What is the difference between an inquiry on a credit report generated by the individual versus by a lender, and which one has a negative impact on the score?

The difference between an inquiry on a credit report generated by an individual versus by a lender is significant, particularly concerning their impact on your credit score. These inquiries, often called "credit inquiries" or "credit pulls," serve different purposes and have distinct effects on your credit health. It's crucial to understand this difference to manage your credit effectively. An inquiry generated by an individual is known as a "soft inquiry" or a "soft pull." This type of inquiry occurs when you, as an individual, check your own credit report or when a business checks your credit for reasons that don't involve an application for new credit. Soft inquiries are typically used for background checks, such as when you're applying for a job, when a landlord does a check for a rental application, or when you check your own credit report through annualcreditreport.com or other credit monitoring services. Soft inquiries are also generated by some financial institutions to pre-qualify you for offers, such as a pre-qualified credit card. These soft inquiries are recorded on your credit report, but they are generally not visible to lenders and do not affect your credit score. For example, if you use a service that monitors your credit score or if you view your credit report from any of the cred....