Gotta disagree, in principle. All inquiries are not created equal. Consumers should not be discouraged from rate shopping for car loans and mortgages; in fact I think the window should be longer. But in the FICO mind-set if someone is suddenly applying for lots of CCs, there must be trouble brewin'. Either the person is suddenly in doo-doo and needs more credit fast, or they are getting rejected everywhere they apply. Clang clang clang go the FICO alarm bells.
I was unaware that BB&Bs extended LOCs. 
If it's a human being looking at one's report, then I agree with you they are likely to consider the circumstance. 15-20 inquiries in a short window while one was car shopping is no biggie. Even spread out over 3 months, the home loan officer will be OK with the fact that one took 3 months to find the right car and the right deal, IMHO.
But built into the FICO scoring model? Not buying it. If the inquiry was qualified in some way on one's reports, with a high level category, or if some high level category were stored and not reported on the consumer's report, then OK.
How can FICO scoring possibly know the difference between 15 inquiries from car dealers and car loan fiance companies, versus 15 inquiries from CC companies?
BB&Bs offer a variety of services, or so I've been told. 
Its true. FICO knows somehow. I can only assume it has to do with the classification of the business or inquiry itself. Can't say for sure.
Noah_Bodie wrote:If it's a human being looking at one's report, then I agree with you they are likely to consider the circumstance. 15-20 inquiries in a short window while one was car shopping is no biggie. Even spread out over 3 months, the home loan officer will be OK with the fact that one took 3 months to find the right car and the right deal, IMHO.But built into the FICO scoring model? Not buying it. If the inquiry was qualified in some way on one's reports, with a high level category, or if some high level category were stored and not reported on the consumer's report, then OK.How can FICO scoring possibly know the difference between 15 inquiries from car dealers and car loan fiance companies, versus 15 inquiries from CC companies?BB&Bs offer a variety of services, or so I've been told.
smallfry wrote:
I've got a strange one. Scottrade is listed on my Equifax as both a hard and a soft pull. Both are listed on the same date.
That's not uncommon. You will usually see a soft for promotional reasons, then the hard once you take the bait.