What Is an Account Inquiry?

An account inquiry is a general term for a review of any type of financial account, whether it's a deposit account, such as at a bank, or a credit account, such as at a credit card issuer or mortgage lender. The inquiry can involve specific transactions, payment histories, current account balances, or any other information relating to the account.

How Account Inquiries Work

The term "account inquiry" is often used interchangeably with credit inquiry—that is, a request to or from a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:credit bureau for information about a particular individual.

Credit bureaus may send account inquiries to credit card companies or other lenders as part of the their effort to collect information on individuals. Lenders and other businesses, in turn, may request information from a credit bureau about an individual and their credit habits, particularly if the person is applying for a new a loan or other form of credit. That information typically takes the form of a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:credit report.

Credit reports do not provide a complete picture of a person's financial life. For example, they do not contain information on someone's income, investments, or bank account balances. For that information, lenders and other interested parties will have to make additional inquiries elsewhere.

Most financꦦial institutions have a formal department that deals with account inquiries.

The Purpose of an Account Inquiry

An account inquiry is typically initiated when an individual seeks to take on a new debt, particularly in co🐼njunction with a substantial purchase, such as a ♋home. But other lenders, such as credit card issuers, will routinely initiate one, as well.

Before the applicant will be approved for new credit, the lender wants to know whether they have paid their other debts in a timely fashion, have missed payments, or even gone into default or declared 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:bankruptcy. This step is key not only in deciding whether to grant them credit but in determining the interest rate to charge on it. The riskier a borrower appears, the higher the rate they will likely have to pay—if they are approved at all. With credit cards and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:lines of credit, it can also affect the amount of credit that the lender is willing to make availaꦚble to that applicant.

Individuals can also initiate their own account inquiries. For example, they can request their credit reports to review them for errors and any questionable activity, such as accounts in their name that they don't remember opening. If they find what they believe to be an error, they can dispute it with the credit bureau, which is then required to investigate and report its findings back to them. In addition, individuals the right to freeze their credit reports, whi🎀ch puts additional restrict💫ions on who is allowed to see them.

A person can also do an account inquiry with their bank, such as to determine whether a particular check has cleared yet. This is some🦄times referred to as an account statement inquiry.

Credit inquires fall into two categories:♊ hard and sof🦋t.

A 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:hard inquiry refers to a request to see your credit report by a lender that you have applied to for new credit. Hard inquiries, especially multiple ones in a short period of time, can have a negative effect on your 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:credit score, although usually only briefly. The reason is that lenders become concerned when someone appears to be applying f🌄or a lot of credit all at once.

There's an exception for mortgage-related inquiries, however. Lenders and credit agencies understand that people usually shop around for the best deal, going to several lenders, and that all of those inquiries are likely to result in just one loan. So they don't count a rash of mortgage inquiries against you, especially if they're all within a couple of months.

A 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:soft inquiry is when a lender takes a look at your credit file even though you haven't applied for credit. For example, it might be a credit card issuer looking for good prospects to mail solicitations to—a process known as 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:prescreening. When you look at your own credit report, tha🗹t is also considered a soft inquiry.

The Bottom Line

Information about your finances resides in a number of locations, from national credit bureaus to your local bank. The law sets limits on who is allowed to see it withou🍰t your explicit permission and gives you the right to review it yourself, usually free of charge.