Lied To About Hard Inquiry

[FicoTron]

I have had an Orchard/HSBC card for a year now and called two days ago to see about a CLI...I specifically told the rep that if a hard inquiry was involved that I DID NOT WANT TO MOVE FORWARD!  He insisted that it was a soft pull and then told me he couldn't give me an answer and I would recieve something by mail in 7-10 days.  Today I found out that they pulled a hard inquiry on Equifax.  What can I do about this?  I WILL NOT stand for it...

[FicoTron]

just wanted to add that I understand that I can dispute it...I am talking about handling this over the phone...should I just come straight out with telling them that they are violating FCRA laws?

[MarineVietVet]

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@FicoTron wrote:

I have had an Orchard/HSBC card for a year now and called two days ago to see about a CLI...I specifically told the rep that if a hard inquiry was involved that I DID NOT WANT TO MOVE FORWARD!  He insisted that it was a soft pull and then told me he couldn't give me an answer and I would recieve something by mail in 7-10 days.  Today I found out that they pulled a hard inquiry on Equifax.  What can I do about this?  I WILL NOT stand for it...

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I understand your frustration but I'm not sure what you can do. If the conversation wasn't recorded and there was no written agreement it's a "he said, he said" situation. Plus a first line CSR might not even know the difference between a hard and soft pull.

But I hope you're able to do get this fixed.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[Anonymous]

Same thing happened to me earlier this year. Citi refused to delete the inq because it was still related to a CLI request. Most CSRS just don't know the difference.

At this point it's safe to assume any customer initiated CLI request will result in a hard pull.

[RobertEG]

You definately cannot dispute any issues relating to credit inquiries by way of the direct dispute process, as they are explicitly exempt from that  process.

16 CFR 660.4(b)(iii).  So any dispute would be limited to the process through the CRAs.

As for the type of inquiry, the FCRA treats them all the same, except for promotional inquiries, so there is no FCRA basis upon which to dispute the administrative coding reported to the CRA.  The CRAs rarely get involved in matters relating to credit inquiries, except for the statutory requirement that the inquiree certify as to a permissible purpose under FCRA 604.

Best bet is to handle it informally by way of communications with the inquiree.

[LIGHTNIN]

Maybe you can try to talk, with the CSR supervisor...............That may help you.

[cdtotten]

The biggest problem seems to be that most CSRs do not understand the difference in soft and hard inquiries and their effects. She might not have been intentionally lying to you, she might just have been ignorant. In this case though, you requested an increased extension of credit, which provides the CCC with permissable purpose to pull your credit. There is no reason to remove the inquiry, as it is valid. However, that doesn't mean that you can't contact a supervisor and see what they can do.

Many people complain on these forums about hard inquiries, extremely rare to see one removed or recoded.

[Imhotrodcrazy]

A couple of years ago, I started to sign up online for the Schwab brokerage firm.  Half way through it, I decided against it so I tried to back out of the system before I completed the transaction, but it would not let me do so.  The only way I could get out was to shut my computer down.  I did this before I accepted their terms, which included giving them permission to pull  my credit report. The next day I received notice that I had a hard inquiry from them.  I immediately disputed the inquiry and it was removed within a few days.  They had no legal grounds to pull my report without my permission.

[FicoTron]

well I have begun the steps to see if I can get it taken off...so far I have spent over an hour on the phone with worthless reps who just kept saying that they can't help me and pushed me to another department.  This happened 3 times, so I had to re-explain the situation to each person.  Luckily, with each level of people I went through, their english got better, until finally I was talking to a lady who spoke perfect english.  She told me to fax a copy of my inquiries section of my CR and  a letter stating the situation with all prevalent information on it.  I am faxing it out today.  I am going to fight this to the death, so I'll keep this thread posted.

[GregB]

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@Imhotrodcrazy wrote:

A couple of years ago, I started to sign up online for the Schwab brokerage firm.  Half way through it, I decided against it so I tried to back out of the system before I completed the transaction, but it would not let me do so.  The only way I could get out was to shut my computer down.  I did this before I accepted their terms, which included giving them permission to pull  my credit report. The next day I received notice that I had a hard inquiry from them.  I immediately disputed the inquiry and it was removed within a few days.  They had no legal grounds to pull my report without my permission.

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I realize you aren't happy about that but I can tell you that I am VERY happy with Schwab. I have accounts with 3 other brokerages.