Allstate pulled a hard inquiry on my report last year, and I've sent many different emails and letters to them asking them to delete it since I've NEVER had/applied for insurance with them. Last month I sent a letter demanding they delete it or send me a check for $1,000 since they had no permissible purpose. Today I get an email response from them: Ms V, We will be happy to assist you. In order to process your request, I will need a verbal or written response from you. You may call me collect at 847 402 5448. We must determine that the credit inquiry was indeed an error. If any solicitations were sent to your home, or soliciting phone calls from Allstate, or if you called an Allstate agent, then it is not considered an error and will not be removed. In NY we can process an inquiry on your credit report without permission. If you still feel that the inquiry is an error, then you must provide a listing of the Allstate inquiries on your credit report. It must include the date of the inquiry and type of inquiry (full or partial). Please block out any information in the credit report that you do not wish us to view. Thank You. I have already told these people a dozen times that I NEVER had insurance with them, nor have I applied for insurance with them! I also included the date the inquiry was made in each of my letters to them. Is there some special law in NY that I'm unaware of that gives them permission to pull my report without my consent? GRRRRR! What should I do now?
Allstate has several divisions that operate under different names - Encompass Insurance (used to be CNA Personal Insurance), Deerbrook Ins., they also work with some financial groups. Have you done any insurance quoting online? (they rate you with several different insurers to get quotes). If you had any dealings with a Financial Planner at that time, check with them to see if it was an Allstate backed product. Allstate has also started a Bank, I believe. I don't think I believe the part about NY not needing a permissible purpose. NY has Very strict and very strange insurance laws, I don't think Any insurer could pull that there. What state do you live in? I also don't believe the part about "if we sent you any info, you talked to an agent, etc." The FCRA mandates that a company provide disclosure if they're going to pull an inquiry to extend credit or offer insurance. The insurance industry is already under fire for using credit as a yardstick for underwriting. I know some people at HQ, maybe I can help somehow.
It was a hard inquiry...I live in NY. The permissible purpose they had listed was "insurance underwritting". I've had the same insurance provider for 3 years...never shopped around or requested insurance quotes from anyone! I've never had anything to do with Allstate. I think they owe me $1,000!
I just thought of something else. Do you use an independent insurance agent or are you going directly thru a company agent? i.e., does your agent represent several insurers or do they represent only one insurer - State Farm, Farmers, American Family, etc. If you have an independent agent, they may have been trolling you thru different companies to try to re-write the policy with a new insurer. There are a handful of independent Allstate agents and a lot of independent agents that handle Encompass and Deerbrook. Did any other insurers have inquiries on your reports?
I have State Farm insurance...I belive they pulled my report when I first got insurance w/ them, but I was aware that they would.
Hmmm, that makes it interesting. I'll ask some of my Allstate folks for a contact that might be more beneficial to you and provide some better answers for you. I'll try to e-mail you in a day or two. You might also check with your SF agent and see if they know any reason the inq might have popped up. The other possibility is that it was intended to be a Soft inq and either Allstate or the CRA processed it incorrectly. ???
MY OPINION~~~NO "HARD" OR "SOFT" SHOULD EVER BE PULLED FOR ANY INSURANCE, BECAUSE YOU DON'T DRIVE BY YOUR CREDIT REPORT!!!
I will admit upfront that I am biased against State Farm... I don't trust State Farm at all!!! I wouldn't put anything past that company!! I am fighting with them right now because they are unethical liars. Sorry, had to vent. Now that I got that off my chest... I am kinda in the same boat with you. I have sent letters to DeVry and the AG because they have pulled my credit report 3 x. All that has happened so far is that they want me to sign a form to release my personal info to the AG, which is irrelevant. So, just like you, I am trying to figure out how to force them to stop playing around and send me the $3000 they owe me, plus explain how and why this happened and what they are doing to prevent it from reoccuring. I would send letters toFB, AG,BBB, state dept of ins, state reps, etc. Anyone you can think of to put pressure on them!
