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BoFA card denied - Invalid SSN. Any idea about this?

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Nadar
Established Member

BoFA card denied - Invalid SSN. Any idea about this?

I am an international student in NY and had received my SSN 2 weeks back. I had applied for a BoFA Travel rewards card for students through my BoFA bank branch and I was denied the card. I have a checking account with them for over 9 months now. I received my denial letter today and the reasons given for the denial are 

1. Invalid SSN

2. Lack of sufficient History at this address

3. Lack of history at this phone

4. Insufficient History.

While the last three reasons are acceptable, I just don't understand the first one, invalid SSN. 

 

I did login to Experian website as suggested in the BoFA denial letter for a free report and this is what I got: 

 

"The issue date of the Social Security number that you gave us when you contacted us is not verified by the Social Security Administration.
This address has pertained to a business: My address, NJ, 073**.
Inquiry current address was reported within the last 90 days.
PRINTING-PUBLISHING COMPANY: My Address, NJ, 073**."

 

As soon as BoFA denied me the card, I applied to Discover for a student card and I had to upload a copy of my SSN, school documents and stuff and I was approved the same day over the phone for a CL of $500. I received my Discover card with a L2C credit score which reads 712.

 

So it looks like discover didn't have a problem with my SSN but BoFA did have trouble verifying it.

 

Also I went to Chase's website and also BoFA's for prequalifed offers. I got this message from Chase - 

"We are unable to locate any special credit card offers for you at this time. This may be because you have opted out of "pre-screened" offers from Chase and other companies". Well I haven't opted out of prescreened offers yet. 

 

I had similar issues of my SSN not being verified by Google Wallet and I had to send a copy of my SSN card before they could manually verify it.

 

My question now is what does Experian mean by their comment? Has anyone else had this issue before? On calling BoFA they wouldn't recon and they say that my denial was mainly because of this technicality. 

 

I called Experian and I was told that SSA no longer reports the issue date of new SSNs for a few years now but just mentions the same on the card. 

 

Kindly let me know if there is anything that I should do to rectify this or is this all just because my SSN is fresh? Will this issue be settled once Discover starts reporting to the credit bureaus?

 

Your thoughts are appreciated.

Message 1 of 12
11 REPLIES 11
Anam
Established Member

Re: BoFA card denied - Invalid SSN. Any idea about this?

That experian message is nothing to worry about.

 

As of June 25, 2011 the Social Security Administration started randomizing the numbers they issue. So they no longer correspond to location where it was issued, more numbers are available, etc (more info here).

 

Overall it's just a security measure for the SSN. So since your SSN was issued after that date, they (Experian) won't be able to verify it. Which then just means the banks will put extra scrutiny on you when you try and get your first credit accounts. Once you have credit for a year or so it won't be an issue anymore.

 

 

Message 2 of 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: BoFA card denied - Invalid SSN. Any idea about this?

Many banks/lenders have software that will automatically reject such SSNs. Because it's only a small percentage of customers affected, they are not in a hurry to update the software, but eventually they will fix it. Should definitely fix it by 2025, when millions of americans born 2011 will start applying for bank accounts.

Message 3 of 12
rlx01
Established Contributor

Re: BoFA card denied - Invalid SSN. Any idea about this?


@Anonymous wrote:

Many banks/lenders have software that will automatically reject such SSNs. Because it's only a small percentage of customers affected, they are not in a hurry to update the software, but eventually they will fix it. Should definitely fix it by 2025, when millions of americans born 2011 will start applying for bank accounts.


This isn't true... at all. Not even one bit.

 

@OP: Your SSN is too new. You probably don't have a CR generated yet. Wait until Discover reports. Also... the "business address" notation can be problematic sometimes.

Message 4 of 12
enharu
Super Contributor

Re: BoFA card denied - Invalid SSN. Any idea about this?

My brother had the same issue initially with BofA. Even though he did apply and also had an invalid SSN response with experian cited, BofA did not pull any inquiries from any of the bureaus.

My guess is that they couldn't locate / verify your SSN, which may have to do with your SSN being too "new", or because you have not established any credit history.

I added my brother as an AU on Wells Fargo and several other cards, waited till it updated onto his CR, and had him apply again. BofA was able to process the app and pulled an inquiry on experian.

Maybe it's just a timing issue. Maybe you just need to establish some credit history first.
JPMorgan Palladium (100k), AmEx Platinum (NPSL), AmEx SPG (46k), AmEx BCP (42k), Chase Sapphire Preferred (47k), Citi Prestige (31k), Citi Thank You Preferred (27k), Citi Executive AAdvantage (25k), JPMorgan Ritz-Carlton (21k), Merrill+ (15k), US Bank Cash+ (22.5k), Wells Fargo (12k), Bloomingdale’s (12.4k), Chase Freedom (5k), Discover IT (5k).
Message 5 of 12
lg8302ch
Senior Contributor

Re: BoFA card denied - Invalid SSN. Any idea about this?

This address has pertained to a business:


This is also something that all the sudden appeared on my Experian report. (only on EX) No clue what triggered it other than the apartment being located on the top floor of a business building and address listed as " business" in postal directories. So far I have not suffered from this entry but who knows....

Message 6 of 12
JoshuaHolySpirit
Frequent Contributor

Re: BoFA card denied - Invalid SSN. Any idea about this?

Send copies of your SSN and ''reason for doing so'' to all 3 credit bureaus.

Once they have it in the system, you're all set.

Capital One QS1, Capital One Journey, Williams-Sonoma Visa, Amex Travelocity, Chase Slate, Amex SPG, Amex Blue Sky, Bank of America Travel Rewards, JCPenney...and more ( Holy Spirit rocks-!! ) TU-Fico-777
Message 7 of 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: BoFA card denied - Invalid SSN. Any idea about this?

Experian was giving the invalid SSN message for me even after 1 year of working and paying taxes.  I not only was rejected for multiple CCs but even could not open a CU account because of this.  They need someone to report your details to validate the SSN.  Once your discover card reports it should clear things up.  I also had a hiccup with TU where I suddenly became invalid and had to re-validate with a couple of places, even though I had been with them for some time.  I just chalk it up to the joys of living in a world where computer records are regarded as the ultimate truth.

Message 8 of 12
newhis
Valued Contributor

Re: BoFA card denied - Invalid SSN. Any idea about this?


@Nadar wrote:

I am an international student in NY and had received my SSN 2 weeks back. I had applied for a BoFA Travel rewards card for students through my BoFA bank branch and I was denied the card. I have a checking account with them for over 9 months now. I received my denial letter today and the reasons given for the denial are 

1. Invalid SSN

2. Lack of sufficient History at this address

3. Lack of history at this phone

4. Insufficient History.

While the last three reasons are acceptable, I just don't understand the first one, invalid SSN. 

 

I did login to Experian website as suggested in the BoFA denial letter for a free report and this is what I got: 

 

"The issue date of the Social Security number that you gave us when you contacted us is not verified by the Social Security Administration.
This address has pertained to a business: My address, NJ, 073**.
Inquiry current address was reported within the last 90 days.
PRINTING-PUBLISHING COMPANY: My Address, NJ, 073**."

 

As soon as BoFA denied me the card, I applied to Discover for a student card and I had to upload a copy of my SSN, school documents and stuff and I was approved the same day over the phone for a CL of $500. I received my Discover card with a L2C credit score which reads 712.

 

So it looks like discover didn't have a problem with my SSN but BoFA did have trouble verifying it.

 

Also I went to Chase's website and also BoFA's for prequalifed offers. I got this message from Chase - 

"We are unable to locate any special credit card offers for you at this time. This may be because you have opted out of "pre-screened" offers from Chase and other companies". Well I haven't opted out of prescreened offers yet. 

 

I had similar issues of my SSN not being verified by Google Wallet and I had to send a copy of my SSN card before they could manually verify it.

 

My question now is what does Experian mean by their comment? Has anyone else had this issue before? On calling BoFA they wouldn't recon and they say that my denial was mainly because of this technicality. 

 

I called Experian and I was told that SSA no longer reports the issue date of new SSNs for a few years now but just mentions the same on the card. 

 

Kindly let me know if there is anything that I should do to rectify this or is this all just because my SSN is fresh? Will this issue be settled once Discover starts reporting to the credit bureaus?

 

Your thoughts are appreciated.


I think my DW got the same score than yours (from L2C), she got her SSN late January and got her Discover on February, they asked for school documents, SSN and address copy.

 

Did you update your account with them with your SSN before applying?

 

My DW after 3 weeks of getting her SSN went to BoA, open a checking account and apply for a card, they denied and say she qualify for a secured card. She got the cash rewards secured card.

 

Discover will give your FICO score with TU but until it can be created (after 6 statements or so). My DW just got her 5th statement and no score yet.

 

I think that because her SSN is so new, she can't create creditsesame or quizzle accounts. She has creditkarma account and creditcom account. The creditcom account still say that she doesn't have enough history and they don't display anything. I guess this can change after 6 months with credit history. If you want to create a CK account, I say you better wait until the third statement to make sure that Discover is reporting. Wait for 6 months or more for other sites.

 

I think that with your denial letter you have 60 days to ask for a free credir report from EX without it counting for your free every 12 months. I'll say you wait until almost 60 days to ask your report so you can see if Discover reported and see what your report say by then.

 

Go to your branch make sure your information is complete with your checking account. Explain what is happening (denial, got a Discover student) maybe they can offer you something or at least will tell you to wait a couple of months.

 

Some people recommend local CU. I read some people even got a secured loan, to get a mix of credit since starting credit (even 500 secured loan help, they say).

 

Just some options to stablish your credit history.

Message 9 of 12
09Lexie
Moderator Emerita

Re: BoFA card denied - Invalid SSN. Any idea about this?

***************This thread is from 2013, chances are the OP has found a solution************************

Message 10 of 12
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