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Possible to start AT&T service without hard-pull credit?

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ABuckNow
Contributor

Possible to start AT&T service without hard-pull credit?

The Wife and I are building a new home in an area that is only served by AT&T for Internet (and cable/phone as well, but only interested in Internet).

I called and was told they require a hard pull of my CR to set up an account.  I've done some major rebuilding and have ficos around 750ish, and I'd like to keep it that way...closing mortgage in one month, plan on CC app spree after we move in & before the new Mort TL reports...REALLY don't want trash on my report from a crappy wasted pull for $30/month internet service...but I have to have the service there ASAP for telecommuting.

Any suggestions?

I even offered to pre-pay a couple years, they wouldn't budge.

Thanks for reading.

Message 1 of 8
7 REPLIES 7
InvincibleSummer3
Established Contributor

Re: Possible to start AT&T service without hard-pull credit?

I don't know if there's any way around it, to be honest. I started service, was told by the rep there would be no pull, and they did anyway. I was ticked, to say the least.

Message 2 of 8
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

Re: Possible to start AT&T service without hard-pull credit?

I would call your mortgage lendor and explain to him/her the necessity and purpose of the inquiry, and ask as to whether it will have any substantive effect on your loan.

 

Permissible puposes have different flavors.  Your inquiry relates to a business transaction initiated by the consumer, and not the initiation of a request for new credit

I doubt the normal concern of a mortgage lendor in seeing the consumer seeking additional credit at the same time as they are seeking the mortgage will be an issue.

 

 

Message 3 of 8
ccnewcc
Established Contributor

Re: Possible to start AT&T service without hard-pull credit?

What is the reason they are giving you for why they must do a HP?  

 

What if you tell them that you do not want their modem and router and that you have your own?  My guess is that they might do a HP because they loan you the equipment when you sign up and when you terminate service, you must return their equipment.  ...I'm just guessing...I have no experience with AT&T.  But maybe that is why.

Message 4 of 8
ArCpa
Contributor

Re: Possible to start AT&T service without hard-pull credit?

Last month I needed 6 more phones for my employees. I spoke to a supervisor , she said they would have to do a credit check. I said go ahead, i got approved for up to 12 new lines. But never had a HP. I have been an At@t customer since 2005, and have personal and business acccounts with them. Dont know if that helped me or not.

CC: Amex Green ( NPSL) Amex BCE ( 38.1 K ) US Bank Sig Cash ( 20K ) Pen Fed (42K) Chase Freedom ( 7.5K) Discover More (22K ) Cap 1 QSilver (10K) Barclays Rewards (9K) Care Credit (5.5k) Sears (12K) JC Pennys (6K) Dell (15K) Key Bank (19k ) Key Bank (16K) FFO (7.5 K) Shell ( 600) OCCU ( 20K ) City TY (10.5K) CSP (17.5k) Regions ( 18K )Simmons (15K) Regions BLOC (125K) Fuel Rewards MC(10K )Amex Hilton ( 23k)

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Message 5 of 8
kimmiller112
Frequent Contributor

Re: Possible to start AT&T service without hard-pull credit?


@RobertEG wrote:

I would call your mortgage lendor and explain to him/her the necessity and purpose of the inquiry, and ask as to whether it will have any substantive effect on your loan.

 

Permissible puposes have different flavors.  Your inquiry relates to a business transaction initiated by the consumer, and not the initiation of a request for new credit

I doubt the normal concern of a mortgage lendor in seeing the consumer seeking additional credit at the same time as they are seeking the mortgage will be an issue.

 

 


+1 for the suggestion to talk to your LO.

 

I think that inquiries that result from services, such as phone, internet, cable and insurance are valued differently than ones for lines of credit like credit cards.  

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Message 6 of 8
TheConductor
Established Contributor

Re: Possible to start AT&T service without hard-pull credit?

+1 to speaking to your loan officer.

 

But another option would be to invest in a pre-paid 4G LTE mobile hotspot. I know Verizon has one for $99.

 

Bear in mind, these things have limited monthly data caps.  So you'll burn through it pretty quickly if you start streaming Pandora or Netflix.  But if all you need is telecommuting access for e-mail, the occasional document transfer, etc., it's a great solution.  I used one for a couple of weeks when I was looking after my mother while she recovered from surgery, and it worked perfectly fine for remote access to the office.

 

Once the month is up and you apply for AT&T, you can probably resell the hotspot for not much less than you paid for it.  Or keep it for vacations and such.

Starting: EQ 622 (myFICO 7/7/12), EX 696 (TU FAKO 8/14/12), TU 621 (CK TransRisk 7/24/12), Total CL $1k on 2 TLs
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Message 7 of 8
ABuckNow
Contributor

Re: Possible to start AT&T service without hard-pull credit?

Thank you all for the advice and feedback!

I received a suggestion that worked, and wanted to follow-up here not just to thank those that chimed in, but also in case someone else comes across this issue.

I went to one of their stores (a corporate store, not an "authorized reseller") from this search page: http://www.att.com/maps/store-locator.html.

What they offered is to set up the Uverse account with only a driver's license and a pre-payment of the equipment fee ($100) and installation charge ($49) - no credit check.  I made it clear with the gentleman that I didn't want a credit check - he said he wouldn't even take my social security number and promised no credit check.

Some notes:

- This is a standard deal they do in-store, it wasn't a favor or anything.

- UVerse service is Internet only, no TV or phone or anything else.

- The installation fee of $49 is HALF of what they charge on their website.

 

Thank you all very much!

Message 8 of 8
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