Bank of America shouldn't mess with its customers credit report

Before you assume BofA gave you a credit card you didn't ask for, make sure they didn't get fooled into issuing it to someone *pretending* to be you who did apply for it. Identity theft is a real and growing problem.

Contact BoA to make sure the card was issued for you, and not for someone pretending to be you. It's possible someone stole your identity and got the card. If it's not a case of identity theft, then you have grounds to complain.

Definitely check for identity theft. I had i happen to me exactly this way. But I was lucky in that one of the credit cards applied for was noticed as suspicious and I was contacted directly. Within the next two or three days I had to cancel and halt about 20 different credit and credit card applications.

MOVE FAST on this.

Louise

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

I can't believe you'd post here before calling BofA customer service to see what's up.

BTW you didn't have an MBNA credit card account, did you? They got bought out by BofA and they might be merging the systems.

Bill

I had this exact thing happen a few months ago. Same bank, same card, everything. I talked to customer service and was told that BofA is running a contest for the tellers on opening up these accounts (at least they were about 3 months ago).

My wife, who was the one that "gave" permission, said that she was mearly asked if she would like some info sent about the card. Less than a week later, new credit card.

We immediately called to complain and to cancel the card, but the damage was done as far as the inquiry. They did add a note (or said they did) to the account to note why it was closed.

Did the original poster have any similar interactions with a teller?

And get an envelope (with the card) in the mail that they decided must be garbage so they didn't bother opening it?

Bill

What does this have to do with my question about the teller?

What damage was done? Those inquiries should not show up on the reports that potential creditors see. I agree though that these kinds of promotions ought to stop for those who do not want them. There are ways to request that your credit record never be used for solicitations, but they seem ineffective in my experience.

Maybe damage is a strong word, but the bank ran our credit, which drops the FICO score by a few points.

And why wouldn't the inquiry show up? This wasn't a simple pre-authorization. This was the same type of inquiy that shows up any time credit is requested (even though we didn't know what the teller was up to).

A lowered FICO score makes it harder for you to get credit in the future. But apparently you don't want or need any at the moment, or else you wouldn't be complaining about the extra credit you just got. Right? Or am I missing something?

What everyone seems to be missing here is that I was offering an alternative explanation to the identity theft suspicions that others brought up.

Never mind, disregard. Everyone's right, it MUST be identity theft. Call the police. Immediately!!!

You've completely lost me now. My comment had nothing to do with identity theft. In fact, I thought I was going right to the heart of the matter of the original post -- the fact that getting the extra credit, which you didn't want, might have an impact on your FICO. But FICO is relevant only if you're seeking credit, which you're not. So why do you care if your FICO was affected?

Anyone who doesn't care what their credit score is doing when they

*don't* want credit deserves whatever credit score they have when they *do* want credit.

I'm not looking for any credit right now, but an unauthorized credit card opened in my name today would still reduce my credit score six months or a year from now if I decide to refinance my mortgage.

Not to mention the potential to increase the cost of home and car insurance, and increasing costs in other industries that use credit- related scoring systems as a proxy for financial responsibility.

Excellent points. But as I recall the OP, the problem was not that an unauthorized card was opened in his name, but that his existing credit card was "upgraded."

What if he wanted a different kind of credit, like a mortgage or car loan?

You recall incorrectly. What the original post said was this:

:I logged on to my online Bank of America Account today and discovered I :had a Power Rewards Visa Acct today. I didn't apply for one and didn't :ask for one. It showed a credit limit of $7500. This tells me my credit :report has a new entry in it showing I applied for such credit. This :upsets me! BofA should mess around with its customer credit report. It :shouldn't create unwanted accounts for its customers.

Joshua:

I think you are getting too worked up about FICO scores.

One extra credit card MAY drop your score by 3 to 5 points for a couple of months.

If your bank did a "soft" pull, which is likely for existing customers, your FICO score was probably unaffected.

Nevertheless, whether your FICO score is 755 or 750 is immaterial.

804 vs. 799 MAY be material from an ego standpoint :-)

Bob

Anyone who doesn't care what their credit score is doing when they

*don't* want credit deserves whatever credit score they have when they *do* want credit.

I'm not looking for any credit right now, but an unauthorized credit card opened in my name today would still reduce my credit score six months or a year from now if I decide to refinance my mortgage.

Not to mention the potential to increase the cost of home and car insurance, and increasing costs in other industries that use credit- related scoring systems as a proxy for financial responsibility.

There's more to a score than the number of inquiries.

For someone who does not have many credit accounts open, a brand new card can significantly reduce the average *length* of accounts as well. (To give an oversimplified example: you previously had two accounts, one open four years, one open five years. Average length of accounts, 54 months. Open a brand new card, average length of the three accounts together is now only 36 months.)

Joshua:

May I suggest that you sign up for the free 30-day trial at MyFICO.com.

"100% Risk-Free 30-Day FREE Trial. A week before your 30-day trial expires, we will contact you by email to confirm that you wish to convert your trial to an annual subscription. If you do not cancel prior to the end of the

30-day trial, you will be billed at the annual subscription rate of $89.95 when the 30-day trial expires."

Just remember to cancel before 30 days are up.

Of course, this is the consumer Equifax score, not the "real" score used by banks and mortgage companies.

But it will still give you a good indication of where you stand.

If you are over 750, no harm no foul.

If you do sign up, would you be so kind as to let the group know, ROUGHLY, where you stand?

Bob

There's more to a score than the number of inquiries.

For someone who does not have many credit accounts open, a brand new card can significantly reduce the average *length* of accounts as well. (To give an oversimplified example: you previously had two accounts, one open four years, one open five years. Average length of accounts, 54 months. Open a brand new card, average length of the three accounts together is now only 36 months.)