Unauthorized use of customer SSN by ATT, no explantaion provided.

[g_keswani]

AT&T ran unautorized credit checks using my SSN and after talking to their manager Kevin at Dallas office, no explanation was provided.

Pretty serious issue. Not legal, certainly not ethical practice.

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

Why do you say that the credit checks were not authorized? 

[g_keswani]

Because I agreed only to one credit check at the time of first order.

Then ATT automatically cancelled it and placed another order wihtout my information or consent.

When I called up to find out the status of my original order, i was informed it was cancelled and re-written several times.

From what I know after sepaking to ATT manager Kevin, every new order requires a credit check.

[David]

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g_keswani wrote:

From what I know after sepaking to ATT manager Kevin, every new order requires a credit check.

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Typically with any new order for any service, most companies these days request a credit check. Even employers are getting smarter and requiring one as well.  I don't see that going away overnight or anytime soon.  I know when I established my DirecTv service they did a credit check on me, so it seems pretty standard practice. Auto, home, and life insurance companies do it as well. Though insurance companies also rely quite a bit on the CLUE report (Comprehensive Liability Underwriting Evaluation). My mother advised at time of retirement, law enforcement was looking at it for MO either this year or next year (2011 is when she told me, she thinks it began already.). 

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Geek]

There are two types of credit checks that companies can do. When a company just wants to check your creditworthiness and/or credit score so that they can evaluate how to provide you service, this is what's known as a "soft" credit check. Soft credit checks do not affect your credit score and do not negatively reflect on your credit record.

When a company does a credit check because you are opening a new line of credit or borrowing money, they do a "hard" credit check. Hard credit checks will impact your credit score, and too many will reflect negatively.

As such, though AT&T did indeed make a mistake in performing multiple credit checks on you, they are all soft, so you should not have any issue with your score or your credit report.

[David]

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SomeJoe7777 wrote:
There are two types of credit checks that companies can do. When a company just wants to check your creditworthiness and/or credit score so that they can evaluate how to provide you service, this is what's known as a "soft" credit check. Soft credit checks do not affect your credit score and do not negatively reflect on your credit record.

When a company does a credit check because you are opening a new line of credit or borrowing money, they do a "hard" credit check. Hard credit checks will impact your credit score, and too many will reflect negatively.

As such, though AT&T did indeed make a mistake in performing multiple credit checks on you, they are all soft, so you should not have any issue with your score or your credit report.

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Thanks for that, I forgot all about the "Hard checks" and the "soft checks" 

[g_keswani]

David

I am aware the most companies require credit check before providing service. But they inform the customer and it is customer's choice wheter to authorize it or not.

FYI, Service companies are not allowed to run random credit cheks without customer's consent. It is plain Illegal.

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

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g_keswani wrote:

David

I am aware the most companies require credit check before providing service. But they inform the customer and it is customer's choice wheter to authorize it or not.

FYI, Service companies are not allowed to run random credit cheks without customer's consent. It is plain Illegal.

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 Actually, that is not correct.  A company has the right to run periodic credit checks on their customers without requesting authorization from the customers.  These checks are considered "soft" credit checks and do not impact your credit score.  These checks are perfectly legal.

[g_keswani]

I'm glad you acknowledge AT&T made a mistake in performing multiple credit checks.

I am aware of soft and hard credit cheks.

Here is why the information you are providing is misleading and worng:

After my first credit check in the onlie order process,  due to limited credit history, ATT imposed restrictions on my service request. I was provided a notice that allows me to obtain a copy of credit score from the credit agency Equifax. 

This happens when any lender denies credit,  under provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  And this happens only with hard credit checks and not with soft pulls.

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

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g_keswani wrote:

I'm glad you acknowledge AT&T made a mistake in performing multiple credit checks.

I am aware of soft and hard credit cheks.

Here is why the information you are providing is misleading and worng:

After my first credit check in the onlie order process,  due to limited credit history, ATT imposed restrictions on my service request. I was provided a notice that allows me to obtain a copy of credit score from the credit agency Equifax. 

This happens when any lender denies credit,  under provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  And this happens only with hard credit checks and not with soft pulls. 

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If you are requesting NEW service, it is a hard credit check even if you had some other existing service with the company.

[g_keswani]

David,

I just explained in my previous reply why the credit cheks were hard and not soft.

Furthermore your order department manager Kevin plainly denied to provide me information on the number of credit checks that have already been run by AT&T. He said he does not know what happend.

I'm concerned this happens to several other customers without their knowledge.

[g_keswani]

Texasguy37: I agree to your statement:

'If you are requesting NEW service, it is a hard credit check even if you had some other existing service with the company.'

Explain this to AT&T employee David who thinks credit cheks that were run by AT&T were soft.

I requested new service only once and authorized the first credit check. What about all the other numerous credit cheks that AT&T ran in cancelling the orders and re-writing the orders wihtout my knowledge. I did not ask for or for that matter authorize any of those credit checks.

[spd2demun ACE - Master]

David corrected himself after reading SomeJoe's post:

Thanks for that, I forgot all about the "Hard checks" and the "soft checks"

I gather from another of your posts that you have sent a PM to Alex?

[g_keswani]

Not sure if David corrected himself, because SomeJoe's post says that credit checks done by ATT were soft and do not damage credit score, when infact I explained that ATT did hard checks using my SSN whihc damage credit score.

I have not sent a PM to Alex onthis issue as I do not expect any resolution from his end. I  have already spoken to a Manager (Kevin at Dallas office) and do not want to further deal wih the unpleasant, rude and impolite talks from him.

[oufanindallas]

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g_keswani wrote:

Not sure if David corrected himself, because SomeJoe's post says that credit checks done by ATT were soft and do not damage credit score, when infact I explained that ATT did hard checks using my SSN whihc damage credit score.

I have not sent a PM to Alex onthis issue as I do not expect any resolution from his end. I  have already spoken to a Manager (Kevin at Dallas office) and do not want to further deal wih the unpleasant, rude and impolite talks from him.

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So in other words you don't want help and just want to complain.  You've been given an avenue to resolve your issues and if you don't follow it up, then there isn't much for the rest of us to do.  That choice is yours.

[g_keswani]

I'm posting on the forum to make other customers aware of the illegal use of customer SSN by  AT&T.

This could be happening to millions of other customers.

I've tried to resolve it with AT&T managers, but without any resolution.  After reading the reviews of customer service and after experiencing it myself, I am sure that sending a PM to community managers and talking on the phone will not lead to resolution, but just consume more time and effort from me.

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Geek]

When I signed up for U-Verse, no hard credit check was done on me, only a soft one.

If a hard check was done on you, I can't explain it and I can't help you. All I can tell you is what I know and what my experience was.

[g_keswani]

So for some customers it is soft check and for others it is hard credit check.

Is there any basis of this discrimination?

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

I checked my 3 credits reports (Experian, Equifax and Trans Union) for 2009 which is the year that I had U-verse installed.  I don't see any hard or soft credit checks from AT&T during the entire year on any of the credit reports.

AT&T's credit policies may have changed in recent years.  It may now be standard procedure to perform a hard credit check on all customers requesting new U-verse service.  I would not be surprised given the economic climate that now exists.