About a year ago I went to a local dealership and purchased a car. I recently called them to discuss finding an additional vehicle. I never discussed nor granted them the right to pull my credit. They contacted me telling me my current score (which I already knew) and offering their "wonderful payment options". I asked how she got my credit report and she said she pulled it. When I mentioned I had NOT given her approval to do that she laughed it off saying sorry, I figured you wanted the best deal. From what I gathered from the FTC, this was NOT legal. My question is what can I do about it?
Get a copy of the FTC rule regarding this, and dispute the inquiry with the CRA with the same information that you stated in your post. Unfortunately these days car dealerships will resort to every trick to get rid of cars. Last year when my wife and I bought our new car the car salesperson wanted us to reveal our SS#s even before we were shown any cars. We told her "no way", and that we will only reveal it once we decided which one we want, and actually sitting in the finance manager's office.
I wouldn't even go that far. I'd go in with a preapproval letter from my credit union, and tell them up front that I have financing.
