When a consumer applies for non-mortgage credit, such as a credit card, unsecured line of credit, or installment loan (. for an automobile, or furniture), the potential creditor (data user) can request a credit report (with or without a credit score) from one, two, or three of the credit repositories. A repository that receives such a request will send the credit report to the potential creditor, and record an inquiry on the consumer’ s credit report. The creditor can use the information in the credit report to help decide whether to extend or deny credit to the consumer,.
