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T-mobile made my credit score drop 5pts what can I do?

travis64

travis64

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 18, 2008
990
755
NEW YORK
I apply for a new account and they asked for my social to do a soft credit pull.the guy told me it would not lower my credit score like a hard pull would.
Just looked at my credit score and it's on there with 5pt lower score.

I called t-mo and they just told me it should not be on my credit report.there is nothing they can do for me

I am looking to buy a house soon and this could cost me a lot of money over a 30 year mortgage

If anyone has any expirence in this Please tell me what I can do

Thank you
 
In reality, there is nothing you can do. The credit score companies will not change it. Their call centers are in other countries, and the phone reps will always side with the credit agency. So then you are required to write them, with all the proper proof and forms, which in turned are never read or answered. It likely would takes years of legal help and most lawyers will not take them on because of the high rate of failure. I know a few people who have had their identity stolen, and they are still fighting the credit rating agencies 3 or 4 years later.
 
This is the wrong forum (and wrong website, for that matter). I'll humor it, though.

If T-Mobile did a soft pull, it did NOT show on your credit. Any number of things can cause a fluctuation of a mere 5 points - utilization, age of credit lines, an inquiry (hard pull from someone else), the wind blowing in the wrong direction, you name it. It'll bounce back.

If FIVE points are actually going to change your interest rate or chances of approval, you really should not be buying a house right now. There's a reason mortgage underwriters manually review your credit instead of letting a computer's math algorithm spit a score out at them - these tiny fluctuations should not matter for such a lengthy loan. If you're actually on the fence by that little, you need to wait until you get in to a better comfort zone with your credit or you're not going to get the best terms anyway.
 
Unless this is the only time this year you pulled your credit score, then you pulling your score probably lowered your score. 5 points is nothing but noise. Credit scores fluctuate if you sneeze wrong. If you are getting a mortgage, the institution should have credit experts that can easily make up 5 points. When I got mine they boosted our scores by 30+ simply by having me use my credit cards a little more and paying them off at strategic times over the course of a few months. Not to mention unless you crossed a bracket boundary (such as you had 723 and now your have 718) it won't affect the rate anyways.

If you are getting a mortgage soon STOP pulling your report. The bank is going to have to pull it several times which is going to make it worse. Credit scores are such a joke, unfortunately us consumers are the punchline.
 
I don't think there is much you can do.

But talk to your loan officer. Depending on your relationship, something like this will be over looked. Also, depending on where your score is (if it's borderline between credit ratings for example), 5 pts is really not that much. If it drops that much it will probably bounce back next month.

Bottomline, talk to your loan officer.
 
c0LdFire said:
If FIVE points are actually going to change your interest rate or chances of approval, you really should not be buying a house right now. There's a reason mortgage underwriters manually review your credit instead of letting a computer's math algorithm spit a score out at them - these tiny fluctuations should not matter for such a lengthy loan. If you're actually on the fence by that little, you need to wait until you get in to a better comfort zone with your credit or you're not going to get the best terms anyway.
Click to expand...

Dunno about that, myself and my coworkers who have all either refi'd or have new mortgages found lenders stick pretty close to the 700-720 720-740 etc. style brackets for determining interest. It ain't like the old days anymore where they looked at you like a human. It's all about the numbers.
 
5pts is not going to stop me from getting a loan but it could be a higher %

It's just the principle they say it will not effect your credit score and it goes right on it the next day.
The pull stays on your credit report for 2 years
 
Well consider this a lesson learned. NEVER EVER EVER apply for new credit when you are about to buy a house or refinance. This is like, basic knowledge... there is nothing you can do about the soft pull, it can not be undone... it will fall off after a few months.
 
nikhsub1 said:
Well consider this a lesson learned. NEVER EVER EVER apply for new credit when you are about to buy a house or refinance. This is like, basic knowledge... there is nothing you can do about the soft pull, it can not be undone... it will fall off after a few months.
Click to expand...

Soft pulls do not go on your credit report
They lied and did a hard pull
 
The easiest thing is to get t-mobile to retract it, though making that happen may be close to impossible. The reason I say its the easier way is because in theory you are now a customer whom they want to keep, so that might help... though leaving to another carrier will include another credit check which they will know.

Trying to get the credit bureau to remove it is probably a waste of time, best case scenario you end up with a dispute or fraud alert on your credit report - and with such no lender will close the mortgage.

As a side note and I mean this in the least judgmental way - If a single inquiry is affecting your credit so much you may want to look into things you can do to improve your credit overall. Amazing resource: http://creditboards.com/forums/
 
There is a reason that your loan officer says "no new credit or accounts" Your impatience to get a phone *might* have cost you big time over 30 years.
 
X-Ravin said:
Unless this is the only time this year you pulled your credit score, then you pulling your score probably lowered your score. 5 points is nothing but noise. Credit scores fluctuate if you sneeze wrong. If you are getting a mortgage, the institution should have credit experts that can easily make up 5 points. When I got mine they boosted our scores by 30+ simply by having me use my credit cards a little more and paying them off at strategic times over the course of a few months. Not to mention unless you crossed a bracket boundary (such as you had 723 and now your have 718) it won't affect the rate anyways.

If you are getting a mortgage soon STOP pulling your report. The bank is going to have to pull it several times which is going to make it worse. Credit scores are such a joke, unfortunately us consumers are the punchline.
Click to expand...

You can pull your own credit as much as you want. It doesn't affect your credit score. You're "softing" yourself essentially.

OP, are you 100% sure that it was a hard inquiry that lowered your score? As someone else said, many things could've happened such as utilization change, the number if cards reporting a balance changing, any derogetories, a new acct reporting, etc.

However, I do know that cell phone companies WILL hp you for new service. They all do. I'm sorry this happened to you when you're looking to get a mortgage, hopefully this will work out. ps, this is a conversation that belongs in myfico, not macrumors ;)
 
travis64 said:
5pts is not going to stop me from getting a loan but it could be a higher %

It's just the principle they say it will not effect your credit score and it goes right on it the next day.
The pull stays on your credit report for 2 years
Click to expand...

If you were that close from getting a "eh" rate to a decent rate, why would you even take a chance on them being wrong?


SMH, its just a phone...
 
travis64 said:
Soft pulls do not go on your credit report
They lied and did a hard pull
Click to expand...
Generally when you apply for credit it is a hard pull... soft pulls and not supposed to go on credit, but I've seen that happen too... my original post still stands. You should never apply for NEW credit before dealing with a big loan.
 
travis64 said:
If anyone has any expirence in this Please tell me what I can do
Click to expand...
Nothing to do except learn from this experience. Don't app prior to a mortgage or other significant loans.

As stated above, 5 points is insignificant. If it's the straw that breaks the camel's back then you should have considered that prior to apping for the mortgage AND prior to doing anything that adds credit inquiries. Don't rely on anyone telling you that it will be a soft pull. If you want to take their word then get it in writing. I'd still recommend always assuming a hard pull for new credit or increases.

travis64 said:
The pull stays on your credit report for 2 years
Click to expand...
Impact of the pull is reduced quite a bit well before 2 years though.

travis64 said:
Soft pulls do not go on your credit report
Click to expand...
They do but no one can view them except you and the CRA.
 
Travis, having gone through this process about 3 years ago (right when lenders were total hardasses re approvals to cover for the mistakes made in the past), I can tell you that a good mortgage broker can go a long way toward helping you overcome little things like this. I went with a ****** broker the first time around who gave me ten tons of horrible advice and ended up knocking my score down MANY more points than 5. MANY. After I overcame the urge to strangle him, I was able to find a fantastic broker who thought outside the box for a solution and got me a great rate on a USDA loan because my house is technically in a "rural" area that's also used for farming. (It's also 10 minutes from Disney World, but there are cows here, so it works. Lol.)

At any rate, shop around a lot before committing to a broker. Not all of them are good, or even competent, but there are some great ones out there.
 
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