After a year, filed Chapter 7 and scores hardly changed!

[Keebler]

See my signature...

Bankruptcy shows up on all of the reports.

The credit reports have a couple accounts still reporting wrong and they've each been hammered by more than a dozen hard report pulls by collection agencies. Some are multiple hard pulls on the same day by the same agency and others are multiple hard pulls only days apart.

In any case, I was suprised the damage to the scores due to filing seems to be minimal.

[PaKettle]

See my signature...

Bankruptcy shows up on all of the reports.

The credit reports have a couple accounts still reporting wrong and they've each been hammered by more than a dozen hard report pulls by collection agencies. Some are multiple hard pulls on the same day by the same agency and others are multiple hard pulls only days apart.

In any case, I was suprised the damage to the scores due to filing seems to be minimal.

I think that may be because you can't get much lower! ;-)
Also, the affect of the bankruptcy may have really not caught up to the credit reports yet.

But I can tell you this:
I filed BK7 in Nov 07, discharged in March 08 and I have already raised my credit score from 550 to 670 - that's a true FICO score.

I just got a $3k card from WAMU which is accompanied by a free FICO and I was amazed at my score. It took several months of constant disputing (I am still disputing some minor points) but wow, at this rate I should be well over 700 by the early new year.

[epiphany]

I am nowhere near ready to start disputing but just out of curiosity, can you dispute hard pulls on your CR?


The last time I looked I had plenty of unauthorized hard pulls and I am sure there are more now.

ep

[Keebler]

I am nowhere near ready to start disputing but just out of curiosity, can you dispute hard pulls on your CR?


The last time I looked I had plenty of unauthorized hard pulls and I am sure there are more now.

ep

I've been trying to finance an automobile because I expect 100% of our vehicles to be repossessed and I've had zero luck. In addition to my credit monitoring service, the plentyful credit denials have given me the opportunity to pull reports from all three bureaus and I was able to dispute the few things reporting incorrectly. Of the things they won't let me dispute are the multiple hard pulls.

[bkrelief22]

Okay guys...just what is a hard pull?? Needless to say you can tell I'm new at this.

Thanks!

[Flamingo]

First to the OP - first all the credit you are trying to obtain and then getting denied is what is working against you. Then, of course, also having the BK on your record. Hard pulls stay on your credit reports for two years and they cannot be removed. That is why if you apply for a lot of credit following discharge and get denied, you have two years of lots of hard pulls close to each other on your reports which does not look good and works against you. Most of this is common sense. I see so many postings on here (not from you) about people wanting to know why they are just discharged and are denied for credit - multiple hard credit pulls and a recent BK filing/discharge does not put one on on the top of the instant approval group. Yes there may be one or two that may get credit, but they are not the majority.

To BKRelief 22 - a hard pull on your credit reports results from when you apply for credit and authorize the creditor, via your signature and providing your SS number, to check your credit reports to obtain new credit. They are noted on your credit report for two years (used to be for just one year). They lower your score. The more you have, the worse it gets. Especially if you have a recent BK and apply to multiple places for a car, credit card or loan, and continually get denied.

[Fazeloss]

Credit pulls were one of the reasons why I froze my credit files. Its free to do and now I decide who gets to see my credit.

People will try to pull your report all the time without you even knowing about it. I just had this happen when I went to my local bank where I have a checking account and I asked if I could open a savings account too. The guy said no because "your credit file is locked". I said "Ok, thanks I didnt know you needed to pull my credit file - goodbye". Now I bank online with ING.

[Keebler]

a hard pull on your credit reports results from when you apply for credit and authorize the creditor, via your signature and providing your SS number, to check your credit reports to obtain new credit. They are noted on your credit report for two years (used to be for just one year). They lower your score. The more you have, the worse it gets. Especially if you have a recent BK and apply to multiple places for a car, credit card or loan, and continually get denied.

A hard pull also happens when collection agencies peek at your report.

The problem is that I never authorized those pulls and it wasn't done for the purposes of applying for credit and yet those pulls get scored as if I had. Then there's the fact they they pull the damn thing twice in the same day or three times in a week and it really hammers your score.

I know applying for credit right now is somewhat foolish and I know the additional credit inquiries are harmful. But... I've already got twelve to fifteen recent pulls from the collection agencies and I figured a few more won't hurt that much. Also, the pulls from my playing around will fall off my report at the two year mark along with the pulls from the collection agencies.

You can be sure I'll won't be doing this on an ongoing basis!

[NowImDownInIt]

When you get a quote for car insurance does it cause a hard pull?

[Keebler]

When you get a quote for car insurance does it cause a hard pull?

Looking at my credit report I'd have to say that many of the insurance quotes I asked for generated soft pulls and then the company I chose to get coverage with caused a single hard pull.

It doesn't look to me like just getting a quote causes a problem.

[Flamingo]

A hard pull also happens when collection agencies peek at your report.

The problem is that I never authorized those pulls and it wasn't done for the purposes of applying for credit and yet those pulls get scored as if I had. Then there's the fact they they pull the damn thing twice in the same day or three times in a week and it really hammers your score.

I know applying for credit right now is somewhat foolish and I know the additional credit inquiries are harmful. But... I've already got twelve to fifteen recent pulls from the collection agencies and I figured a few more won't hurt that much. Also, the pulls from my playing around will fall off my report at the two year mark along with the pulls from the collection agencies.

You can be sure I'll won't be doing this on an ongoing basis!

As to your second paragraph above, you did authorize those pulls - when you signed the paperwork to obtain the credit there is a clause in there indicating they can pull your information at any time, you signed it and agreed to it. So, therefore, the collection agencies, working for those creditors, are authorized to do the pulling by your initial signature. If one actually takes the time to read all the clauses and information you agree to when signing on for credit, one would be amazed at all you are agreeing to and it is all in favor of the creditor.

[Keebler]

As to your second paragraph above, you did authorize those pulls - when you signed the paperwork to obtain the credit there is a clause in there indicating they can pull your information at any time, you signed it and agreed to it. So, therefore, the collection agencies, working for those creditors, are authorized to do the pulling by your initial signature. If one actually takes the time to read all the clauses and information you agree to when signing on for credit, one would be amazed at all you are agreeing to and it is all in favor of the creditor.

I generally agree with your reply with one exception -- and this is the loophole that causes the trouble for which there's little releif.

They DO have the right to pull my credit report and the credit bureau IS correct to report it. However, the difference is a hard pull versus soft and how the bureau scores it.

A hard pull is scored based on me seeking credit at the time of the pull. A soft pull provides the same information without being scored the same.

My report, as it is stands, is scored as if I had applied for credit fifteen times in the last few months and this is simply not the case. Had the pulls been soft, the report would have contained the same information without the damaging effect.

Look at it this way... I'm a deadbeat and nobody has sympathy for me. But, if American Express had (hard) pulled yours and everyone's credit report three times last month and once or twice a month every month prior for "account review" purposes, they'd soon have no customers due to the widespread outrage as everyone's scores get hammered for no good reason.

Again, I don't dispute the validity of the credit inquiry. But I disagree with the method of the inquiry (as hard) and the subsequent use of that pull in calculating my credit score.

[Cali]

A hard pull can only happen when you authorize it.

When a company is just looking at your report, they should be doing a soft pull. If they aren't doing that then you need to dispute it. And inquiries can be disputed off your reports.

[Keebler]

A hard pull can only happen when you authorize it.

When a company is just looking at your report, they should be doing a soft pull. If they aren't doing that then you need to dispute it. And inquiries can be disputed off your reports.

It all comes down to semantics.

Credit bureaus don't allow you to dispute a pull, they tell you to take it up with the company that pulled the report. Only if the pull was from a company with which you have no business relationship will they even consider removing an inquiry -- even then, there's nothing you can provide in the way of a proof that establishes this fact. The credit bureau will tell you that collection agencies have "permissible purpose" to pull your credit report. For these reasons they generally don't even consider disputes relating to pulling your credit report and don't have a process in place to deal with this kind of dispute effectively.

On the other hand, the companies that pull these reports are collection agencies and they aren't the least bit interested about hearing complaints from thier victims. In fact, I wouldn't put it beyond them to pull more if they know it's making you upset. The collection agencies will also tell you they have "Permissable Purpose" and they're correct. The fact that they're doing a pull that counts against your credit score and the fact that they could do a pull in a different way that doesn't hurt your score is of little consequence to them. In fact, they prefer to make the collection activity as visible on your credit report as they can to help motivate you to make good on the debt.

The end result is the victim of this practice is left with virtually no recourse beyond the expense and uncertanty of litigation.