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What is Data Facts?
Data Facts, Inc. provides background checks for employers to gather and verify information about job applicants. This includes credit reports, criminal records, social media profiles, and professional credentials.
In July 2021, Data Facts sold its lending and appraisal divisions, which provides credit reports and other data to lenders, to consumer information services company UniversalCIS. 1
If you see Data Facts on your credit report, a potential employer or lender may be using Data Facts’s services to run a background check.
Is Data Facts a scam?
No, seeing Data Facts on your credit report doesn’t mean you’ve been scammed—Data Facts is a legitimate company. If their name is on your credit report, it probably indicates that someone used their services to run a background and/or credit check on you.
If you’re certain that there’s activity on your credit report under Data Facts that shouldn’t be there, it’s possible you’ve been the victim of identity theft.
We’ll discuss the reasons (both legitimate and fraudulent) that Data Facts might be on your credit report in more detail in the next section.
Why is Data Facts on my credit report?
Data Facts is probably appearing on your credit report as an inquiry. There are really only two reasons why this might be happening:
1. Someone checked your credit
You’ll see Data Facts on your credit report if an individual or business used one of the company’s products to run a background and credit check on you.
Potential employers, lenders, and landlords often use screening products or services to minimize the risk involved when entering into contracts. The reports they receive can contain various types of information, depending on the screening service and the reason for the background check.
However, the fact that you’re seeing Data Facts on your credit report means that the background check involved a review of your credit history.
2. It’s an error
If you can’t think of an explanation for why Data Facts would appear as a credit inquiry on your credit report, then it’s possible that Data Facts or the credit bureau has confused you with someone else. In some cases, it could also be a sign of identity theft.
If you suspect that someone’s stolen your identity, then there are a few steps you need to take:
- Contact Data Facts and gather details of who requested their services and why.
- Report the identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Go to www.identitytheft.gov and answer the questions to generate an identity theft report and recovery plan.
- Contact the relevant credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion) and have a fraud alert placed on your credit report.
You only need to contact one of the three bureaus and have a fraud alert placed on your credit report. The bureau you contact will coordinate with the other two, and your fraud alert will be acknowledged by all three. 2
Carefully monitor your credit reports in order to catch identity theft as early as possible. The sooner you report it, the less damage will be done.
If the inquiry is an error, then follow the steps we’ve provided below for how to get Data Facts off your credit report.
How does my Data Facts inquiry affect my credit score?
How your Data Facts inquiry affects your credit score depends on what type of inquiry it is. There are two types of inquiries that can appear on your credit report:
- Hard inquiry: You’ll see a hard inquiry on your credit report if you applied for new credit, such as a car loan or mortgage.
- Soft inquiry: You’ll see a soft inquiry on your report if someone checked your credit for reasons unrelated to credit applications, such as for employment screening or to prequalify you for an installment loan or other type of credit.
The main difference between hard and soft inquiries is that hard inquiries will bring your credit score down by a few points, whereas soft inquiries don’t affect your credit score.
It’s not always easy to tell whether the credit bureaus will class an inquiry as hard or soft. For example, landlord credit checks can trigger either soft or hard inquiries. However, applications for credit pretty much always trigger hard inquiries, and screening for employment or insurance generally only triggers a soft inquiry. 3 4
How much a hard credit pull actually affects your score depends on your credit history and how recent the inquiry was. Hard inquiries usually cause a small drop in your FICO or VantageScore credit score, but the effect shouldn’t last more than a year.5 What’s more, they won’t stay on your credit report for more than two years.
How to remove Data Facts from my credit report
If the Data Facts inquiry is a hard inquiry and/or an error, then try one of these two approaches for removing hard inquiries from your credit report.
1. Send a dispute letter
If you suspect that your Data Facts inquiry is a mistake, then you can send a dispute letter to the credit bureaus. You should also send a dispute letter if you think that Data Facts is on your credit report due to fraudulent activity or identity theft, but you should first file a report with the FTC and follow the other steps outlined above.
Once you’ve filed a dispute, the credit bureau will be required to investigate and correct any inaccurate information on your report, usually within 30–45 days. 6
2. Use a credit repair company
A credit repair company will act as a middleman between yourself and Data Facts and/or the credit bureaus. A credit repair professional might be able to get the Data Facts hard inquiry off your credit report by helping you gather all the required documents and evidence and doing the hard work for you by handling your communications.
However, be wary of scammers. By law, credit repair companies are not allowed to make false promises or charge you before they’ve helped you. 7
Moreover, while hiring a credit repair company can save you some time and hassle in disputing items on your credit report, they won’t necessarily be able to erase valid inquiries or turn a bad credit score into a good credit score overnight.
In many cases, credit repair companies won’t be able to do anything for you that you couldn’t do yourself, so consider whether it’s worth paying for a third party to help you get Data Facts off your credit report.
