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Is Factual Data making a guest appearance on your credit report? If it is, you are not alone. Fortunately, we will tell you what factual Data is, whether or not it impacts your credit score, and finally, how to remove it from your credit report.
What is Factual Data?
Founded in 1948, Factual Data is an industry leader in providing merged credit reports to banks, loan originators, financial institutions, credit unions, property management firms, and mortgage providers.
Through their innovative proprietary platform, they enable their customers to make informed lending and credit decisions.
Ultimately, Factual Data pulls your credit report from all three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, & TransUnion) and merges it into one concise report, so lenders can make clear and quick decisions on whether they should provide you with a loan or not.
Apart from powering the mortgage industry, they also provide merged soft inquiries, so employers and property management firms can verify your credit score and identity.
Each day, Factual Data facilitates more than 300,000 transactions per day for more than 25,000 clients in the United States.
It is important to note, that Factual Data Corp is not a debt collector, a loan provider, or a financial institution. All they do is provide merged credit reports for their clients.
Why is Factual Data on My Credit Report?
Factual Data will appear on your credit report if you recently applied for a mortgage, loan, or some variation of a credit product that requires either a soft or hard inquiry.
So, if you recently applied for a loan or mortgage, then you have nothing to worry about. Whichever financial institution you applied through utilizes Factual Data to pull credit reports.
However, if you did not apply for one of the financial products listed above, then this may be an early sign of identity theft. I recommend you freeze your credit card and bank accounts, while you investigate the issue further.
Credit monitoring services can help you dig deeper into whether this is identity theft or not. Also, you may have applied for something that requires a credit inquiry. Think back to all websites you visited or services you recently applied for.
And finally, this may be a mistake. Factual Data facilitates over 300,000 transactions daily. One of their employees may have misspelt a name or mistyped a social security number. Reach out to Factual Data Corp and explain your case.
Are Factual Data Hard Inquiries a Bad Thing?
Put simply, no. Hard inquiries are used by mortgage providers and lenders for numerous reasons. In fact, whenever you apply for a loan or a mortgage, they will execute a credit check (hard inquiry). This is how they review your credit history.
Remember, your credit history provides decision-makers with a brief overview of how you manage debt, and whether you are responsible or not. The data points possessed on your credit report help financial institutions approve or deny you for a loan.
Ultimately, they only want to give their money to individuals who make their payments on time, have a good credit score, and are financially responsible.
Moreover, hard inquiries only stay on your credit report for 2-years. They typically lower your credit score for a brief period but will recover over-time and will return to its normal level once the hard inquiry falls off your credit report.
However, this does not mean you are free to apply for as many loans (student, business, or personal) or credit cards as you possibly can. Having multiple hard inquiries appear on your credit report in a short amount of time signals to financial institutions that you are desperate for money.
In the eyes of lenders, desperation is never a good thing. It means you are financially unstable and are facing some external circumstance.
But there is one exception. When you are applying for mortgages through a comparison site, like LendingTree, Nerdwallet, or Credible. In this case, you have two weeks (14-days) to apply for loans. During this period, your credit score will not drop.
How to Remove Factual Data from Your Credit Report
If you accidentally applied for too many loans at once, then you will need to repair your credit. There are two easy ways for you to remove Factual Data from your credit report: Dispute the inquiries or hire a credit repair professional.
#1. Dispute Factual Data’s Hard Inquiry
The first thing you need to do is dispute the error on your credit report. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you are allowed to file formal disputes with all three credit bureaus.
Essentially, when you file a dispute, the credit bureau will assign a case officer to your dispute and will investigate the issue. And no, filing a dispute is not hard. We put together a series highlighting how you can file a dispute right now:
The digital revolution has streamlined the process for consumers to file disputes. You can now file a dispute entirely online at the credit bureaus website.
#2. Seek Help from A Professional
Credit repair companies help consumers remove inaccurate items from their credit reports. To date, they have helped millions of American’s repair their credit.
Above all, a reputable credit repair company will educate you on best credit practices and will teach you valuable information you won’t be able to find online. This alone warrants consideration. Additionally, they can help you with:
- Student Loans
- Judgements
- Charge Offs
- Collection Accounts
- Credit Monitoring
- Identity Theft
The best part is that they will take the matter into their own hands and will do everything for you. They will file disputes with all three credit bureaus, engage with Factual Data, and will ensure your consumer rights are protected. And they will teach youhow to build your credit.
Factual Data Contact Information:
- Mailing Address: 5100 Hahns Peak Drive, Loveland, CO 80538
- Phone Number: (877) 237-8317
- Fax Number: (866) 516-3502
- Website: https://www.factualdata.com/
Bottom Line: How to Remove Factual Data from Your Credit Report
Having Factual Data appear on your credit report is not the end of the world. If you recently applied for a loan or mortgage, then you have nothing to worry about.
However, if you did not, then I strongly urge you to investigate the issue further and dispute the error.
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