Over the next several weeks, we are going to publish some articles about "Credit Score Killers." Those things that can have a dramatic, negative impact on our credit scores. Many of these you may already know. But some may come as a surprise to you.

First on our list is "Too many inquiries." In the world of Facebook, we like to have lots of "Likes" and lots of "Friends." In the Instagram world and in the Twitter-sphere, people love to have lots and lots of followers. More is better. Right? But in the credit score world, more inquiries is not better. More is bad. More can be very, very bad.

We recently had a customer that had 11 inquiries in a 3 month period, not including the inquiry from Big Rig Lending. That level of inquiries in a short amount of time can materially alter your credit score. The Credit Reporting agencies assume that if you have lots of inquiries, you probably had lots of turndowns and so they lower your score.  

Big Rig Lending was able to help this customer with the funds they needed despite the customer's low credit score because we look at much more than a credit score. We look at income, equity in your truck, employment and residence stability, etc.

So you may be asking, what are some simple things that I can do to limit the number of inquiries on my account?

• First, get a free copy of your credit report to see what all is on it, and then see how many inquiries you have had over the last 12 months.  This will help determine if you have a lot.

• Two, if you do not have a great credit score (Poor or Fair), be careful to let retailers apply for an in-store credit card to get a small discount on your purchase.  If the retailer runs your credit and you get denied for an in-house card, you have hurt your credit, not helped it.  Especially if the discount they were offering was not that much money.

• Lastly, have a plan.  When applying for new credit, before giving the lender authorization to run your credit, ask the lender "Do you provide financing for individuals with "Poor" or "Fair" credit?" If they say "No, we only deal with Good, Excellent, or Prime customers," then there is no need to have them run your credit. They likely won't be able to help you. Find a lender that caters to individuals with lower credit scores.

Since inception, Big Rig Lending has been able to lend to customers from all credit score perspectives. No scores. Low Scores. Prime and Sub-prime. Excellent, Good, Fair and Poor. Our underwriting analytics allows us to provide Owner Operators the capital they need to get back on the road.