Credit score · Chapter 06 of 08
Enquiries, alerts and unauthorised checks
The enquiries section is the timeline of who looked at your file. Some enquiries are yours, some are routine, and a few mean someone is applying for credit in your name — the alarms for exactly that are mandatory.
When things go wrong · 8 min read · reviewed 2026-09-23
Section 1
What an enquiry is
- When a lender or a specified user pulls your report to assess an application, that access appears on your credit information report.
- Enquiries you make yourself do not count as lender enquiries, which is why the free report does not damage your score.
- Bureau guidance treats a cluster of recent enquiries as a signal that your debt burden may rise; that is why applying in moderation is on every improvement list.
Section 2
The alerts RBI requires
- Bureaus must send you an alert by SMS or email when your credit information report is accessed by a specified user, wherever your mobile number or email is on file.
- The alert is sent once the enquiry reflects in your report — so it is a record of the check, not a pre-approval prompt.
- Lenders must separately alert you by SMS/email when they report a default or days-past-due on an existing facility.
Section 3
Unauthorised or unrecognised enquiries
- If an alert names a lender you never applied to, treat it as a possible identity misuse first and a data error second.
- Bureau guidance for an enquiry you did not authorise is to reach the lender that made it straight away and get their position in writing.
- Then dispute it on the bureau's report: it is a data entry to be corrected, and the same 30-day and ₹100-per-day framework applies.
- If it looks like fraud rather than a slip, treat the credit file as the first signal — get the account blocked with the lender and file the dispute so the entry is flagged while it is investigated.
Section 4
One thing that should never appear
- Loans you applied for and were declined must not be reported by bureaus — the RBI direction is explicit that declined applications are not to be reported, because a rejection with one lender would prejudice you with another.
- So a “loan rejected” entry is not a normal feature of an Indian report. If you see one, that is a dispute, not bad luck.
Key takeaways
- Bureaus must alert you by SMS/email whenever a lender pulls your report.
- A lender you never applied to means dispute it and call the lender, in that order or the reverse — but do both.
- Declined applications must not be reported at all in India.
Common mistakes
- Ignoring bureau alerts and letting an unrecognised enquiry sit for months.
- Applying to many lenders in a short window, which reads as credit-hungry.
- Assuming a declined application is a black mark you have to live with — it should not be reported at all.
Questions
Will an enquiry lower my score?
Bureau guidance treats multiple recent enquiries as a negative signal because they suggest a rising debt burden. A single enquiry for a loan you are genuinely taking is normal; the pattern is what matters, which is why bureau advice is to apply for new credit in moderation.
How do I know if someone checked my credit report?
RBI requires bureaus to alert you by SMS or email when a specified user accesses your report, where your mobile number or email is available with them. The alert is sent once the enquiry reflects in your report.
I did not apply to that lender. What do I do?
Contact the lender immediately and get their explanation in writing, then raise a dispute on the bureau's report so the entry is corrected and flagged while unresolved. If you suspect fraud, treat it as a fraud case with the lender and use the dispute route in parallel.
Do my own checks show up as enquiries?
Your own requests for your credit information are not lender enquiries and do not affect the score. The alerts are about access by specified users such as banks and NBFCs assessing an application.
Go deeper
Sources
Reviewed 23 Sept 2026. Rules change — the RBI directions and each bureau's own pages are the authority, and this hub links straight to them.
- RBI — Master Direction – Reserve Bank of India (Credit Information Reporting) Directions, 2025 (6 Jan 2025)300–900 calibration across CICs, the free full credit report (once a year), the 30-day correction rule and ₹100/day compensation, access alerts, dispute flags on the CIR, and the ban on reporting declined applications.
- Experian India — Consumer Services (score range, factors, grievance levels)Experian India's 300–900 range, its factor list, its unauthorised-enquiry guidance and its Level 1/2/3 grievance escalation contacts.
- TransUnion CIBIL — “All You Need To Know About Your CIBIL Score And How It Is Calculated”CIBIL's score range, its four key factors (payment history, credit mix, multiple enquiries, high credit utilisation), its improvement tips and the 79%-above-750 figure.
- CRIF High Mark — Raise a Credit Report DisputeCRIF's raise-a-query flow, its service-request ticket, its 30-day resolution commitment and its Level 1/2/3 escalation contacts.