Got a hard pull from AT@T....I think

[Anonymous]

I have AT@T internet. And 2 days ago, i wanted to upgrade my DSL to fiber optic broadband 6.0(the fastest speed). Anyway, they did a credit pull of EQ!  That had only 2 inqs on it, now it has 3!!!

WHY WOULD THEY NEED TO PULL A CREDIT CHECK?  AT@T internet isnt credit at all.

Well, is it like when you go to rent an apartment, they pull a CR?

Also, does the FICO score know the difference in the reasons for this? I mean, does it count as a real hard pull, and if so, does the FICO consider this as non-credit related.

[jmbfl]

Are you using the service/equipment now and paying for it later? Then it is CREDIT! They have a right to pull an inquiry on you to make sure you are who you say you are and that you are creditworthy. While that would not necessarily have to be a hard inquiry most credit granting processes are going to make that inquiry a hard one. It is a legitimate request for/granting of credit. Did you already have an account with them? If so you could request that they recode the inquiry as a soft as the request is not one for NEW credit but rather ADDITIONAL credit, but it is very doubtful that they will accomodate you.

It's just an inquiry and not a super big deal. Impact will fade and six months and disappear altogether in a year. Also, anyone else you would apply for credit with will see that inquiry on a manual review and know what it was about. They will disregard it. Everyone has telephone/interenet service.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@jmbfl wrote:

Are you using the service/equipment now and paying for it later? Then it is CREDIT! They have a right to pull an inquiry on you to make sure you are who you say you are and that you are creditworthy. While that would not necessarily have to be a hard inquiry most credit granting processes are going to make that inquiry a hard one. It is a legitimate request for/granting of credit. Did you already have an account with them? If so you could request that they recode the inquiry as a soft as the request is not one for NEW credit but rather ADDITIONAL credit, but it is very doubtful that they will accomodate you.

It's just an inquiry and not a super big deal. Impact will fade and six months and disappear altogether in a year. Also, anyone else you would apply for credit with will see that inquiry on a manual review and know what it was about. They will disregard it. Everyone has telephone/interenet service.

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Actually, inqs count the full amount for an entire year (no fade), and then they don't count at all. They do display for a second year.

It probably only cost you 2-3 points, depending on your scores, but it's unfortunate that they wouldn't do a soft. If you are declined in the future for too many inqs on this particular CRA report, I'd call who you were applying with for a recon, and tell them that you were just upgrading your AT&T service, and they surprised you with this.

Crummy PR on the part of AT&T, IMO.

[marty56]

When I got U-Verse, the also did a hard pull on me.  They even told me the reason why - to see what type of CELL PHONE I could qualify for even though I told them at the time I didnt want one since I allready had a cell phone with a diffrent provider.

Not much I could do about it.

I have not heard of cable companies doing this yet.  Give it time.

[Anonymous]

I actually work for AT&T and they do a credit check to check your payment history the same procedure they do pretty much to any cell phone... Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, Alltell and others they run your credit as well.....Sometimes you know when you have a deposit this is the reason...

Message Edited by betamunupe on 05-17-2008 02:05 PM

[kiminno]

AT&T/Bellsouth did a hard pull on my EQ this week install landline service at my new home.  And yes, the FAKO EQ score dropped a bit, I have not pulled the new EQ FICO yet tho. 

[Anonymous]

We're in SoCal and Cox does a hard pull when you sign up for cable/internet service.

[jmbfl]

Imagine how much fraud there would be out there if mobile phone companies did not attempt some kind of credit pull to verify identity and creditworthiness? A lot of hard pulls are not done so much over your credit, but rather to make sure you are who you say you are. Try joining a CU or opening a bank account - no credit involved - just opening an account that you are going to put your money in. The Patriot Act says they have to make sure you who you say you are and you get harded as a result. Rent an apartment - seek employment - on and on. Problem is that many of these inquiries should be softs, but those pulling the reports don't know a hard from a soft or don't care. There is a body of law out there designed to PROTECT YOU however, which is why inquiries are recorded. You don't like having an inquiry on your CR? How would you feel if there was someone out there offering access to a db of all kind of information on you that anyone could buy access to and when they did you would never know who it was who was nosing around? I'll suffer through an occassional inquiry. I don't like it but I'd far rather see it then have Big Brother out there inquiring and not know about it.

[rubaty]

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jmbfl wrote:

Imagine how much fraud there would be out there if mobile phone companies did not attempt some kind of credit pull to verify identity and creditworthiness? A lot of hard pulls are not done so much over your credit, but rather to make sure you are who you say you are. Try joining a CU or opening a bank account - no credit involved - just opening an account that you are going to put your money in. The Patriot Act says they have to make sure you who you say you are and you get harded as a result. Rent an apartment - seek employment - on and on. Problem is that many of these inquiries should be softs, but those pulling the reports don't know a hard from a soft or don't care. There is a body of law out there designed to PROTECT YOU however, which is why inquiries are recorded. You don't like having an inquiry on your CR? How would you feel if there was someone out there offering access to a db of all kind of information on you that anyone could buy access to and when they did you would never know who it was who was nosing around? I'll suffer through an occassional inquiry. I don't like it but I'd far rather see it then have Big Brother out there inquiring and not know about it.

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I have opened 2 bank accts,1 CU & 1 brorkerage acct in the past year and never had an hard inq showup.  If they are doing a hard inq, you should contact them and have them recoded as a soft.

[jmbfl]

Lots of luck! Getting inquiries recoded as softs is much easier said than done. PenFed, for one will hard you when you join whether you apply for credit or not - so you might as well apply. Banks also have other resources available to them like ChexSystems and you'll never know who is looking at that. Any time I have opened a bank account and they have inquired it has been a hard. Tell them to recode? You can ask, but it doesn't mean they are going to do it.