ICS (Issuers Clearinghouse Service) Disputes and Which Issuers Report Inquiries to ICS - AOR Killer? Inquiry Safehaven

I thought a dedicated thread might be useful. If utilized by all issuers, ICS has the potential to severely affect the success rate of would-be AOR-ers. As CardJuggler posted: ICS...based on inquiries per ADDRESS, which kills a tag-team AOR

Paraphrased from Visaicsdirect FAQ:Established in 1989, ICS is a nationwide database that contains bankruptcy, and bankcard application activity, fraud, and questionable data information.

ICS is not a credit bureau but is subject to the same laws like the FCRA and FACTA.

Contact the ICS consumer office, Advanced Resolution Services, at 1-800-392-8911 to place a fraud alert on ICS and request a copy of their ICS consumer report.

FW member's have some experience with ICS and their collective comments are included in this thread.

There also are some old 2005 posts by Persevering (from creditboards):one of them or this. Also a generic summary can be found in this book

Q & A below (Please add only confirmed information)

Cardjuggler
1 I phoned ARS: they wanted a FAX (or mail) including a copy of driver's license for address verification. Got the report; it's pretty minimal. From the cover sheet:- Any bankrupty proceeding reported for your SSN
- Visa or MC bankcard issuers who have provided information regarding your SSN to ARS or have received information from ARS
- total # of instances where your SSN has been used on a V or MC CC app in the prev 12 mo (24 mo for Colorado)
- reports of unauthorized or fraudulent use of any V or MC assoc with your SSN

EugeneV
1 business card applications, approvals and denials are reported to ICS/ARS (at least Visa/MC)
2 FNBO (personal) declined my app based on the number of inquiries on my ICS Consumer Report and told me to call them at 800 995-2590
3 proof of adverse action is not required in order to request the report. Only your info and copy of driver's license
4 ARS/ICS is not a CRA. I do not know of a way to monitor it, other than requesting a free report if you were denied credit based on the information contained in it.

TolmapS
1 I believe inquiries stay on ICS / ARS for 1 full year. Also, sometimes soft-pull CLI or CL reallocation requests also result in ARS / ICS inquiries.
2 request your report from [these] guys. I got mine about 10 months ago, and it looks very interesting. They record every application for Master Card or Visa, sometimes even including credit increase requests. I would say that not every issuer reports the inquiries to ICS, but this is the issuers way of tracking a bit more info. Inquiries stay only for 12 months, supposedly.

Swishyx
1 got a decline (that was inaccurate) deleted from there once. BofA used the report and reported to it
2 [To] dispute one of the "declined" items:

First I had to order the report - faxed a letter to (216) 615-7642 requesting it, included a copy of driver's license. After receiving, wrote & faxed a letter including the following item:The purpose of this letter is to dispute the following inaccurate information on my credit file:

Declined Application Activity Section
Item x
Reference number xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date yyyy-mm-dd
Institution Bank of America, N.A.

Reason for dispute: Application was not declined.BofA never responded to their verification request, so it was dropped off of the report like any other CR item where the creditor does not respond

(unconfirmed) I believe ARS does the servicing for the ICS product. Unless others have a better understanding... please share

edit source: "Advanced Resolution Services ARS is a consumer reporting agency subsidiary of Visa U.S.A that assists financial institutions in evaluating risk, minimizing losses, and analyzing cardholder accounts"

and

"Lakeside Information Resources is a consumer reporting agency that serves as the liaison between consumers and the Issuers' Clearinghouse Service (ICS).ICS assists bankcard issuers in eValluating risk,minimizing losses; and analyzing cardholder accounts. "

Faxed off my request to them. I will update when I get results.

Data:

Received my report today, not good news.

Here is what I found:

Noted credit applications back to January 07 from:

FIA (separate entries for business and personal)
Citi (business card not listed in this section)
two from Monogram Credit Card Bank of Georgia (GE money bank -- thanks bozo007!)
Juniper (separate entries for business (B Atl) and personal)
Elan (business, I do not have a personal card from elan)

Account reviews (called "general inquiries") from:

Citi
Chase
(I believe that both of above correspond to business card applications and these inquires do not appear in the "Applications received" section)

No prescreen inquiries

A section titled "Clearinghouse Service Requested by Institution" seems to match the applications.

Another section titled "Clearinghouse Service NOT Requested by Institution" contains entries from:
Juniper (denied business card application)
Chase (2 successful business card apps)

Nothing else noted (no info on balances or CL appears)

I do not see entries for my cards from:
Discover (personal and business), Wachovia (business), Advanta (I only had the card briefly before canceling due to worthless CL).

Not sure what most of this means but I am dismayed that it appears to be so comprehensive.

BobbyRobert said: two from Monogram Credit Card Bank of Georgia (no idea what card this is for but it is dated during my first mini AOR, perhaps it represents GE and / or Discover)
This is GE, its their private label credit card operation that issues store cards.

BobbyRobert said: There is no record in my ARS of any pulls related to CLI requestsWas there a separate section for CLI related inquiries as TolmapS spoke of?

Again (in the interest of being thorough), did you document which issuers you requested soft and hard CLI's from? If they were Citi, FIA and/or Juniper, it would support those issuers report original application requests but not CLI requests

My report arrived. I added comments to most of the records itemized and have updated the QS with some of this information as well.

Notable:

• USBank reports as ELAN
  
• For obvious reasons, DISCOVER and American Express are nowhere to be found in my report (MC/VISA only). Advanta, Wachovia, RBS, Infibank and Pulaski/Iberia are also nowhere to be found.
  
• The CLI's and denial applications appear in the "Application Received, ICS NOT Requested by Institution" section.ICS USER DETAIL
  The following sections identify institutions that received information from the Issuers' Clearinghouse Service regarding your Social Security number. Please be advised that the number of credit cards you have applied for as well as the number of credit card applications otherwise associated with your Social Security Number are key factors in determining whether an ICS alert is issued.Application Received, ICS Requested by Institution - This section indicates users that accessed your consumer report for application review purposes

  02/15/2007	LARGE US BANK - CARD DIVISION   (my employer)
  07/29/2007	Chase                           (aor1.0)
  07/29/2007	Infibank                        (aor1.0)
  07/30/2007	HSBC                            (aor1.0)
  07/30/2007	Juniper                         (aor1.0)
  07/31/2007	FIA Card Services               (aor1.0)
  07/31/2007	National City                   (aor1.0)
  07/31/2007	WAMU / Providian                (aor1.0)
  08/01/2007	Columbus Bank & Trust           (Total Systems Services aka TSYS)
  08/02/2007	Citi                            (aor1.0)
  08/06/2007	Elan                            (aor1.0 - 1.0 app stat call)
  08/07/2007	Wells Fargo Bank                (aor1.0)
  08/10/2007	Citi                            (aor1.0 ?)
  08/15/2007	FIA Card Services               ()
  09/18/2007	Juniper                         (high line hopeful)
  08/07/2008	Elan                            (AOR2.0 USBank app)
  08/20/2008	Citi                            (AOR2.0)
  08/21/2008	WAMU / Providian                (AOR2.0 8/18 TU original inquiry)

  General Inquiry Section - This Section indicates users that accessed your consumer report for account review purposes

  07/30/2007	Chase                           (aor1.0)
  08/01/2007	Citi                            (aor1.0)
  08/10/2007	Citi                            (aor1.0)
  08/18/2008	Chase                           (AOR2.0)
  08/21/2008      Citi                            (AOR2.0)
  08/22/2008      Chase                           (AOR2.0 they were concerned)

  Prescreen Inquiry Section - This section indicates the users that accessed your consumer report for the purposes of making a firm offer of credit or insurance
• No items on File

03/29/2007	Chase                          (aor1.0)
07/30/2007	Citi                           (aor1.0)
07/30/2007	FIA Card Services              (aor1.0)
07/30/2007	Chase                          (aor1.0)
07/30/2007	Chase                          (aor1.0)
07/30/2007	Elan                           (aor1.0)
07/30/2007	Capital One Services, Inc      (aor1.0 - denied - offer had expired)
08/09/2007	National City                  (CLI request)
08/10/2007	Chase                          (aor1.0)
03/01/2008	National City                  (CLI request)
05/30/2008	National City                  (CLI request)
07/31/2008	Wells Fargo Bank               (app denied - under my login, I inserted Mrs J's name)
08/18/2008	Total System Services, Inc.    (???TSYS is a card processor similar to FDR)
08/19/2008	FIA Card Services              (AOR2.0 - Experian freeze - denial)
08/19/2008	FIA Card Services              (AOR2.0 - Experian freeze - denial)
08/19/2008	Juniper                        (AOR2.0 - )
08/20/2008	Wells Fargo Bank               (AOR2.0 - Experian freeze - denial)
08/20/2008	Juniper                        (AOR2.0 - denial - multiple biz cards not allowed)
08/21/2008	National City                  (CLI request)
08/25/2008	Juniper                        (AOR2.0)

I did request CLIs from Citi but never (as I recall) from CHASE... I'll check my 3ring binder of AOR1.0 for any adverse CLI letteers from CHASE later tomorrow...

Mrs J's report is still pending receipt...

Unless we can identify companies that don't pull this it sure looks like bumping inquires off personal reports is irrelevant now....

Theory:

My Bank Atlantic business card applications on 7/30/2007 and 8/18/2008 were recorded on my ICS/ARS report as Columbus Bank & Trust and Total System Services, Inc (respectively).

I received a small credit balance refund check today from my 1st Bank Atlantic biz card. On the check it clearly states: payable through Columbus Bank and Trust Company

Can anyone that applied for a Bank Atlantic biz and has a recent ICS/ARS report in hand either confirm or refute my theory?

jackcrawfish said: My Bank Atlantic business card applications on 7/30/2007 and 8/18/2008 were recorded on my ICS/ARS report as Columbus Bank & Trust and Total System Services, Inc (respectively).
Just received my report.

I have an inquiry from Total System Services on the day that I applied for the Bank Atlantic card. I have two inquiries from Juniper the next business day (also applied for a personal card).

I can also shoot a hole in the one-year drop-off theory. I have two inquiries from thirteen months ago on my report.

Do ICS inquiries ever drop off, after 2 years ?

from an Bankers' Bank April 2007 pdf...

The ICS is a reporting service that consolidates data on credit applications for Visa and MasterCard®. ICS reporting allows issuers to review a cardholder’s application history including how many times the applicant has applied for bankcards in the recent past, whether applications are done at multiple addresses, and much more. Reporting to ICS is a seamless process that happens automatically when you approve applications. The FIS system automatically sends the application information when we load the account. For declined applications, the only way that ICS will be aware, as required to be in compliance with regulations, is to submit an “Issuers Clearinghouse Actions” form to Bankers’ Bank.

....Customers Have Recourse for ICS Actions

ICS is not intended to be used as the basis for credit decisions, but rather as a source from which [the issuer can] follow up to collect additional information. If [the issuers] decide to close a cardholder’s account based upon information [they] receive in an ICS report, this is considered an Adverse Action and the customer must be given the opportunity to contact the ICS administrator in the declination letter. Advanced Resolution Services (ARS) handles all contacts with customers regarding consumer disputes.

Also discovered that Advanced Resolution Services is a subsidiary of VISA, Inc. (source)

good link here regarding the "other reporting agencies: http://www.monetarycents.com/2007/07/other-consumer-reporting-ag...

It includes information which supports the "inquiries remain only for one year" claim

Alcibiades said: jackcrawfish said: ICS is not intended to be used as the basis for credit decisionsFNBO has denied CC applications and mentioned excess ICS inquiries as a reason. Not the only reason, but ICS was listed as a reason.

Any and all MC and VISA applications (within the last year it seems) from the same address are collected. Bumping all your AOR inquiries from TU and EQ will not avoid this.
Also denied for FNBO's new card b/c of ICS though originally approved.

I filed a dispute approx 4 weeks ago with ARS. I'll post my results here once I get the updated reort... (Jeopardy music - tick-tock, tick-tock)

One of my disputes was for an application for credit. A rep called me and advised that they cannot dispute applications - only tradeline information.

Separately, I've been applying for a bunch of checking accounts recently... I'll post whether any of the banks I applied with post an ICS application inquiry one I get an updated report.