CSR said it will be a soft pull for my CLI

[ShiningDown]

I have a us bank platinum card that I got in November 2011. Today I called for a CLI and she said for sure it will be a soft pull and I will get a letter in 7-10 days with a decision. My CL is only 1,000, she said did you want to try for 2,000 and I said yes. Is this normal to get a letter instead of an instant decision?  My balance is 479.00 so I may get nothing.

[Repo-ed]

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@ShiningDown wrote:

I have a us bank platinum card that I got in November 2011. Today I called for a CLI and she said for sure it will be a soft pull and I will get a letter in 7-10 days with a decision. My CL is only 1,000, she said did you want to try for 2,000 and I said yes. Is this normal to get a letter instead of an instant decision?  My balance is 479.00 so I may get nothing.

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Being that you are at 47.9% util on that card, I would expect to get a denial.

Any reason why your balance is that high?  Perhaps pay it down to under $100 and try again.

[ShiningDown]

The balance is from a balance transfer offer that ends in November 2012.

[pizzadude]

You might want to do some searching here on US bank to confirm if it is likely to really be a soft pull. CSRs are usually not credit savvy and sometimes are just misinformed about the differences between soft & hard pulls.

[android01]

US Bank to my knowledge ALWAYS does a hard pull for a CLI.  Please let us know if this isn't the case with you!

[ShiningDown]

 I will let you know as soon as I get the denial, I mean letter.

[ShiningDown]

Should I call the  same # I called today and make sure they don't due a hard pull on my credit. I used the # on my credit card. I read about people getting a hard pulls  so that's why I told the rep If she can  say 100% sure it will be a soft to go ahead and request  for the increase.

[rootpooty]

rule of thumb is to always expect a hp when asking for a cli. most csr's dont know a difference and are sometimes misinformed so with that being said if they do indeed hp you i dont believe you can do anything about it cause a creditor has permissible cause to pull your reports at any given time.

[Meltdownblitz]

Rootpooty, I do not believe that is a true statement. Possibly when asking for a CLI they could do HPs because you are asking, however they are not able to do a HP at any given time. I was told by a rep and I'm pretty sure it could be part of the new card laws, that a creditor has to inform you and have your permission before they are able to pull your credit with a HP. However they DO have permission to SP you at any given time. If anyone knows for sure please inform us. Thank you.

[Revelate]

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@Meltdownblitz wrote:
Rootpooty, I do not believe that is a true statement. Possibly when asking for a CLI they could do HPs because you are asking, however they are not able to do a HP at any given time. I was told by a rep and I'm pretty sure it could be part of the new card laws, that a creditor has to inform you and have your permission before they are able to pull your credit with a HP. However they DO have permission to SP you at any given time. If anyone knows for sure please inform us. Thank you.

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Heh, actually I disagree with rootpooty all the time; however, in this case he's right.  CSR's do sometimes get it wrong when people ask as to whether it's a HP or SP, and generally there's really nothing that can be done about it.  If you are asking for a CLI, they will state that they need to pull your credit, that's a permissible purpose to do a HP regardless of whether the CSR flubs it by telling you it'll be a SP.

Having worked in a few lenders, I can assure you that most CSR's aren't extremely savvy about credit scoring.  Once every week or two here someone complains about just this, and a round of "We could've told you that" responses get posted.