I am not exactly sure what a "HARD credit inquiries" is. But I recently looked at my credit report and Orchard Bank has checked me out every month for like 7 months straight.

They have also looked at my girlfriend's credit report every month for 12 months.

We both have recieved several offers for preapprobed credit cards from Orchard.

US Bank pulled a hard credit report when I opened an account [without applying for line of credit, but applied for their Visa ATM card]. They pull soft updates every few months..

How about this BS: Progressive pulled a hard report, and then they raised my premium based on too many other credit inquiries (hard reports) in the past 6 months.

Wells Fargo Bank when opening a free checking account. They pulled hard _and_ soft which makes a ton of sense...

This whole thing is getting totally out of hand...they pull credit for everything, then penalize across the board for too many enquires or for any perceived weakness ....
I was about to dump BofA but I can't find a credit union that does not Hard Pull to open an account. Having a Financial institution know EVERYTHING about your life just to open a deposit account is way out of line.

OK - Opinion is off topic...disregard

Unfortunately, many small local credit unions also pull HARD credit inquiries to establish membership. I guess this may relate to efforts to reduce fraud, and to comply with the Patriot Act.

cme10ae said:How can a person tell the difference (on the credit report) between a hard and soft inquiry? Are they listed differently?
Yes. Depending on where you got your credit report, it will either list *only* hard inquiries, or it will make clear which ones are which.

Banks will tell you that they pull a credit report on a potential customer before opening a deposit account so that they can get the "complete financial picture" and because "studies show that bad credit correlates to bad banking history." I'm a perfect example of how that is NOT true; my credit isn't good (although much improved), but my banking history is spotless.

I don't care what a bank tells you, the real reason they pull a credit report for a deposit account application is to see if you are creditworthy enough to qualify for credit-related products (loans, lines of credit, etc.). These products are much more profitable to a bank than deposit accounts, and they figure that if you are not qualified for those, then they don't want any of your business.

I don't care what a bank tells me, I will never believe otherwise.

As for insurance companies ... they will tell you that there is a correlation between bad credit and frequent claims. Just like the banks' argument, this is a load of bull. The reason insurance companies pull a credit report is just to have another reason to jack up your rates and make more money.

My own case proves that the insurance companies' argument is wrong, also ... my credit is not good, but in the 27 years I have had insurance, I have filed maybe 3 claims, and two of them were for windshield replacement, which cost the insurance company about $100 each time. Meanwhile, I pay my premiums on time each and every month ... if Progressive were my company, my rates would be jacked way up there, even though I'm a pretty darn good customer.

The insurance companies don't need to be worried about not someone not paying premiums, either ... insurance is paid in advance, and if the policyholder doesn't pay the premiums, then cut off the insurance ... simple as that.

Progressive pulling a credit report every so often and raising premiums based on inquiries is totally uncalled for, and this practice needs to be stopped, whether voluntarily or through legislation.

Pulling a credit report for identity verification only (soft inquiry) is not a big deal, because those pulls don't ding your credit score. You have to remember, also, that the USA Patriot Act does not mandate hard credit inquiries for anything ... it mandates that a bank or insurance company "know its customer," which can be done without hard inquiries. This practice of doing hard credit inquiries for deposit accounts and insurance purposes started long before the USA Patriot Act.

I strongly feel that Congress and the Texas Legislature (and other state legislatures) needs to strengthen laws regarding credit reports so that companies are not allowed to pull them for just any reason, whether you give them permission or not. It's getting ridiculous, and remember that each hard pull dings your credit score ... one inquiry may not lower your score significantly, but if you have everyone pulling your report, well, you get the picture.

Fusion,

You are very funny!!!!!!!

Sue

fusionz said:What institutions DON'T pull a hard inquiry?Superior Savings didn't when I opened an account there recently. A refreshing breath of fresh air.