I recently bought a highlander from maita toyota and paid cash.I specifically told themI was not going to fill out a credit app. and did not want my credit pulled. I recently reviewed my credit report and noticed that they ran it any way. Is that legal for them to do?

 

It's illegal if you did not sign a credit application. How did they get your social and DOB?

I vaguely remember something about credit report verification being required for cash purchases over $10,000. Tax laws or something.

 

If you signed the paper with your info on it that means you gave them consent no matter what you said.

Now if you didn't sign it and they ran it anyway then they are in big trouble.

 

I did not sign the paper I told them I would'nt sign it and gave it back to them.

 

On the other side of the coin the fact that the car is on your credit may actually work out better for your score in the long run. You obviously have the money to pay for the vehicle so why not pay it off and have the quick payment show on your credit as a bonus?

 

did you at anytime give them your SS#?

 

They ask for some info so they could fil out the registration to the dmv. Salty the thing is I paid cash for the highlander so there is nothing to pay off just a new inquiry on my credit report.

 

Then they broke the law and ran your score illegally. On the bright side, that one inquiry won't do anything to your score. If you have 25 different dealers run your credit in a matter of a couple days, it technically only reflects as one check because you were only trying to buy one car. Lenders will take that into consideration. However, you should probably get this dealt with just on principle.

 

Couldn't it fall into the same catagory as those pre-approved credit card offers that have already run your credit? Those don't count agianst you.

 

i was surprised about what inquiries actually do (or don't do) to one's score... before i got our 4 runner, i knew my score. we got that, i shopped around for my G (or Z) and had mine run a few times. when i finally found a dealer and bought my car, my score had actually increased about 75 points. this was in a 2 month time frame.

 

There are different ways of calculating your score, plus different bureaus will have slightly different info (mostly some will be missing different things).

 

No, those aren't really "credit checks." That's just the reporting bureau selling your name and address to credit companies based on certain criteria (recent mortgage being the major one). They don't actually see your credit until you send back the application with your SSN on it.

 

I'm tracking now.

I guess it depends on what you want to do and how far you want to take it. I'm no lawyer but maybe it's time to call one to see if there's a case here.

Eric and a lawyer will be able to provide you more direction than I regarding this issue.

 

At the very least you should be able to get two letters of explanation on company letterhead (1 for you) from whomever pulled your credit with a wet signature. Then make sure they get that letter to the bureaus.

 

If you didn't sign the app. Then you have serious legal grounds to go after them.

They would have to provide proof that you gave them consent so the burden of proof would be on them.

It's all up to you how far you want to take it.