That's Chase for you. It happened to me with their Amazon card. Had an 812 score and no cards with Chase. I was pre-approved but got denied. Called and asked why and the rep said there was no reason listed and I'd have to wait for the letter. It's been 4 months and the letter hasn't arrived. 🤷🏽♂️
I ended up going with AmEx BCE. No hard pull and it's a much better card anyway. Glad I am not with Chase.
This is the way it works with a lot of lenders and pre-approvals. Amex does the same thing when applying with them for the first time. They will tell a consumer they're approved with a soft pull. Once you "accept" their offer you are essentially agreeing to a hard pull where you can be denied based on more detailed review of your credit report. There's usually language to this effect stated throughout the process.
If there was no language (and you have proof of that) stating there would be no hard pull, you could dispute the inquiry. However, I've never heard of Chase offering, or giving an approval of a new account on a SP only.
As for the 17 point drop for an inquiry, it could be due things such as:
- Young, thin file
- Excessive credit seeking
- Your profile containing adverse information such as past charge offs, collections, late payments
- You're on a dirty scorecard
