Is there any distinction between hard and soft pulls in any case for a non existing customer other than due to a misrepresentation?
What do you mean, "other than due to misrepresentation"?
It's illegal to make a hard pull of a non-customer's credit without express prior authorization. A bank can't hard-pull a non-customer's credit without their authorization, and they also can't say that a soft pull will be done — i.e., the "no impact to your credit" language on most pre-qualifier sites — and then make a hard pull that dings their credit.
This is basic stuff. I'm astonished that you keep rehashing it.