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What is BP/SYNCB On My Credit Report?

Has a new entry from BP SYNCB lowered your credit score?

When BP SYNCB winds up on your credit report, it’s most likely as a hard inquiry, which occurs when you apply for new credit cards or loans.

In this case, the inquiry is for a BP credit card offered through Synchrony Bank.

If you’re worried about the long-term effects of a hard inquiry, want to learn how the BP Synchrony card works, or you don’t know why the inquiry is on your report, read on.

We’ll unpack hard inquires and show you how you may be able to get one removed from your credit report.

BP/SYNCB On My Credit Report

BP SYNCB stands for BP Synchrony Bank.

Synchrony is a large bank that is known for its long lineup of store cards, with brands like:

  • Banana Republic
  • eBay
  • TJ Maxx
  • Toys R Us
  • And more

BP Synchrony Bank offers two cards: the BP Visa Credit Card and the BP Credit Card.

The BP credit card is a card that rewards you at the pump and in the store, with savings on gas and cashback on your purchases at BP and Amaco stations.

BP’s Visa card is even more rewarding, offering cashback at all other stores that accept Visa cards.

Any time you apply for a card like the BP credit card or Visa card, it requires a hard credit check.

We’ll talk about all that the process entails below.

How Does a Hard Inquiry Work?

In most cases, an occasional hard inquiry is nothing to worry about.

As long as you don’t have too many, hard inquiries do minimal damage to your score and are an essential part of getting approved for new credit.

Hard Inquiries

A hard inquiry allows lenders to look at your credit report to get an idea of how you manage credit. This information aids them in their decision-making process.

There are three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Some lenders only use one credit report to assess your creditability, while others may request two or all three of your reports.

That means all three of your credit scores could be impacted when you apply for a credit card or loan.

Hard inquiries might also occur when you apply for a new apartment or undergo a background check for a job.

Hard inquiries typically drop your score a few points and stay on your report for two years.

This is different from soft inquiries, which happen when you compare quotes for a loan or check your credit score online.

Soft Inquiries

Soft inquiries do not impact your score, meaning you can get credit score updates from a credit monitoring service or get pre-approved for offers without hurting your score.

While one hard inquiry isn’t going to lower your score much, having several of these entries on your report will.

To reduce the damage done by hard inquiries, try to only apply for credit or loans that you have a good shot at getting approved for.

Read up on them before applying to get an idea of the approval odds. You may save yourself from an unnecessary credit check by sidestepping offers with strict requirements.

Another piece of advice to help you limit the effects of hard credit pulls is to submit all your applications for a particular type of financing, like a mortgage, to a 14-day time period.

You usually have two weeks to apply for certain loans, cards, and mortgages without lowering your score repeatedly.

Get a Free Copy of Your Credit Report

How to Remove BP Synchrony from Your Credit Report

If you applied for a BP card, your best bet is to wait for the hard inquiry to fall off your report in two years.

However, if you didn’t apply for a BP credit card, you should get the hard inquiry removed from your report.

Here are a couple of resources to help.

Dispute the Inquiry with Synchrony and the Bureaus

Never ignore a credit inquiry you didn’t submit.

Though the inquiry itself might only lower your score a couple of points, you need to address the situation as it could be a sign of identity theft.

Or it could merely be the result of a reporting error.

Either way, you should dispute the debt with both SYNCB and the credit bureaus that reported the inquiry.

Request information from Synchrony about the inquiry and ensure that any credit card account opened fraudulently in your name gets closed promptly.

Then file a dispute with the credit bureaus that feature a hard inquiry from BP SYNCB.

This can all be done online, over the phone, or by mail. Just note that you have 30 days to dispute an entry on your report, so you should act quickly.

To stay informed about changes to your score, you should consider using a free credit monitoring service.

They’ll track your reports, giving you regular updates on your score and new entries on your report, along with tools for boosting your score.

You can also get one free copy of your credit reports each year at annualcreditreport.com for a more thorough look into your credit.

Get Help from a Credit Repair Company

If you’re drowning in hard inquiries and other credit issues, a credit repair service could be a worthwhile investment.

Credit repair companies can take the hassle out of dealing with the credit bureaus and disputing fraudulent entries.

They can help with all your credit problems, getting to the bottom of what’s bringing down your score.

They’ll then enact a plan to improve your score, whether that means disputing faulty reporting, negotiating with collections agencies, or getting validation for questionable entries.

A few of the problems credit repair companies can help out with include:

  • Bankruptcy
  • Charge-offs
  • Collections agencies
  • Foreclosure
  • Judgments
  • Late payments
  • Liens
  • Repossessions

Get started with one of the best credit repair companies today.

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Getting BP SYNCB off Your Credit Report

If you applied for a BP credit card or Visa, you can relax knowing that the hard inquiry on your report is a standard part of the application process.

And fortunately, it won’t affect your credit nearly as much as some other types of entries.

However, if you didn’t apply for a card, it’s important to contact Synchrony and the bureaus ASAP, whether you do it yourself or hire a credit repair company.

If you applied for a BP card from Synchrony and want to erase the damage it did to your credit score, the best thing you can do is use the card responsibly.

Keeping your balance low and making timely payments can go a long way in improving your score.