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Most banks, including Chase and AMEX, pull from Experian in NY and NJ when you apply for a card. If they see too many pulls, they are more likely to decline your application. The goal is to have the bank look at a different credit report that doesn’t have as many pulls. This is basically done by putting a security block, or “freeze” your Experian (or other hard hit reports) account. That way, banks are blocked from seeing it.

That can be done here:
Equifax
Experian
TransUnion

Obviously, you will not get instant approval and will have to call recon and ask them nicely to pull from a different bureau. Some banks will decline to do so and will require you to give them the pin# you set up when you froze the credit report so they can pull it. When you do call up, make sure you have a good reason for having your report frozen. Tell them there is some incorrect info on your experian credit report and that you don't want to unfreeze it until it gets corrected. DO NOT say that there was a fraud alert so you froze it!!!! This will cause them to freeze your application.

CHASE:
Personal- many have reported success in freezing experian and having apps approved. There are recent reports of this not working anymore and customer service requiring the pin to unlock your report so this may require lots of HUCA. One DDFer reports 15 HUCAs (3/19/14) and no luck. It may be dead  :(
If you plan on doing a chase 2BM, you might want to call and get both approved in the same call as to avoid multiple pulls. Alternatively, you can just unfreeze it before a 2/3BM.
AsherO reports that he had them pull equifax and they pulled transunion 2 days later as well. The best way to avoid a double-pull, is to freeze both Experian + another bureau and have them pull the third.

Business- There is limited reported success getting chase business reps to pull anything other than experian. Only one DDFer reports success and even he admits it was a real pain and lot and lots of HUCA-ing.

AMEX:
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work at all for AMEX. They will require your pin so they can pull Experian.

CITI:
In NY, Citi pulls from either Equifax or Experian or both. So by freezing experian, you can get them to pull just equifax thus preventing the dreaded double pull. (Many Ddfers have reported that Citi will no longer pull from another report once the original pull has been made).

A few side notes:
Freezing your report will automatically opt you out from pre-approved offers. Churners like those so you might want to opt back in.
If you have accounts with a bank they can still do a soft pull on your frozen credit report.
If you open a new account, it will get reported to the frozen credit report. The report just won’t show a hard pull.       

« Last edited by Yehuda25 on March 25, 2014, 10:01:00 PM »

Author Topic: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score  (Read 155292 times)

Offline yoshi

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #400 on: February 23, 2014, 01:28:32 PM »
In NY city pulls either Equifax or Experian or both. So freezing helps. When I tried with chase they told me I need to unfreeze Experian. I think people up thread have been reporting that freezing with chase hasn't been working.

Offline kivabb

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #401 on: February 26, 2014, 12:20:08 PM »
I tried HUCA several times in NJ for both Chase personal and biz cards after freezing Experian and was told each time same blah blah that once they initiate with one credit agency, they can't pull another.

That was the last possibility of pulling Equifax for any card in Lakewood NJ AFAIK.

When I applied for recent Citi AA card, they also wouldn't budge.
« Last Edit: February 26, 2014, 12:23:28 PM by kivabb »

Offline davidd75

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Offline wonderlust

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #403 on: February 26, 2014, 11:31:58 PM »
any1 know where they pull from for citi in pa?

Offline ushdadude

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #404 on: March 04, 2014, 08:20:20 PM »
This thread needs a wiki.

Done :)

Feel free to edit
« Last Edit: March 04, 2014, 08:23:31 PM by ushdadude »

Offline Joe4007

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #405 on: March 04, 2014, 08:41:35 PM »
Done :)

Feel free to edit
Nicely done.

Since I was unsuccessful with Citi pulling Equifax (even after quite some HUCA), I would suggest you update the Citi line, so it doesn't look that easy.

Offline kivabb

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #406 on: March 04, 2014, 09:02:17 PM »
Nicely done.

+1

How do you opt back in for offers from Experian?

Offline ushdadude

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #407 on: March 05, 2014, 08:57:46 PM »
+1

How do you opt back in for offers from Experian?

you can call them

Offline Redbull3

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #408 on: March 06, 2014, 02:14:47 PM »
Done :)

Feel free to edit

Thank you for creating the Wiki! Question. Do you have a source for this:
Quote
Freezing your report will automatically opt you out from pre-approved offers.

Offline ushdadude

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #409 on: March 06, 2014, 02:33:10 PM »
Thank you for creating the Wiki! Question. Do you have a source for this:

All the information is anecdotal: gleaned from this thread alone. As for your specific question, read from here down.

Offline HDS

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #410 on: March 06, 2014, 05:10:27 PM »
Wiki looks great. Thanks!

When you recon and you finally get to someone who looks at the application and credit report seriously, are they just looking at the pull that was made when the application was made? They aren't making another pull, right?

Does freezing have any impact on recon?

Offline ushdadude

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #411 on: March 06, 2014, 05:44:01 PM »
Wiki looks great. Thanks!

When you recon and you finally get to someone who looks at the application and credit report seriously, are they just looking at the pull that was made when the application was made? They aren't making another pull, right?

Does freezing have any impact on recon?

If you froze the correct cr there shouldn't be a pull before you call recon.

Offline HDS

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #412 on: March 10, 2014, 10:32:16 AM »
I get that. I meant if you freeze after applying and getting declined, then calling recon.

Offline wonderlust

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #413 on: March 13, 2014, 01:07:38 AM »
I froze my Experian  when I applied for citi Platnuim & after bunch of hucas got pulled trans union & was approved

Offline TAVI

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #414 on: March 19, 2014, 06:49:56 PM »
froze my experian before applying for CITI and Chase, and no go on either to have them pull EQ instead.

hucad CITI 5 times, and chase 8 times...

I used to do it all the time with chase up until a year ago (which is a lifetime in this game).

Offline TAVI

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #415 on: March 19, 2014, 09:30:48 PM »
15 HUCAs with chase and not one rep willing to pull a different bureau. I think freezing EX with chase is pretty much dead...

Offline ushdadude

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #416 on: March 19, 2014, 09:53:55 PM »
15 HUCAs with chase and not one rep willing to pull a different bureau. I think freezing EX with chase is pretty much dead...

updated wiki
What reasons did you tell them for freezing?

Offline wonderlust

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #417 on: March 19, 2014, 11:43:04 PM »
15 HUCAs with chase and not one rep willing to pull a different bureau. I think freezing EX with chase is pretty much dead...
I did 2bm from nj with chase for 2 ink cards & got them to pull from tu on 1st try!!  ..side point: from my experiences the male reps have always come thru more than female reps..

Offline churnbabychurn

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #418 on: March 20, 2014, 08:07:30 AM »
I did 2bm from nj with chase for 2 ink cards & got them to pull from tu on 1st try!!  ..side point: from my experiences the male reps have always come thru more than female reps..
your ex was frozen?

Offline TAVI

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #419 on: March 20, 2014, 10:27:12 AM »
updated wiki
What reasons did you tell them for freezing?

i told them that there was some incoorect info on my EX report and i didnt want to unfreeze it until it got resolved. pretty standard. but they wouldn't budge. and several of them were very nice, they just kept saying that they can't / not allowed to.

just for background, i've frozen EX and have them pull a different bureau tens of times before, but not in the past year. Now i've spoken with everyone including 3 supervisors and no go.

another change seems to be that now they write notes on the apps from previous calls, something that wasnt there last year. so that might hinder the process as well.

as it stands, i'd say that getting them to pull a new bureaus is a needle in a hay stack type task.