I'm not sure how many pionts it will take off. I only have 3 inquiries in the last 2 years.
It may not effect me at all.
As for the hard vs. soft pulls, I have no clue as to what info is different.
New rules for pulls on credit! (ones that I want):
Lending institutions extending credit for more than 1-3 months-----Hard
Insurance companies----Soft
Landlords----Soft
Potential employers----Soft
Any institution extending credit for between 0-90 days may do either a Hard or Soft pull. However, if a credit report is required to extend credit, then, that institution MUST report back to the CRAs on a monthly basis the status of that account.
Cell phone service is BIG business here in the US. I can promise you....should something like this be enacted in congress, the cellular carriers would throw a fit. Think of all the extra paperwork! Same thing with insurance.
DJ