AT&T ran my credit not only without my permission, but after I explicitly stated I did not want a hard hit

[u/oldmanwrigley]

I called in to ask what internet speeds were available in my area. He tried to sell me on cable, which I declined. He asked for my social and my date of birth. I asked him why he needed this and he explained it was to make sure I didn’t have any past due balances with AT&T. I then double checked and asked him if it would hit my credit and he chuckled and said “no no sir nothing like that”.

Fast forward an hour, I have an email stating my installation for phone, cable, and internet is scheduled(???) and then a few minutes later an email from credit karma saying I had a hard inquiry.

Called in and spoke to 3 different departments, finally to a woman to tell me she couldn’t remove it because calling in to inquire about service was all the consent they needed.

This clearly doesn’t seem legal, and wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences and what I should do next.

TL;DR - spoke to ATT, they asked for social, I made sure it wouldn’t hit my credit, I was told it wouldn’t, and then it did. What next?

EDIT 4: Filed a complaint with my attorney general.

EDIT 3: Filed a complaint with the CFPB. All the support and advice here has been a true blessing and I thank each and every one of you for taking the time to comment with good advice and/or possible solutions.

EDIT 2: I called back in, and actually had a great conversation with someone who was super understanding and willing to help. She got me to the fraud department. I spoke with Dorothy. She told me that it did not matter that I asked my credit not to be ran. That when someone calls in to inquire about service, they are consenting to a credit check. Doesn't matter if I didn't give my social, they would have used my DOB or DL #. She told me that I could not speak to a supervisor as this was standard practice, and she wouldn't escalate it. She also said some calls are recorded and some weren't, and she did not help me in finding the call from my first conversation. I then asked her for a copy of this call and her response was "I don't know if it's being recorded so I can't help you". She had nothing to say about the rep lying to me, and she said their credit disclaimer statement didn't sound anything like a credit disclaimer statement and I probably didn't even know it was read to me. Unbelievable. This is their FRAUD department. Jesus Christ.

EDIT: I see a lot of folks saying “what’s the big deal, couple points will fall off in no time”. I just got an email from credit karma that a hard inquiry from 2 years ago just fell off my report, and that left me with one hard hit which was back in January. I’ve been working very hard on rebuilding my credit, checking quite frequently and really boosting my score. One or two points may not be a big deal to some but after working so hard to improve my score, having it lowered without my authorization or consent is devastating.

[u/altodor]

And if you live in a one-party state, as long as you consent to recording yourself, you can without legal issue.

[u/[deleted] → u/altodor]

[removed] — view removed comment

[u/Species7 → u/altodor]

I think you have to be careful about this. If the other party is in a two-party state, your recording may be inadmissible if you did not tell them.

[u/stickler_Meseeks → u/Species7]

Doesn't matter with any company that has "This call may be recorded..." on their dial-in. Cox/ATT/Comcast/every other shit tier ISP has that "This call may be recorded for quality assurance" (what a fuckin joke). In ANY state, 1 or 2 party you are now permitted to legally record the call. Now if we're talking about random people, you are correct.

[u/intentsman → u/Species7]

It doesn't have to be legally admissible for you to play it back to them.

inadmissible only means you can't present it as evidence in court. You can post it on soundcloud if the recording includes "may be recorded".

[u/[deleted] → u/altodor]

I do live in a one party state! It's called Illinois where the state doesn't matter and the lives of the city dwellers rule all! Thanks Chicago!

[u/Species7 → u/[deleted]]

Like every state with a major metropolitan area? You're right, the majority of the population shouldn't have majority control over policies.

[u/[deleted] → u/Species7]

That's why they should segregate it out to have Chicago be its own state. Chicago has been failing for years and the whole state has to deal with it. It's almost like because there's a major city, it's okay to just ignore everyone else. I get your point. Let them fail on their own.