topic Re: Open Checking Account...drop FICO score.... in General Credit Topics

Open Checking Account...drop FICO score....

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:46:50 GMT

I opened a checking account with Charles Schwab...and my FICO dropped seven points. WHY??????

They did an inquiry but I was not seeking new credit. I just wanted an account that pays me interest and has free billpayer.

Can someone explain this to me? Can I get this inquiry removed?

Re: Open Checking Account...drop FICO score....

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:37:52 GMT

Normal practice to pull a hard inq opening a new checking account no a days.

can you have it removed?

They had PP.

Re: Open Checking Account...drop FICO score....

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 18:16:03 GMT

Well, I hope it was worth it to them. I just moved my mom's estate account to Fidelity. I hope that inquiry was worth $750,000.

Now people from their "Client Advocacy Team" suddenly want to talk to me.

Screw them.

Re: Open Checking Account...drop FICO score....

PayYouNever — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 18:20:39 GMT

When you open one of those high-interest bearing checking accounts (charles Schwab, ING, etc.) they basically check your score because they don't have NSF charges, they loan you the money to cover an overdraft at a certain interest-rate. You have to pay that loan back, so essentially they'll be extending you credit.

Re: Open Checking Account...drop FICO score....

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 21:26:14 GMT

I've opened about 3 savings and 4 checking accounts within the past month and was hit with hard inqs for all of them. Yuck. I've been chalking them up to the Patriot Act. Here's some info I just found on the Patriot Act...

link

The sections of the Patriot Act that deal with financial transactions fall under Title III, which is also known as the International Money Laundering Abatement and Financial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001. It stands on its own as a separate act of Congress as well as being part of the Patriot Act, and is an amended version of the 1986 Money Laundering Control Act and the 1970 Bank Secrecy Act. The earlier acts tended to focus on preventing money laundering and international cash flow as it related to the drug trade, or to gambling, smuggling, and other types of criminal activity. In the 2001 version, the focus has shifted towards money laundering as a means of financing international terrorism.

The current act encourages financial institutions to collect certain data to identify customers and their transactions in case any of the activity should be flagged as “suspicious” by a government agency.

Re: Open Checking Account...drop FICO score....

fused — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 21:35:06 GMT

Zen wrote:

I opened a checking account with Charles Schwab...and my FICO dropped seven points. WHY??????

They did an inquiry but I was not seeking new credit. I just wanted an account that pays me interest and has free billpayer.

Can someone explain this to me? Can I get this inquiry removed?

I say they do not have PP. Even if you dispute it as not mine, I didn't app for new credit the CRA will likely verify it. Which CRA is it on?

They would however have PP if you applied for overdraft protection.

Message Edited by fused on 10-26-2007 11:35 AM