I applied to both Dell and Gateway. In my mind that gives PP for 1 pull each per CRA. I only have access to Experian, so I'm only talking Experian. Dell pulled EXP three different times on ONE DAY. Gateway pulled TWICE in one day and again, two wweeks later, after I had been declined. Do I have grounds for a non-PP suit for the 2nd and 3rd inquiries?
Gateway yes, for the one they pulled after you were declined. You have the declination letter that is dated before the 2nd pull? Multiple pulls in one day - the FCRA is silent.
I have a similar situation. Last week I wanted to port one of our house numbers (the home business line) over to a cell phone, and the new portability laws allow that. So I went over to Cingular, and they pulled my credit the day before Thanksgiving, and then they pulled it again the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Keep in mind this was Cingular both times -- exact same notations on the Eq report -- and not Cingular and Bellsouth or some other second company. Anyway, I was ticked off about it, and even though it takes 5-10 days to port over a landline number to a cell carrier, I drove over there and basically asked them how many times they needed to pull my credit. The ineffectual Cingular manager said, "Oh, sorry, we messed up the first time and had to key in your application again." After this is all done and over with, I'm going to escalate about it anyway, legal recourse or not. I'll keep the board posted. Doc
if the FCRA doesnt say anything specific about mulitple pulls in one day being illegal then i guess that answers the question, 'do i have legal grounds?' however, the fact that someone's 'messing up' (negligence) caused your score to drop (damages) IMO, you have a case. The first thing that went thru my head was, what did the application you signed say EXACTLY. Do you have a copy of it? The part where it reads 'by signing this application, you give us the right to pull your credit'. it doesnt say 'you give us the right to pull your credit as many times as we want/need to." does it? maybe i'm reaching.... point is, any reasonable person (and maybe even a judge, lol) would conclude that by signing the application, you give permission for ONE pull. DUH. sheesh. wouldnt it be nice if all these 'managers' knew how valuable each and every point is? Makes me want to require every potential creditor to sign something that states they will only pull one time. THEN you would have recourse when they screwed up.
Re: Re: Do I have a case? Not yet... I'm enduring that waiting period quagmire regarding the availability of the ported number. For what it's worth, the guy at Cingular said, "You're credit was great both times." (Like I didn't know that, LOL. Anyway I owe *that* to Creditnet, circa 2001, lol.) I certainly don't believe that I have a legal case. But I plan to escalate all over these people anyway. I'm going to up my nuisance quotient like nobody's business until they at least delete the duplicated unnecessary inquiry. This will be fun. I've been itching for a credit repair project of my own again for a couple of years. Doc
No you're not CM. You're exactly right on. They have the right to pull your report but NOT further damage your credit. .
"IF" you CAN'T dispute them gone (with CRA's as DUPLICATE/TRIPLICATE)...THEN DISCUSS SOME NO PP MONEY DAMAGES...
Re: Re: Do I have a case? You apply for credit, they have a PP, they pull your CR, they reject your application. Period. Next case. You do not apply for credit, they have no PP, they pull your CR, you ask them nicely, they send you a check for $1,000 ... well, might be for $500, if you settle ...
Re: Re: Re: Do I have a case? I understand the principle - now here's where it gets dicey: Let's say a consumer's FICO, on first pull, is just a couple of points above the break-point between perfect and sub-prime. The lender can get 3% more out of the consumer if the consumer is sub-prime. Does the consumer's application give that lender permission to continually pull inquiries until the effect of the inquiries themselves is sufficient to lower that consumer's score into sub-prime range? My example, I would think, is a classic example of this - lenders pulling multiple inquiries off the same credit bureau in the same day. Was my credit so fragile that, after a 10AM pull, they needed to see if it had deteriorated at Noon and again at 3PM? Is an application for credit carte blanche permission to pull credit reports an infinite number of times?
Re: Re: Re: Do I have a case? As someone else said - FCRA is not clear about a situation like this. Many of the FTC letters say that when something is not clear, we should use a "plain language" to understand it. The plain language does say, "[color=0066FF]consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report under the following circumstances and no other ... in connection with a business transaction that is initiated by the consumer[/color]". It does not say "[color=0066FF]reports[/color]", so for each transaction one report should be allowed.
