A lot of things can impact your credit score, from your payment history to the amount of available credit you use.

Another action that influences your score is applying for a line of credit.

Whether you’re in the market for a mortgage, auto loan, or credit card, your application can result in a hard inquiry on your credit report, which can damage your credit score for years.

If you’ve come across the name SYNCB on your credit report, it’s probably because you applied for a credit card with the bank or one of its popular retail partners.

Fortunately, it’s possible to get a hard inquiry removed from your credit report, using the tips below.

What Is SYNCB?

Though the name SYNCB is foreign to most people when they encounter it on their credit report, it represents a popular national online bank, Synchrony.

You can rest assured knowing that SYNCB is legit. A Fortune 500 company, Synchrony Bank is an FDIC-insured bank with over 80 years of service under its belt.

Synchrony offers several financial products, from CDs, MMAs, and IRAs to credit cards and loans through partnerships with other lenders.

The online bank is known for its extensive lineup of credit cards for popular retailers, including:

  • Amazon
  • American Eagle
  • Ashley Furniture
  • Chevron
  • Gap and Old Navy
  • Google
  • Lowe’s
  • Paypal
  • TJ Maxx
  • Sam’s Club and Walmart
  • Sony
  • And more

How to Remove SYNCB from Your Credit Report

As long as a hard inquiry is on your credit profile, it can drop your score and hurt your chances of getting approved when you apply with lenders in the future.

Dispute a Hard Inquiry with a Validation Letter

If you never applied for a credit card or loan from SYCNB or one of its partners, your first step should be to dispute the claim.

You can send SYNCB a simple debt validation letter. When you take this route, the bank must provide evidence of your credit application or have the hard inquiry removed from your credit report promptly.

You can also submit a letter to the three credit bureaus disputing the hard inquiry.

Whether you applied for a Synchrony card or not, disputing the inquiry could be a quick means to getting it removed from your report.

The key to disputing an entry on your credit report is to act quickly as you have 30 days to seek validation for an entry on your credit report.

The same is true for disputing collections accounts if a debt collector is contacting you.

That’s why it’s important to monitor your credit score, checking it often to catch any changes.

A free credit monitoring service can be a major asset here, alerting you to changes in your score and allowing you to check it regularly.

Work with a Credit Repair Company to Remove the Hard Inquiry

Writing and calling creditors and credit bureaus can be quite stressful and time-consuming, especially if you have a more complicated credit situation.

If you’d like to leave the hassle of dealing with creditors to someone else, we recommend working with a credit repair company.

These companies are staffed with pros who work quickly to ensure accurate reporting, dispute your claims, and get entries removed from your report.

And if you’re dealing with more than a hard inquiry, a credit repair company can be downright essential.

Credit repair companies can help with several complex credit issues, including:

  • Bankruptcy
  • Charge offs
  • Debt collectors
  • Foreclosure
  • Judgments
  • Late payments
  • Liens
  • Property repossession

A credit repair company can get to the bottom of your credit issues quickly, boosting your credit score in no time.

How Long Does a Hard Inquiry Stay on Your Credit Report?

A lot of people are unaware that applying for a retail credit card in a store can damage their score in minutes.

If you’ve applied for a retail card with one of the brands above, it could be the culprit of the SYNCB hard inquiry on your report.

When you apply for credit from SYNCB or any lender for that matter, the bank runs a check on your credit profile to determine whether or not to approve your application.

While checking your credit score online from a service like Credit Karma is considered a soft credit pull and doesn’t affect your credit, a hard pull from a lender will.

In this process, the lender can request your credit report from one or all of the major credit bureaus, potentially impacting your Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian scores.

The severity of a hard inquiry lessens over time, but it will remain on your report for two years.

While one credit card application might only do minimal damage to your score, hard inquiries can add up quickly to hurt your credit.

Removing SYNCB From Your Credit Report

There’s no reason an application for a credit card should hold you back from getting approved for a competitive mortgage, student loan, or any other line of credit.

Though one credit card application won’t likely destroy your credit, it can have an effect on your score for up to two years.

If SYCNB, Paypal, or one of its other partners has popped up on your report and lowered your score, consider disputing your debt or hiring a credit repair company to improve your score.

If you’re looking for a place to start, the credit repair companies below provide excellent services.

They have a proven track record of success, with countless reviews from satisfied customers with soaring credit scores:

  • Credit Saint
  • Sky Blue
  • Lexington Law