I've mentioned this quandary in a couple of threads, but I'm going to address it head on here:
I was approved for a HELOC with Citizens Bank.
At closing, the Rep said, "because you have this, you're PREAPPROVED for a Credit Card with us! Which one woud you like?"
I looked at the language; it was clear that another approval process would need to be done, and I mentioned that to the rep. Her reply "yes, but we already got your credit score from the HELOC App. "
I said, "I have been rebuilding, which is, in part, why I'm here for the HELOC. I can't have another hard pull on my account right now." She said "It's a soft pull-- we already did the hard pull."
I said, "no hard pull... you're positive?"
She said, "No hard pull. None whatsoever."
So I apped for it. Inevitably, there was another hard pull. it was same bank, but a month apart-- well-outside the 2 week window from the last one so it will and does count against me.
I called the rep back and told her: 1) She was shocked 2) She was apologetic. But either way, it was done. She called the credit department and they said it was an accident or something.
My app sat "pending" for over a week. I was really apprehensive about this. At one point I spoke to another rep-- a manager-- and I was very spoecific with her. I explained the hard pull, explained rebuilding and explained that the 0% rate they were offering would help me continue my goals. I told her I was upset about the hard pull. She put me on hold, and came back, "Well, they say you can cancel the app."
I replied, "What good is that? You already pulled my credit. May as well see what happens, right?"
Today I got the news: $3500 SL, which I guess is pretty good for them.
My question: Can I dispute this second hard pull and not have any repercussions on the new account? Should I bother? Will it improve my score? (They pulled EQ, which now sits at 11/24 with both pulls. That is my lowest total INQ of the 3 bureaus.)
What are your thoughts, anyone? Thanks very much. I appreciate your replies.
As above, do not dispute with the CRA.
Ask Citizens Bank to recode the 2nd pull as SP Soft Pull inquiry. It should be a simple process. Good luck.
Congratulations on your approval!
I will give that a try-- thank you both very much!
Thanks. I'll let you guys know how it goes.
Gotta hate when that happens. They're trying to meet their sign up quotas most likely. Sorry OP. Hopefully they'll recode for you.
Hey all-- so a quick update here: They are NOT Immediately willing to recode the HP.
The Credit Card rep had me on hold for at least 10 minutes while she spoke to her manager. They came back and replied, "I'm sorry. Any time we offer credit we pull credit."
I replied, "I understand that entirely, and I would think nothing else. The question was HOW you pull that credit-- I was informed explicitly that this was a soft pull. I asked a minimum of 4 times. Her reply was consistent and she repeated that you already hard-pulled for the HELOC. Therefore, it made sense to follow with a soft pull on this-- which your team called a preapproval, for the record.
Furthermore, when I called the Branch to tell the person that you had hard-pulled my credit afterward, her immediate reaction was, 'no, no, no. They should NOT have done that.' "
She put me on hold again. This time, it was quick.
"I have good news. We will investigate this, but I need the name and branch of the person who told you this info." I gave it to her... I guess we shall stay tuned.
I simultaneously feel bad, and yet I don't feel bad at all. I just hope that there aren't serious repercussions here for the branch rep. She was SO sure, that at present, I think it's a major, systemic miscommunication somewhere, and in which case, there will be a new set of guidelines for them all to follow.
Hopefully they fix whatever internal inconsistencies there may be and no one's in trouble... and I get my HP reduced.