myFICO score mistake on Inquiries not "seeking credit"

[tontoman]

My FICO score as reported within one day from myFICO varies considerably between the two agencies.  From TransUnion it is 727, and from Equifax it is 693.  

The only difference between the credit reports is that Experian has two inquiries that TransUnion doesn't have.  They are dated within the past year, one is May 2nd from Pentagon Federal Credit Union, the other is April 28 from USDJU.

Neither one of these is a result of me looking for credit.  The Penfed was when I was seeking a replacement Debit card (after my PIN was compromised, though there were no improper charges since I changed the PIN before it could be used).  The USDJU (stands for US Department of Justice) was done as a background check for a clearance. 

I have tried to have it removed by PenFed, but they say that *all* of their credit pulls are hard inquiries, and they claim that the fact that I have a checking account with them means they can perform a hard pull any time I request a financial service like a replacement debit card.  Even though I didn't specifically authorized a credit pull in my application for the debit card.

I authorized the USDJU pull as part of my application for clearance.  However, this had nothing to do with asking for a new credit line obviously.

How can I get FICO to recognize that sometimes Hard pulls have nothing to do with "seeking credit" which is what they say on the myFICO report, quoted below

"An inquiry indicates when a business, usually a lender, has checked your credit. The inquiries listed here are the number of

times in the 12 months since the date of this report that a lender has checked your credit at Equifax. These inquiries appear

because you applied for credit with the listed company. Inquiries associated with applying for new credit are the only kind of

inquiry that may hurt your FICO® score."

[haulingthescoreup]

Hi, welcome to the forums!

In the second para, did you mean to write Equifax instead of Experian?

It is incredibly rare to have the same FICO scores for all three agencies (including the now-secret Experian FICO score.) This is because reports are generally different, as yours are, and the scoring formulas are slightly different. My three adult kids each have identical credit reports within the three CRA's (in other words, each kid has 3 matching reports), but they all three have different scores among EQ-TU-EX.

That stinks that PenFed was so uncooperative. They do soft inquiries on me all the time, although they're just part of the routine oversight.

Employment credit checks * should * be softs. I don't know if that is somehow different for security checks. At any rate, EQ (Equifax) has a specific prefix for these, including them in their soft inquiry category. You might ask whomever ran your clearance if they could possibly re-code the inq as a soft.

If you haven't already, please read Understanding Your FICO ® Score and Credit Scoring 101 (at least the first post.)

These will give you the background knowledge you need to understand what you read here on the forums.

Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 02-23-2010 01:58 PM

[tontoman]

>>In the second para, did you mean to write Equifax instead of Experian?

Yes, I mean Equifax. Thanks for correction.  Both of these were from myFICO dated one day apart.  TU shows 0 inquiries, Equifax shows the two I mentioned in previous message.  In fact, I have not applied for credit in several years.

I have asked Pentagon Federal Credit Union twice in Writing, and several phone calls, to change the "Hard" pull encoding to an AR (Account Review) and they consistently refuse. Even though the acknowledge every other part of the facts I set out in previous posting.

USDOJ pulled the Equifax credit report as part of a  NACLC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Agency_Check_with_Local_Agency_Check_and_Credit_Check .  I could ask them what encoding they used.  It would be great if someone could tell me what encoding they *should have* used that would have counted as a soft pull.  

There are legitimate reasons to pull a consumer credit report that have nothing to do with granting credit and I am not sure that FICO takes this into account in their algorithm.  

[haulingthescoreup]

If an inquiry is coded correctly, it's scored correctly. But it's the old garbage in, garbage out bit. Employment (and insurance) credit inquiries should be softs, and if they're coded this way, they have no impact on your scores. But if the person who pulls them codes them as a hard, there's not much that the scoring algorithm can do other than treat it as such.

I need to look at one of my full EQ reports later today. There is a code for an employment pull.

One reason that this sort of thing keeps happening is that the overwhelming majority of Americans are completely clueless about the contents of their credit reports, and what belongs there and what doesn't. As are many lender CSR's, btw!

Anyway, I'll get back with you on the code (actually, it's a prefix), unless another member pops up with it first. On a full report from Equifax (not the shortened version that you get with myFICO, TrueCredit, CreditSecure, etc etc), the prefices are listed at the bottom of the inquiry section, under the soft inquiries.

EQ generally doesn't penalize for only one inq, so if you could get that one recoded, the PenFed hard wouldn't hurt you. (Unless you went apping somewhere.)

[RobertEG]

So-called “soft” credit inquiries should be coded with the CRA with the following codes.  If properly coded, FICO does not consider these inquiries in credit scoring:

PRM                Inquiries coded with this prefix are promotional inquiries,

                        made by those who are soliciting new credit, and were

not pre-authorized by the consumer.  The CRA may provide only

your name and address, and not a full credit report.

FCRA 604(c)

AM or AR       Inquiries with this prefix indicate a period review of your credit by

                        an existing creditor. They do not require prior consumer approval. 

The CRA provides your full credit report.

FCRA 604(a)(3)(A).

EMPL             Inquiries with this prefix indicate access to your credit report for purposes

                        of review of your credit by a new or existing employer.

                        They require prior consumer authorization, provided by way of

                        certification by the employer of agreement with the employee.

                        The CRA provides your full credit report.

                        FCRA 604(a)(3)(B)

PR                   Inquiries with this prefix indicate that a creditor reviewed your credit file

                        as part of a portfolio that they were purchasing

                        FCRA 604(a)(3)(B)

ND                  Inquiries that were not requested by a creditor or employer

                        These are typically inquiries made by a consumer for his or her

                        own credit report.  These inquiries do not display to any creditor.

                        FCRA 604(c).

ND MR           Inquiries coded with this prefix are for purposes of providing information

                        to another company related to reissue of a mortgage loan.

                        FCRA 604(a)(3)(B)

[tontoman]

Thank you all for the great suggestions and ideas!

[tontoman]

Quick update:  USDOJ person said that they cannot use EMPL prefix because they do not get the full report.  Instead they have to ask for the full report for their purposes.  They have had comments before from other persons and are working with Equifax about the problem because they do not pull reports for credit-granting purposes.    She assured me that them pulling my credit should *not* affect my credit score.  I told her that the myFICO report indicates that it does.  She said I should have a potential creditor call her directly if it becomes an issue.  I would appreciate any comments anyone has.

I have also contact PenFed again today, and followed up with a fax, and am hoping for a good resolution.  Their reasoning seems to be that they process their replacement debit cards through the "new accounts" department and use it as an opportunity to re-assess whether customer can make use of a credit product.    They say any pull made by the "new accounts" department is a hard pull.  I've ask them to record the prefix to soft pull since they didn't discuss or offer me any credit product -- nor did I request.

[StartinOver]

I had a similar problem on my reports from my job pulling my reports. When I would pull my report at the 1st place, it would show it different than at the 2nd place I pulled my report. What matters is what the creditors see when they pull your report, as opposed to what you see.

From my studying the subject, this is what I read somewhere: when places you are applying for credit pulll your reports are able to see that employment check, they are breaking the law, because you did not authorize them to share that information with creditors, as it had nothing to do with credit (employment).  For example if my employer decides to pull a report and  can see the other place I am applying for a job, then they are reporting my privacy that I did not authorize them to share.

I'm no expert, but this is just what I have discovered while reading. I'm not gifted with words and don't have the information handy now to quote it.

From what I understand, the bank can pull it because you have an account with them.

[Jazzzy]

Hi StartinOver,

I know that when I've applied for jobs and signed various forms, those forms give them permission to check my credit. Many people don't take the time to read those forms because they're in the position of being in an interview, etc.

If you haven't signed anything, I would be surprised if they could (legally) pull your credit. It probably happens though.

[StartinOver]

I did sign that that they could check my credit. But that is not the same as them sharing the fact with the world and causing me to lose my present job when they find out I was looking around. It is my understanding that is the purpose of the law, to protect you from losing your job, or similar.