3 Bureau 24-Hour Inquiry Deletion (Step-By-Step)
To address unauthorized inquiries on your credit report, it is recommended to directly contact each credit bureau. Below are the steps and contact details for Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion: Experian: Dial 1-855-414-6048. Upon connection, enter your social security number, follow the prompts by pressing 2, then 1, followed by 2, and finally 3. Request to be connected to the fraud department to discuss the matter. Equifax: For assistance, call 1-888-548-7878. TransUnion: Reach out at 1-800-916-8800 for support. When communicating with the bureaus, mention that you have noticed unauthorized inquiries or applications made in your name. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you have the right to request the removal of any unverified and unauthorized items from your report. Be prepared to list all inquiries that are not associated with any of your accounts, both open and closed. For instance, an inquiry from Citi Bank for a card opened in May 2018, followed by another inquiry from the same bank in May 2019, cannot be removed. However, if there are inquiries from institutions with which you have no current or past accounts, such inquiries qualify for removal. Should the bureau inquire about whether you have submitted an FTC or Police report, or if you have contacted the original creditors, inform them that these steps have already been taken. During the process, you may be placed on hold. This is a standard procedure. Once the call resumes, the representative should inform you that an investigation will be initiated and could take up to 30 days. Nevertheless, inquiries requested for deletion are usually removed by the next business day. Note that Equifax may require up to 48 hours for the completion of this process. If you encounter difficulties, consider addressing each inquiry individually and possibly engage different representatives to facilitate the removal process. Comment "DONE" below once you done it. Then share your wins in the WINS section!