Did bank rep do anything wrong?

[Anonymous]

My wife went into the bank yesterday, on more of a fact finding mission. She was curious about auto refinance and their credit card products. She had our FICO scores with her as well as credit report printouts. She stated she just wanted information and did not want our credit pulled. The girl (who is pretty new in this department, she was a teller last time I was there) told her she couldn't help us or give us any guidance without pulling our credit. She then proceeded to tell my wife it was ok and they had all of our information. She pulled the credit and they went over the products. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when I'm told my credit was pulled without me being there or authorizing it to anyone at the bank. This morning my CMS informed me the pull had been deleted. I was relieved of that.

But did they violate any laws? I was under the assumption only I could pull my credit, and a lender could only pull my credit with my express authorization. Either way, I'm happy they reversed it. I hadn't even talked to them yet, so someone obviously realized there was a mistake made.

[DI]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My wife went into the bank yesterday, on more of a fact finding mission. She was curious about auto refinance and their credit card products. She had our FICO scores with her as well as credit report printouts. She stated she just wanted information and did not want our credit pulled. The girl (who is pretty new in this department, she was a teller last time I was there) told her she couldn't help us or give us any guidance without pulling our credit. She then proceeded to tell my wife it was ok and they had all of our information. She pulled the credit and they went over the products. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when I'm told my credit was pulled without me being there or authorizing it to anyone at the bank. This morning my CMS informed me the pull had been deleted. I was relieved of that.

But did they violate any laws? I was under the assumption only I could pull my credit, and a lender could only pull my credit with my express authorization. Either way, I'm happy they reversed it. I hadn't even talked to them yet, so someone obviously realized there was a mistake made.

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They had no right to pull your credit report without your signature or verbal consent.  They expecially had no right to make a 'hard inquiry'.  If you have an account with them they can do a soft inquiry for account reviews.  No one, including your wife cannot request or apply for credit in your name with or without your consent.  It's good they reversed it, becuase they know they made a big mistake.

If your wife went the bank with credit reports and FICO scores  just to get approval information, an experienced loan officer could have reviewed that information.  A hard pull would have only been required if your wife submitted an application.    I guess your wife should have just left when the teller said she couldn't have helped with pulling a credit report. 

[Anonymous]

Thank you. That's exactly what I thought. I'm kinda new to this, but I'm no dummy, and a quick learner.

As soon as I saw it wa deleted, I sent them a really nice letter, thanking them for deleting it and buttering them up for future encounters with them. I started to get worried as I read after that that inquiries with TU sometimes fall off then reappear. Just hoping it doesn't reappear. I don't want to have to take action against them and ruin chances I have of future business with them, as they're a great CU.

The girl was obviously new in the loan area. As I said, she's about 25 and was just starting out as a teller 2 years ago. My wife has good intentions, but sometimes when she wants something (even just information), she can be persuaded. I think she learned on this one, though.

[Anonymous]

I spoke too soon. Just refreshed my report with my CMS. It's back. Now I feel like an ass for sending them a thank you letter.

Now what? Wait for them to respond to the letter? Send them another letter? Dispute with CRA?

Or should I go in and speak with a branch manager on Tuesday (my next day off)? Maybe I should go in and demand they give me a credit card or I'll report them LOL!

[Anonymous]

If it were me, I'd refresh my report Mon and Tues, if its still there, I would go in and speak to the Branch Manager on Tues and explain what happened and you would like that inq removed.

If they don't remove it, I believe a law has been broken, and then you go from there.

Let us know what happens.

[Anonymous]

From what I've read, they legally can't do that. My credit report legally has to show me who accessed my report. However, if it's still there, I will go in there and demand them to change it to a soft.

[DI]

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@Anonymous wrote:
From what I've read, they legally can't do that. My credit report legally has to show me who accessed my report. However, if it's still there, I will go in there and demand them to change it to a soft.

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Don't demand it be changed to soft.  That give reason to believe you gave them permission to pull your report.  Request that they remove the inquiry completely. 

[Anonymous]

Gotcha. But obviously, be willing to settle for a soft.

[DI]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Gotcha. But obviously, be willing to settle for a soft.

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Wrong is wrong.  You were not there to give permission to pull your credit report.   You do not have a joint credit report with your wife.  If anything, they should have only pulled your wife's credit report.  

[Walt_K]

I wouldn't expend too much energy on this.  It's one inquiry.  Unless you have a mortgage app or auto loan or something like that coming up soon, it really isn't that big a deal.  I'm not saying that you aren't correct, I'm just saying that I don't think it's worth your time and aggravation.  Maybe go in there once to try to get it worked out, but I'd just let it go after that. 

Plus, disputing inquiries with the CRA can open a whole other can of worms.  I don't know all the details, but I know there are threads on here talking about it triggering fraud alerts or some such.  Just make sure you look into that before you decide to go that route.

Good luck.