How can I Remove Loan Inquiry from CIBIL Credit Report?
Understanding all the aspects that impact your CIBIL credit score is essential to build a strong CIBIL credit report. A CIBIL credit report includes information about your entire credit history, including the number of accounts you have, the lender's name, the loan amount, and the history of payments. Lenders perform a credit check to assess your credit eligibility, and a hard credit inquiry may stay on your CIBIL credit report for as long as 2 years.
CIBIL is an authorised credit bureau that records all your financial activities to prepare a CIBIL credit report that reflects the type of borrower you are. That means whenever you apply for a credit card, or for a loan, how you repay your debts, when do you repay your debts, whether you make timely repayments – everything goes on to the CIBIL credit report. A number is then calculated based on the available information, which is known as the CIBIL credit score.
Having an excellent CIBIL credit score will help you in gaining access to a wide range of credit products and loans at the best interest rates. However, if you have a poor CIBIL credit score, things may not go as planned by you while you search for securing a loan or a credit card.
Once you have taken a loan from a lender or any financial institution, it gets recorded in your CIBIL credit report. Your repayment history on that loan is then updated whenever you make a payment against the debt you have taken on. If you fail to repay the loan, it is updated and it stays on your credit report in CIBIL for 7 years.
What is a Loan Inquiry in a CIBIL Credit Report?
When you apply for a loan with a lender or any financial institution, they assess your CIBIL credit report to ensure that you are eligible to borrow a loan. In short, they check whether you can repay the debt that you are asking for. To assess your CIBIL credit report, they have to conduct a credit check. There are two types of credit checks – (i) Hard Credit Check, and (ii) Soft Credit Check.
If a lender conducts a hard credit check, they leave a footprint on your CIBIL credit report. That footprint stays on your report for 2 years, and it may impact your CIBIL credit score for 1 year. Also, other lenders can see who else you have applied to for a loan on your CIBIL credit report in case of a hard credit check.
Whereas with a soft credit check, your CIBIL credit score is not impacted. The lenders can have an overview of your CIBIL credit report.
How to Remove a Loan Inquiry on the CIBIL Credit Report?
Review your CIBIL credit report regularly to ensure the inquiries on your credit report are valid. If you find a valid hard inquiry on the CIBIL credit report, you cannot do anything to remove it, and it is likely to be on the report for two years. Meanwhile, you can work on improving your CIBIL credit score by making regular repayments on your credit card.
Read how to improve your CIBIL credit score.
There is a slight possibility that you may notice an unauthorised hard inquiry on your CIBIL credit report, which might be an indication of possible fraud or simply a mistake on the bureau's behalf. You have the right to raise a dispute with CIBIL and have the fraudulent behavior-related inquiry dismissed in this situation. By doing this, you can repair your CIBIL credit score.
How to Raise a Dispute with CIBIL to Remove a Loan Enquiry from your Credit Report?
An unauthorised hard inquiry conducted for a loan on your CIBIL credit report can be easily disputed by contacting the credit bureau. You can do this by taking the following actions:
- Raise a dispute online by visiting the official website of CIBIL credit bureau.
- Visit the "Dispute Resolution" area and complete the form with the necessary information. Ensure that the information that you provide is accurate and true to the nature.
The credit bureau will confirm the dispute with the financial institution. CIBIL as a credit bureau cannot make such modifications on their own. According to the law, the lender has 30 to 45 days from the time the dispute is raised to resolve it. The credit bureau will email you to inform you when the problem has been rectified.
FAQs Related to Removal of Loan Enquiry of CIBIL Credit Report
Does a loan enquiry affect a CIBIL credit score?
Yes. If the lender or financial institution you have given consent to access and review your CIBIL credit report for a hard credit inquiry, it will impact your CIBIL credit score. Your credit score will dip down by a few points whenever a hard credit check is carried out on your credit report by CIBIL.
How long does a loan enquiry stay on CIBIL credit report?
If a hard credit inquiry is made for a loan on your CIBIL credit report, it stays for a period of 2 years. Your CIBIL credit score will be impacted by it for at least 1 year. To help your CIBIL credit score improve within this period, ensure you make timely repayments on your credit card bills.
Can a lender remove a loan inquiry from my CIBIL credit report?
No. A lender cannot remove a loan inquiry from your CIBIL credit report if it is a valid one. You will need to wait and work on improving your CIBIL credit score if you are worried about it. But a valid credit check conducted on your credit report cannot be removed by a lender or any other financial institution.
Is it possible to remove a loan inquiry from a CIBIL credit report within 24 hours?
No. It is not possible to remove a loan inquiry from a CIBIL credit report within 24 hours. If you have identified an error or an invalid loan inquiry made on your credit report, you need to immediately flag it to the CIBIL credit bureau for removal. However, please note that credit bureaus cannot remove the wrong loan inquiry on their own. They will contact the lender and wait for a resolution. Once a resolution is found, it will be updated on your CIBIL credit report and the window is 30-45 days.
How to increase your CIBIL credit score after a loan inquiry?
There are various ways to improve your CIBIL credit score after a loan inquiry is made on your credit report. Make regular repayments on your credit card. If you do not have a credit card, apply for one and start using it. Ensure you do not max out the credit score otherwise it will have negative impact on your credit score. Check your credit utilisation ratio. It should always be equal to or less than 30%. Review your CIBIL credit report periodically and flag errors whenever you find them.