topic Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think in Credit Cards

Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

Anonymous — Sat, 17 May 2008 14:57:14 GMT

I have AT@T internet. And 2 days ago, i wanted to upgrade my DSL to fiber optic broadband 6.0(the fastest speed). Anyway, they did a credit pull of EQ! That had only 2 inqs on it, now it has 3!!!

WHY WOULD THEY NEED TO PULL A CREDIT CHECK? AT@T internet isnt credit at all.

Well, is it like when you go to rent an apartment, they pull a CR?

Also, does the FICO score know the difference in the reasons for this? I mean, does it count as a real hard pull, and if so, does the FICO consider this as non-credit related.

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

jmbfl — Sat, 17 May 2008 16:28:09 GMT

Are you using the service/equipment now and paying for it later? Then it is CREDIT! They have a right to pull an inquiry on you to make sure you are who you say you are and that you are creditworthy. While that would not necessarily have to be a hard inquiry most credit granting processes are going to make that inquiry a hard one. It is a legitimate request for/granting of credit. Did you already have an account with them? If so you could request that they recode the inquiry as a soft as the request is not one for NEW credit but rather ADDITIONAL credit, but it is very doubtful that they will accomodate you.

It's just an inquiry and not a super big deal. Impact will fade and six months and disappear altogether in a year. Also, anyone else you would apply for credit with will see that inquiry on a manual review and know what it was about. They will disregard it. Everyone has telephone/interenet service.

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

haulingthescoreup — Sat, 17 May 2008 17:00:03 GMT

@jmbfl wrote:

Are you using the service/equipment now and paying for it later? Then it is CREDIT! They have a right to pull an inquiry on you to make sure you are who you say you are and that you are creditworthy. While that would not necessarily have to be a hard inquiry most credit granting processes are going to make that inquiry a hard one. It is a legitimate request for/granting of credit. Did you already have an account with them? If so you could request that they recode the inquiry as a soft as the request is not one for NEW credit but rather ADDITIONAL credit, but it is very doubtful that they will accomodate you.

It's just an inquiry and not a super big deal. Impact will fade and six months and disappear altogether in a year. Also, anyone else you would apply for credit with will see that inquiry on a manual review and know what it was about. They will disregard it. Everyone has telephone/interenet service.

Actually, inqs count the full amount for an entire year (no fade), and then they don't count at all. They do display for a second year.

It probably only cost you 2-3 points, depending on your scores, but it's unfortunate that they wouldn't do a soft. If you are declined in the future for too many inqs on this particular CRA report, I'd call who you were applying with for a recon, and tell them that you were just upgrading your AT&T service, and they surprised you with this.

Crummy PR on the part of AT&T, IMO.

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

marty56 — Sat, 17 May 2008 20:07:31 GMT

When I got U-Verse, the also did a hard pull on me. They even told me the reason why - to see what type of CELL PHONE I could qualify for even though I told them at the time I didnt want one since I allready had a cell phone with a diffrent provider.

Not much I could do about it.

I have not heard of cable companies doing this yet. Give it time.

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

Anonymous — Sat, 17 May 2008 21:05:14 GMT

I actually work for AT&T and they do a credit check to check your payment history the same procedure they do pretty much to any cell phone... Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, Alltell and others they run your credit as well.....Sometimes you know when you have a deposit this is the reason...

Message Edited by betamunupe on 05-17-2008 02:05 PM

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

kiminno — Sun, 18 May 2008 02:07:12 GMT

AT&T/Bellsouth did a hard pull on my EQ this week install landline service at my new home. And yes, the FAKO EQ score dropped a bit, I have not pulled the new EQ FICO yet tho.

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

Anonymous — Sun, 18 May 2008 04:53:38 GMT

We're in SoCal and Cox does a hard pull when you sign up for cable/internet service.

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

jmbfl — Sun, 18 May 2008 05:12:47 GMT

Imagine how much fraud there would be out there if mobile phone companies did not attempt some kind of credit pull to verify identity and creditworthiness? A lot of hard pulls are not done so much over your credit, but rather to make sure you are who you say you are. Try joining a CU or opening a bank account - no credit involved - just opening an account that you are going to put your money in. The Patriot Act says they have to make sure you who you say you are and you get harded as a result. Rent an apartment - seek employment - on and on. Problem is that many of these inquiries should be softs, but those pulling the reports don't know a hard from a soft or don't care. There is a body of law out there designed to PROTECT YOU however, which is why inquiries are recorded. You don't like having an inquiry on your CR? How would you feel if there was someone out there offering access to a db of all kind of information on you that anyone could buy access to and when they did you would never know who it was who was nosing around? I'll suffer through an occassional inquiry. I don't like it but I'd far rather see it then have Big Brother out there inquiring and not know about it.

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

rubaty — Sun, 18 May 2008 07:47:15 GMT

jmbfl wrote:
Imagine how much fraud there would be out there if mobile phone companies did not attempt some kind of credit pull to verify identity and creditworthiness? A lot of hard pulls are not done so much over your credit, but rather to make sure you are who you say you are. Try joining a CU or opening a bank account - no credit involved - just opening an account that you are going to put your money in. The Patriot Act says they have to make sure you who you say you are and you get harded as a result. Rent an apartment - seek employment - on and on. Problem is that many of these inquiries should be softs, but those pulling the reports don't know a hard from a soft or don't care. There is a body of law out there designed to PROTECT YOU however, which is why inquiries are recorded. You don't like having an inquiry on your CR? How would you feel if there was someone out there offering access to a db of all kind of information on you that anyone could buy access to and when they did you would never know who it was who was nosing around? I'll suffer through an occassional inquiry. I don't like it but I'd far rather see it then have Big Brother out there inquiring and not know about it.

I have opened 2 bank accts,1 CU & 1 brorkerage acct in the past year and never had an hard inq showup. If they are doing a hard inq, you should contact them and have them recoded as a soft.

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

jmbfl — Sun, 18 May 2008 12:35:17 GMT

Lots of luck! Getting inquiries recoded as softs is much easier said than done. PenFed, for one will hard you when you join whether you apply for credit or not - so you might as well apply. Banks also have other resources available to them like ChexSystems and you'll never know who is looking at that. Any time I have opened a bank account and they have inquired it has been a hard. Tell them to recode? You can ask, but it doesn't mean they are going to do it.

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

MidnightVoice — Sun, 18 May 2008 17:30:49 GMT

Can I complain about Cingular (AT&T) again please?

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

haulingthescoreup — Sun, 18 May 2008 18:54:49 GMT

To the earlier posters who work for utilities and so forth: I agree that it is fair to run credit checks when someone is establishing an account for the first time. OP had a different situation: he was upgrading existing service. IMO, this deserves an internal payment history check, and maybe a soft inq under the Account Maintenance or Account Review prefix. Here's what OP posted:

I have AT@T internet. And 2 days ago, i wanted to upgrade my DSL to fiber optic broadband 6.0(the fastest speed). Anyway, they did a credit pull of EQ! That had only 2 inqs on it, now it has 3!!!

I think it's way overkill to do a hard on an existing customer.

Poor MV! Your tombstone will read: Here lies MV, an all-around good guy, except for that Cingular thing.

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

jmbfl — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:24:08 GMT

HTSU -

I agree - it is not a new account and he should complain. There is no call for a hard inquiry. I'm sure in their contorted thinking it is "new" because it is a new service. It really is account maintenance and he should have been soft'ed. On the other hand it is only one inquiry... AFAIK the only outfit that really has this right is BOA - you ask for a card you get a hard - you ask for a CLI you get a soft (usually) AND you can find out if you are likely to get a card with a soft. This is service!

As far as my comment on the Patriot Act is concerned: I don't necessarily agree with the Patriot Act at all. More intrusion! However, I do agree with FCRA - if someone looks at my credit files I want to know who it is. In fact I think they should be REQUIRED to NOTIFY you anytime anyone pulls a hard inquiry on a CRA file of yours. I have two hards sitting out there from CA's poking around on time barred debt that I did not know about for quite a while. When I get some spare time I will deal with that bit of nastiness!

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

marty56 — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:37:45 GMT

I am a conservative and agrree 100% with the Patriot Act but I think CCCs use of the Patriot Act is more along the lines of those cop shows were the cop smashes the rear tail light of a car and then says they have probable cause to serach the vehicle.

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

jmbfl — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:02:43 GMT

A conservative is a liberal who just got mugged.

A liberal is a conservative who's civil rights have just been violated.

I was once "profiled" when I lived in NJ. My plate was run and the return showed that I lived on the "wrong side of the tracks". As a result I was stopped because I was where I was. I asked - there was no other reason. NJ police agencies are notorious for profiling and many have been sued over it, some over and over again including the NJ State Police. Funny thing is the officer who "profiled" me could not have afforded to live on my side of the tracks on his income...

My strong preferences:

1) Leave me alone, but

2) If you are going to look at me I want to know that you are doing it!

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

Anonymous — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:18:26 GMT

yes, i agree now. I guess its just to check identitiy and all. I wish it could have been a soft pull. I also wish they had used TU or EX as they have more iqus. EQ only had 2 and now it has 3

But, at least now i have their U-Verse and its so much better than dsl.

Thanks for everyones opinions and thoughts. I guess i didnt really think about it that much, but everything here everyone said made complete sense.

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

MidnightVoice — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:27:17 GMT

jmbfl wrote:
Imagine how much fraud there would be out there if mobile phone companies did not attempt some kind of credit pull to verify identity and creditworthiness? A lot of hard pulls are not done so much over your credit, but rather to make sure you are who you say you are. Try joining a CU or opening a bank account - no credit involved - just opening an account that you are going to put your money in. The Patriot Act says they have to make sure you who you say you are and you get harded as a result. Rent an apartment - seek employment - on and on. Problem is that many of these inquiries should be softs, but those pulling the reports don't know a hard from a soft or don't care. There is a body of law out there designed to PROTECT YOU however, which is why inquiries are recorded. You don't like having an inquiry on your CR? How would you feel if there was someone out there offering access to a db of all kind of information on you that anyone could buy access to and when they did you would never know who it was who was nosing around? I'll suffer through an occassional inquiry. I don't like it but I'd far rather see it then have Big Brother out there inquiring and not know about it.

Cingular pulled a hard inq on me when I added a line after I had been a customer for a year - that was not required and poor customer relations - they could have pulled a soft if they really didn't trust me

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

MidnightVoice — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:30:18 GMT

jmbfl wrote:
The Patriot Act says they have to make sure you who you say you are and you get harded as a result.

Yes and no. The patriot act requires they identify you. IT DOES NOT REQUIRE THEY DO A HARD INQ, OR ANT SORT OF CREDIT PULL. It requires they know your identity. Some places are just so lazy they use a credit pull when they do not need to

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

athensguy — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:57:49 GMT

I have 4 hards for utilities on my EQ report. It makes me pretty mad, and I think I'm going to have to call EQ up and ask them to remove them. The most annoying one is that I got a bundle from Windstream that includes TV, and Dish pulled a hard on me too! I do not have an account with Dish, and I had never communicated with Dish in any way. I pay everything through Windstream. I don't think I would win a lawsuit, but Dish's pull is non-PP.

Also, the PATRIOT ACT is fascist, which I guess is a form of "conservatism". Pulling my CR does nothing to confirm my ID. Until I told EQ where I lived the other day, they didn't even have my address, and none of my accounts had been updated for 2 months.

Re: Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

fused — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:34:16 GMT

erchambers wrote:

Also, the PATRIOT ACT is fascist, which I guess is a form of "conservatism". Pulling my CR does nothing to confirm my ID. Until I told EQ where I lived the other day, they didn't even have my address, and none of my accounts had been updated for 2 months.

Boy, do I agree! A passport or DL should be sufficient. Pulling CRs to confirm one's identity is ridiculous...CRs have far too many inaccuracies as it is.