MicroBilt on your credit report: what this inquiry means

Who MicroBilt is

MicroBilt collects recurring bill payment data such as rent, utility and phone plan payments, and uses it to build consumer reports and risk scores for lenders. Its customers include banks and lenders, auto dealers, insurers, utilities and collection firms.

Is it a hard or soft inquiry?

MicroBilt's checks are recorded in MicroBilt's own consumer file, not as hard inquiries on your Equifax, Experian or TransUnion reports, so FICO and VantageScore credit scores don't count them. A business that checks MicroBilt may also order a bureau report, and that pull is labeled on its own.

Why it showed up on your report

A lender, car dealer, utility or other business you applied with ran your information through MicroBilt, which says it releases reports to authorized business customers with consumer consent.

How to check that you authorized it

1. Request your MicroBilt file, which lists the businesses that received it.
2. Match each business to an application or a service you started.
3. If one is unfamiliar, dispute it with MicroBilt; it says disputes are free and results usually arrive by mail within 30 days.

How to reach MicroBilt

Mail the Consumer Report Request Form (or a written request) with your full name, address, Social Security number, addresses from the past five years and a copy of your ID, or call 888-222-7621 or 800-884-4747 option 5 (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern). MicroBilt says it usually mails the report within 15 days of getting your request. One report every 12 months is free, and freezes cost nothing.

Guides that go deeper

• Specialty consumer reports: ChexSystems, tenant screening and moreBanks, landlords, insurers, and utilities often check reports you've never seen. Who keeps them, how to get yours free, and how to fix errors in them.
• What lenders see from Experian Boost, UltraFICO, and cash-flow dataExperian Boost edits one bureau's file and some scores. UltraFICO needs a lender to offer it. See which scores each one touches and when to use it.
• Do rent and utility payments count toward your credit score?Paying rent and utilities on time usually builds nothing, but missing them can hurt. Where these bills show up, which scores count them, and how to opt in.
• Hard vs. soft inquiries: which credit checks count against youA hard inquiry comes from a credit application and can trim your score. A soft one never does. A table of the common checks, gray zones included.