cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Macy's Hard pull for existing account...

tag
Anonymous
Not applicable

Macy's Hard pull for existing account...

Hi all, I have a few questions here, and a warning as well for people in a similar situation.
I have a Macy's store card. Limit is $500, balance is $0, Open date is 12/2001, last activity is 2/2002, CR states the account is still open. In an effort to raise my score by having another line reporting a balance, I charged one purchase for about $26 over the weekend. Well now, I have a new hard pull from Macy's/DSNB. On my alert, I see the following text:
The following inquiries are "hard" or voluntary inquiries and were generated because you authorized the companies listed to request a copy of your credit report.
 
So my questions...
I obviously didn't explicitly authorize any such credit pull... Does Macy's/DSNB have the right to make that hard inquiry just because I have an existing account with them?
Whether they do or don't, is there any way I can get that item removed (I imagine that an inquiry is diff than a late payment in that regard, but not sure...)
 
I know that this is just one inq, but I don't have any in the past 2 years other than this. Also, I was going to apply for one credit card soon - after I brought my score up a bit and hopefully banished a few baddies first. Now I am concerned about having too many inquiries in a short period.
Any answers/advice I receive would be greatly appreciated.
 
TIA,
Jason
Message 1 of 6
5 REPLIES 5
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Macy's Hard pull for existing account...

They did the hard pull because you had not used the card in 6 yrs. they wanted to make sure that they deemed you credit worthy. You could call them and ask them to remove the inq or change it to a soft. And one inq is unlikely to affect your chances for getting another card. I have 20 since Dec. and got 11 of them.
Message 2 of 6
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Macy's Hard pull for existing account...

They do have permissible purpose, since you have an existing credit account with them.
 
The effect of one inquiry is minor; in many cases the first inquiry doesn't hurt at all.
 
Message 3 of 6
scramblingin2007
Established Contributor

Re: Macy's Hard pull for existing account...

Jason, they did the same thing to me back in dec. They do have permissi...purpose, since the card has been inactive for a long while...
Message 4 of 6
MidnightVoice
Super Contributor

Re: Macy's Hard pull for existing account...

Many companies will do this on a card that has been inactive.  A typical time lapse for inactivity is 12 months.
 
I have a very old gas card I want to keep open, and there are no longer any gas stations here.  I make sure I use it twice a year somewhere!
The slide from grace is really more like gliding
And I've found the trick is not to stop the sliding
But to find a graceful way of staying slid
Message 5 of 6
psychic
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Macy's Hard pull for existing account...

I only use my Macy's card once a year.  Each year, before my annual purchase, I call Macy's credit department to find out whether or not I'm going to have any problems using my card.  The last time I called, in December, I was told that I must use my card once every 2 years or the account will be considered "inactive."
EQ 814 / TU 815 / EX 842
Message 6 of 6
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.