies trust them because they help lenders assess borrower's creditworthiness during the application process.

Their unique selling point is that they provide merged credit reports from major credit bureaus, giving lenders a holistic picture of a potential borrower's credit history. Factual Data allows you to ask for a free copy of your credit report using the following contact information:

Where does Factual Data get its information?

Factual Data gets credit-related information from the three main consumer reporting agencies—Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. Afterward, they combine the reports into one easy-to-understand document for the lender. If you have multiple creditors you owe money, this information may be reported to the three credit bureaus when you default and may feature in Factual Data’s report.

Notably, Factual Data does not calculate your credit score. Rather, it simply provides the information already in your credit report, including:

  • Total amount owed
  • Types of credit used
  • Number of inquiries
  • New credit requested or given
  • Length of credit history
  • Payment history

Once they compile the above information, they send it to the mortgage company you had applied to receive a home loan. It's the lending company that decides whether they want to calculate your credit score using the FICO scoring model.

How does a credit inquiry by Factual Data affect your credit score?

A Factual Data’s credit inquiry can be a hard or soft credit check. A hard credit inquiry will negatively affect your credit score, while a soft credit inquiry rarely causes any change. A hard credit inquiry is often done for mortgages and relatively big loans. Your stable credit score is likely to drop by a couple of points, about 5 points or less, according to Experian. However, the drop will be significantly noticeable if you have multiple hard inquiries.

If you are shopping around for a good mortgage deal, you can avoid having multiple entries by conducting the search within 14 days. This approach will ensure the credit checks from various lenders will be considered as a single check.

The good news is that a hard inquiry shouldn't be done without your authorization. If you see a Factual Data hard inquiry on your credit report that you did not authorize, they may have violated your consumer rights found in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). You can take action against them if they do not address it.

Have you been sued for a debt you don’t recognize? Use SoloSuit’s Answer document to include this information and increase your chances of winning the case. Learn more from this video.

How to remove Factual Data from your credit report

An inaccurate or unknown hard inquiry on your credit report can cause more harm to your score than you intend compared to if it were a genuine check. You can remove factual data entry on your credit report by doing the following.

Dispute Factual Data’s hard inquiry.

Use this approach if you have not submitted applications and there's an entry on your credit report. If it is an inaccurate figure or fact, FCRA also allows you to dispute the entry. The first step would be to contact Factual Data to get the full report and assess the extent of the damage. You can also ask for an explanation once you confirm it is incorrect.

Next, file a dispute with the three credit bureaus online, via phone, or by mail. The bureaus have 30 days to investigate the matter and may remove it once they confirm the information is inaccurate or not yours.

Consult a credit repair company.

Sometimes, trying to fight for your credit score on your own can be overwhelming, especially if many variables are at play. A credit repair company can be your best option for removing the wrong entry because they will address the matter from a specialized and informed position.

Credit repair companies not only work on removing a wrongful entry but also help with other credit issues such as collection entries, faulty reporting, judgments, liens, and late payment history challenges.

Monitor your credit

With the increased cases of identity theft, it is critical to monitor your score on a regular basis to ensure your credit score stays as it should be. Regular monitoring by yourself or a credit monitoring agency will ensure a wrongful entry is addressed and deleted before you experience much credit score damage.

Have you noticed a debt you do not owe on your credit report? SoloSuit can help you address it with our Debt Validation Letter, which asks the creditor to verify the debt belongs to you. You can attach the Debt Validation Letter as proof to the credit bureaus that you tried to request the creditor to address the wrongful debt.

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