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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 155427 times)

Offline yaakov s

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #100 on: September 21, 2011, 12:30:27 PM »
Anybody did a Chase Experian credit freeze succesfully recently . About to do it and I want to double check nothing changed

Offline smurf

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #101 on: September 21, 2011, 02:25:08 PM »
Anybody did a Chase Experian credit freeze succesfully recently . About to do it and I want to double check nothing changed
+1
I want to do a 3bm and was wonderin which other bureau to freeze and how many pulls they would do

Offline yaakov s

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #102 on: September 21, 2011, 10:07:22 PM »
+1
I want to do a 3bm and was wonderin which other bureau to freeze and how many pulls they would do
If you live in Jersey your other 2 bureaus shouldnt have any pulls , so why do you care which one and how many times they pull from?

Offline AJK

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #103 on: September 21, 2011, 10:59:05 PM »
Anybody did a Chase Experian credit freeze succesfully recently . About to do it and I want to double check nothing changed

I did one in August. Worked like a charm. Froze the E's. Forced them to look at TU.

EDIT: May have been late July.

+1
I want to do a 3bm and was wonderin which other bureau to freeze and how many pulls they would do

You can freeze whichever bureau's you do not want them to see. You pick.
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Offline Saver2000

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #104 on: October 02, 2011, 03:51:48 PM »
I just froze my TU report online.  Does anybody how long it takes for it to go into effect?  Thanx

Offline AJK

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #105 on: October 02, 2011, 04:16:45 PM »
I just froze my TU report online.  Does anybody how long it takes for it to go into effect?  Thanx

Pretty sure its instantaneous.
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Offline yaakov s

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #106 on: October 02, 2011, 10:10:54 PM »
Pretty sure its instantaneous.
+1

I applied right after I froze the other 2 ( I wanted them to pull TU) and they pulled TU

Offline Saver2000

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #107 on: October 04, 2011, 02:38:15 PM »
In nj there is a fee to lift a credit freeze unless you are a victim of identity theft. The credit bureau is telling me that I need  a police report to prove that I'm a victim. Is that true?  I recently got a letter from BofA that they are changing my cc number becny Info was compromised, shouldn't that be good enough?

Offline elikay

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Re: Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #108 on: October 04, 2011, 04:00:47 PM »
In nj there is a fee to lift a credit freeze unless you are a victim of identity theft. The credit bureau is telling me that I need  a police report to prove that I'm a victim. Is that true?  I recently got a letter from BofA that they are changing my cc number becny Info was compromised, shouldn't that be good enough?
If you'd have a police report, would you be able to freeze/unfreeze an unlimited amount of times?

Offline AJK

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Re: Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #109 on: October 04, 2011, 04:06:41 PM »
If you'd have a police report, would you be able to freeze/unfreeze an unlimited amount of times?

In certain states, victims of ID theft can place and lift freezes for free. Apparently, the state he is in and the CB he is talking to allow free freezes for victims but need a PR to prove the theft.
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Online AsherO

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #110 on: October 04, 2011, 04:07:56 PM »
If you'd have a police report, would you be able to freeze/unfreeze an unlimited amount of times?

Yes, but you also have to file an affidavit and send it all to the credit bureaus.
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Offline Saver2000

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #111 on: October 04, 2011, 04:18:56 PM »
Yes, but you also have to file an affidavit and send it all to the credit bureaus.

Is it a requirement on their end that I have a police report or should I keep calling till I get someone that says my letter is good enough?

Offline Nitantnel

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #112 on: October 04, 2011, 04:23:04 PM »
I think if you keep calling and ask for 10 million dollars they might give it to you, just make sure you get the right rep.

Online AsherO

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #113 on: October 04, 2011, 04:23:26 PM »
Is it a requirement on their end that I have a police report or should I keep calling till I get someone that says my letter is good enough?

I'd try with just mailing them an affidavit and seeing what happens.
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Offline Nitantnel

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #114 on: October 06, 2011, 10:59:03 AM »
Freezing the Report that Amex pulls from would result in them pulling the unfrozen report and then also asking for the pass for the frozen report, or just asking for the pass for the frozen?

Online AsherO

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #115 on: October 06, 2011, 11:08:04 AM »
Freezing the Report that Amex pulls from would result in them pulling the unfrozen report and then also asking for the pass for the frozen report, or just asking for the pass for the frozen?

Amex won't pull a different one IME, just ask for the pass. But with 2BM/3BM, you might want to unfreeze to avoid multiple pulls from that one bureau.
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Offline AJK

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #116 on: October 06, 2011, 11:12:31 AM »
Amex won't pull a different one IME, just ask for the pass.

+1

But with 2BM/3BM, you might want to unfreeze to avoid multiple pulls from that one bureau.

Or, if you're like me and have almost zero activity on one CB (TU for example), purposely freeze the two others to force them to pull from one CB.
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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #117 on: October 06, 2011, 11:14:02 AM »
Or, if you're like me and have almost zero activity on one CB (TU for example), purposely freeze the two others to force them to pull from one CB.

Only works for Chase, not Amex or Citi.
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Offline AJK

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #118 on: October 06, 2011, 11:21:53 AM »
Only works for Chase, not Amex or Citi.

Right. Just not sure how that follows... You mentioned

But with 2BM/3BM, you might want to unfreeze to avoid multiple pulls from that one bureau.

If you're doing a 2/3BM with AMEX (or Citi), how will unfreezing (in NY) TU or Equifax avoid multiple inquiries on Exp?
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Offline bubbles

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Re: Credit Freeze to Improve Your Experian Score
« Reply #119 on: October 06, 2011, 11:27:40 AM »
If you're doing a 2/3BM with AMEX (or Citi), how will unfreezing (in NY) TU or Equifax avoid multiple inquiries on Exp?

It won't but unfreezing Exp will avoid multiple inquiries on Exp