Silent triple pulls: How often with apps?

[Anonymous]

I got to thinking about this recently after seeing the "dreaded Cap One triple-pull" mentioned in several threads.  Of course we're talking a HP on each of the 3 bureaus here.  My question is what about SPs, though?  Just because a lender only hits an applicant with one HP, what are the chances that they're doing a SP on at least one or both other bureaus?  It would seem to me that would be quite smart for them to do.  As I always say, more data is better when it comes to making lending decisions.

Take a lender like Discover for example that may pull EQ for a new application.  We already know that Discover does SPs all the time on TU for existing accounts and EX for creditscorecard, so couldn't they in theory be doing a "triple-pull" on their apps that only HP someone on 1 bureau?  Wouldn't it be beneficial for them to do so? 

This is just something to consider that many people (myself included) may not think about.  Sometimes a person will have 1 clean file bureau (say, EX) and 2 dirty ones and then app with a lender that is very likely to pull the clean report (say, Amex in this example) hoping that they won't "see" their 2 dirty reports.  In this example above, if Amex were to have done a SP on TU/EQ and seen those 2 dirty files, no doubt it could [adversely] impact that lending decision.

I don't know of any simple way to check your SPs, at least not regularly, but it would be cool to hear from anyone that may have taken a HP for a new credit product that was also able to see a SP at the same time on another bureau from the same potential lender.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this subject?

[Drwaz99]

I know that Barclays does. When I applied for their Aviator in January, they HP'ed TU, as expected, then also SP my EX the same day, and then 3 days later as well. 

[Anonymous]

Synchrony SP’d EQ in addition to the TU HP when I got my Amazon Store Card.

[Anonymous]

This could explain my denial with amex in January.
My only c/o had been removed (didn't show C/O on Experian713 FICO at time but did on Tu , eq until couple days after application.
I think u may be on to something because I have heard of lower scores and younger thinner but also clean profiles approved. But not me...
I might have to check an old report and see if they sp tu or eq

[Anonymous]

Good info above guys on SPs also coming on other bureaus from which an app HP was taken.  It sounds like this may be more common thing than most would assume.  It's definitely good to know and consider though, especially if your reports are dramatically different, such as clean verses dirty.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

Probably happens. Amex double pulled me, ex and one of the other ones. Can't remember which, but both were hard.

[Anonymous]

Yeah it’s also something to consider when applying with bureaus frozen because you don’t expect them to be pulled. Since my TU was only 652 but my EQ was 685 at the time, it’s possible my $1800 approval could have been significantly less if my EQ was frozen and thus they couldn’t SP me. I was actually floored when I saw that number pop up given how low my TU actually was, I just knew Synchrony was known to grow so I figured it was better to get it sooner and grow it until I can fit my planned new TV purchase on it next year.

[Remedios]

Chase will SP frequently  in addition to HP. 

For me SP was EQ (TrustedID showed SPs), HP on the other two. 

I'd call that silent triple pull 

[Anonymous]

Hi Remedios.  Can you give us a recap on how TrustedID works?  Is it free? 

It hadn't occured to me to use it since I can get frequent reports from other free tools, but the soft-pull feature might be enough to make me want to, especially if the soft-pull and locking features apply to all three bureaus.

Did you have to sign up for this shortly after the EQ data breach to get it?  Is it too late now?

[calyx]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I got to thinking about this recently after seeing the "dreaded Cap One triple-pull" mentioned in several threads.  Of course we're talking a HP on each of the 3 bureaus here.  My question is what about SPs, though?  Just because a lender only hits an applicant with one HP, what are the chances that they're doing a SP on at least one or both other bureaus?  It would seem to me that would be quite smart for them to do.  As I always say, more data is better when it comes to making lending decisions.

Take a lender like Discover for example that may pull EQ for a new application.  We already know that Discover does SPs all the time on TU for existing accounts and EX for creditscorecard, so couldn't they in theory be doing a "triple-pull" on their apps that only HP someone on 1 bureau?  Wouldn't it be beneficial for them to do so? 

This is just something to consider that many people (myself included) may not think about.  Sometimes a person will have 1 clean file bureau (say, EX) and 2 dirty ones and then app with a lender that is very likely to pull the clean report (say, Amex in this example) hoping that they won't "see" their 2 dirty reports.  In this example above, if Amex were to have done a SP on TU/EQ and seen those 2 dirty files, no doubt it could [adversely] impact that lending decision.

I don't know of any simple way to check your SPs, at least not regularly, but it would be cool to hear from anyone that may have taken a HP for a new credit product that was also able to see a SP at the same time on another bureau from the same potential lender.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this subject?

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I know it's probably something of an odd hobby, but I do periodically check and log my SPs.  
No, it's not easy, it's probably silly - but I do think it's interesting - for cases like Disco, Sync, and Citi that offer credit monitoring I try to match up the bureaus/dates to exclude that info.

For apps:
USBank - SPed EQ when they HPed TU (cold apped)
Sync - SP EQ when they HPed TU (cold apped)

Others:
Chase - HP EQ and EX, but have been soft pulling my EX since then (cold apped), but I know Chase is a known watcher.
Disco - SPed EX when they HPed EQ on account application, but I use the prequal on it.