Thread: Bank of America lied to me

I called Bank of America to move some of my credit line from my Visa Signature to the Accelerated Cash Rewards card I have with them. They said they couldn't without a hard inquiry, so I said no thank you. At the end of the call, I asked if they had any different offers for me. He stated I could get the 1, 2 , 3 percent card that has been advertised on TV. I thought I already had that card, but he said mine only gets 1% back.

I told him I would take the card and move some available credit to it and set it up as a Platinum Plus card as long as it wasn't a hard inquiry. He stated it would be a soft inquiry.

I pulled my credit report today...and there was a hard inquiry on there. I am mad beyond words right now. I'm going to call to complain, but I'm waiting until I have more time.

Any tips on getting this matter resolved to my liking?

I'm not sure I see what the big deal is. Inquiries don't count for that much of your score; much less than account age and utilization %, both of which will change with opening a new account. "Mad beyond words" seems excessive. How do you expect to open a new line of credit without the issuer reviewing your credit worthiness? You got the account with the better rewards, right?

Aside from people that obsess over their credit score, most people (bankers included) don't know the difference between "hard" and "soft" inquiries. My experience is that every new account results in a hard inquiry, even if you already have trade lines with that creditor.

Originally Posted by FutureBillionaire

I called Bank of America to move some of my credit line from my Visa Signature to the Accelerated Cash Rewards card I have with them. They said they couldn't without a hard inquiry, so I said no thank you. At the end of the call, I asked if they had any different offers for me. He stated I could get the 1, 2 , 3 percent card that has been advertised on TV. I thought I already had that card, but he said mine only gets 1% back.

I told him I would take the card and move some available credit to it and set it up as a Platinum Plus card as long as it wasn't a hard inquiry. He stated it would be a soft inquiry.

I pulled my credit report today...and there was a hard inquiry on there. I am mad beyond words right now. I'm going to call to complain, but I'm waiting until I have more time.

Any tips on getting this matter resolved to my liking?

Why don't you start off with being nice? I find you get a lot further in life when you ask nicely, rather than calling and being an asshole on the phone. They can remove it just like they can add it. And unless you are applying for a car or house, why do you really care if your credit score drops 10 points? The only time it matters is when you NEED additional credit.

Originally Posted by PlatinumAMEX94

why do you really care if your credit score drops 10 points?

We aren't even talking ten points. We are talking maybe 5 points for 3 inquiries, and that's only after you've crossed an unknown threshold of what FICO thinks is a reasonable number of inquiries in a given period of time. It truly is miniscule. Inquiries are just one part of the "new credit" portion of your score and are way over-obsessed on by credit hobbyists. If you are approved for the new card, and your average account age gets "younger" as a result, that will be more of a hit than the inquiry. But even that is balanced by your increased available credit and decreased utilization.

If you aren't in a position to apply for credit and take the tiny ding of an inquiry perhaps you should wait until you are in a better position.

I agree with what you all are saying. My problem isn't necessarily the inquiry; it is the fact that the rep assured me multiple times that it would be a soft inquiry. I don't like being lied to and/or given misinformation when conducting business. It isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things, however, I am shooting to get all of my scores above 760 to make sure I can get the best rate on a mortgage in the next couple years. It takes 2 years for these to fall off. It is more of a nuisance than anything.