Two credit inquiries by Dish Network in 3 days when signing for service

[Anonymous]

I contacted Dish Network to sign up for their service on 4/4/8. They told me that for credit verification they run a credit check and they check for funds on a credit card. I was ok with this, and we went through the entire procedure, but when we got to the end, and it was time to verify my credit by running a $1 transaction, the process failed. The rep from Dish Network told me to call the credit card people (Citibank) and figure out why it rejected the transaction and that he would call me back on 4/7/8 morning to finish up the process. That day I called Citibank and got the issue with the credit card resolved. On 4/7/8 I waited all morning for the rep to call me and he never did. That same night I called Dish Network back, and talked to another rep, who took my information again. This time however, the sign up process completed successfully.
Two days ago I pulled my credit report from Equifax and I see that there are actually 2 inquiries from Dish Network, one on 4/4/8 and one on 4/7/8. I knew I would get hit with one inquiry, but two inquiries from the same company, and for the same service is ridiculous. I called Dish network, and the customer service reps were clueless as to how to help me remove the inquiries.
My question is how do I go about fighting the removal of one of these unnecessary inquiries? Do I write a letter to Dish Network or to Equifax, and what do I include in the letter.
Any help is appreciated and thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Frontline CSRs are usually no help for out-of-the-ordinary situations.  Call them back and escalate the call until you get someone who can help.  If that is not successful, write to their corporate offices.

It may not be much consolation, but FICO will only treat them as one inquiry for scoring purposes, although future creditors will see two inquiries when they pull your reports.

[Anonymous]

Reword this letter to read you pulled twice for the same account. Please delete the DUPE. pull

Non-PP Puller Company
Address
City State Zip Code

To Whom It May Concern:

I have noticed that you have placed an inquiry on my _________ credit file dated ________. As you probably know, Credit Reporting Agencies treat inquiries as a statement of fact and will not allow a consumer to dispute them. Since it is against federal law (Fair Credit Reporting Act -- 15 USC § 1681n(a)(1)(B) for an entity to view a consumer’s credit report without a "permissible purpose," I am writing to inquire as to your alleged purpose for doing so since I did not apply for employment with your organization nor did I request credit from your organization.

[Describe any additional details about the inquiry here if need be. For example, your a subscriber to XXXX monitoring service and XXXX company pulled a "hard inquiry" on one of your reports.]

Based on the evidence in my possession, this inquiry was performed under false pretenses as described in the clear language of the law. 15 USC §1681n(a)(1)(B ) states, in part, "in the case of liability of a natural person for obtaining a consumer report under false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose, actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or $1,000, whichever is greater;"

You are civilly liable to me in the amount of $1,000.00 for your willful violation of the law -- performing a "hard inquiry" on my __________ file without my permission. I do hope that we can settle this matter amicably. You can remove the inquiry within one (1) business day of the receipt of this notice. Or, we can meet in court where you will end up removing the inquiry, paying me the civil liability fine, punitive damages for my score drop, plus court and attorney fees. The choice is up to you.

Please contact me immediately at the address listed below.

Sincerely,

Consumer
Address
City State Zip Code

[Anonymous]

Sending a letter and calling will do ZERO good- not even their upper management has ANY idea how to fix/recode.

They have PP - so you can't sue them.

If you really want one of them removed- dispute it at your own risk.