Ask The Money Coach

Q: Will opening a savings account in order to save for a home down payment impair my credit rating by creating an inquiry on my credit report?

A: No, any kind of checking account or savings account that you might have is:

1) Not reflected on your credit reports with either Experian, Equifax or Tran Union
2) Generally speaking, should not generate an inquiry that would hurt your credit rating.

Having said that, as a consumer you really have to be vigilant that no one runs a credit check on you, simply for opening a checking or savings account.

I know of many instances, with myself included, when people have gone to open accounts of various kinds, checking accounts, savings accounts, perhaps mortgage accounts, and then in turn, very quickly, and at times, slickly, been steered into other products or offerings that do in fact generate credit inquiries.

For instance, I once went to open a checking account jointly with my husband, but without our consent, the bank representative secretly “qualified” us for a credit card at the same time.  While we were in the bank opening up the account, the bank rep casually informed us that we were eligible for a new credit card. Even though we declined the offer, it was not until I received an alert from my credit monitoring service that that I realized that an inquiry had been generated anyway.

What I would do is ask very directly, “Is opening this checking account going to generate a credit inquiry? You will not be pulling my credit report for that savings or checking account or any other service or product, correct?”

At the same time, be mindful of the documents you’re signing. You don’t want anything to be slipped in that you weren’t aware of, buried in the fine print, or on page 24 of some document that authorizes a bank or financial institution, or lender, to pull your credit report and generate an inquiry.

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