Any experience with Freeze/Unfreeze credit report trick?

[Anonymous]

Some people Freeze/Unfree their credit report in order to limit the lender to one report or limit the number of their HP. Some people also said lenders may deny your credit because of that.

So are these practice based on different institutions or simply depends on which credit analyst you'r talking with?

Anyone got experience on this? I just want to freeze two of the three reports when I apply for credit cards so each time I can potentially "save" some inquiries.  

Thank you.

[thom02099]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Some people Freeze/Unfree their credit report in order to limit the lender to one report or limit the number of their HP. Some people also said lenders may deny your credit because of that.

So are these practice based on different institutions or simply depends on which credit analyst you'r talking with?

Anyone got experience on this? I just want to freeze two of the three reports when I apply for credit cards so each time I can potentially "save" some inquiries.  

Thank you.

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You won't "save" inquiries per se, by putting a freeze on your account.  What likely will happen is, when you apply you'll get some form of the "pending" message, ie, the dreaded 7-10 day message.  Your inquiry could stay in queue for approval, or you may get a request to call in to the lender.  That's what happened to me with my EX report (which I had a freeze on), for the several times in the past when I applied and the EX report was the one the lender used.   I didn't get an approval until I unfroze my EX report.

Some folks think you can "force" lenders to pull other reports, and anecdotally this may work some of the time, but the vast majority of lenders have a singular CB that they use, and will only pull that report.  So in essense you're not forcing anything other than a time delay in approval. 

[Bandit_1025]

Inaccurate assessment; most lenders have a primary relationship (discounted cost per acquisition) with a bureau and a secondary in case there is an existing freeze.  This is a general rule of thumb for the larger lenders Chase, Citi..etc.

It’s not as much as you “save inquiries”, but you direct those companies to a preferred bureau.  In case there’s a negative reporting on TU and not EXP. A freeze on TU would direct them to a secondary pull.

[webhopper]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Some people Freeze/Unfree their credit report in order to limit the lender to one report or limit the number of their HP. Some people also said lenders may deny your credit because of that.

So are these practice based on different institutions or simply depends on which credit analyst you'r talking with?

Anyone got experience on this? I just want to freeze two of the three reports when I apply for credit cards so each time I can potentially "save" some inquiries.  

Thank you.

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The concept of freezing / unfreezing one or two of your credit reports to limit a potential lender access to that particular report  for the approval of a credit account is generally considered "unethical" by many and is not endorsed by this forum, specifically.

However, if you want to protect your identity from unauthorized access by would-be identity thieves, you can request a freeze of each of your bureau reports.  The freeze can either be temporary or permanent, and can be lifted at any time. 

The fee to freeze and unfreeze reports is based on which state you live in, but its usually pretty small in relation to what you might have to pay in time spent dealing with the issue if someone were to steal your identity and open a credit account in your name without your permission.

For more specific information about Identity theft, feel free to check out my ID theft guide, located here.

[djrez4]

Disregarding ethics for a moment, the relationship between the bank and the bureau they tend to pull is rarely a business relationship.  Once upon a time, there were local credit bureaus that focused on specific geographic areas.  Equifax started as a southern company out of Atlanta.  Transunion acquired the Credit Bureau of Cook County (Illinois) in 1969.  Experian didn't exist until 1996, but picked up TRW's credit group, which was formed in 1970 (originally Ramo-Woolridge Company, incorporated in Delware).

So, you tend to have Equifax focused on southern states, Transunion on midwestern states, and Experian filling in the gaps.  And then, there are exceptions.  

[LS2982]

Youll more than likely be denied then asked to open all 3 for recon.

[enharu]

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@LS2982 wrote:
Youll more than likely be denied then asked to open all 3 for recon.

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+1

Even for big lenders who might pull all 3, they have a first go to bureau that they must pull, and that depends on your location. For socal, its almost 100% EX for Citi, Chase, US Bank and Bank of America. If your EXPERIAN is frozen and rest aren't, they will insist on you unfreezing it first. Any other bureau pulls might be additional pulls, especially for borderline approvals. You don't exactly want to be caught doing sneaky stuff when you are already in a borderline approval / denial state. Chances of you being denied will be much higher if found out. 

And of course........they might ask u to unfreeze all 3 once they find out a single bureau is frozen. This isn't to penalize you for trying to be sneaky. It's more for fraud prevention.