# Why would Directv check my Credit History



## paulmazz (Jul 11, 2007)

I was just checking my credit report and saw that DTV checked my credit report when I signed up. And it was in the area on credit were it could affect my credit score. How can they do this without my knowledge and my S.S. # ?


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Why wouldn't they?

They are leasing you equipment at no cost based on your credit report.

D* charges $200- $300 deposits on new customers who don't meet their credit standards.


Read any website of flyer from D* ,they always say, Based on approved credit!


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## SteveHas (Feb 7, 2007)

They always do, all service provides do.
In fact, they don't publicize this, but I have been told by D* that your credit rating has an impact on new customer offers that you may receive.
Its a sound business decision to do so.
D* has always pursued "good customers" that pay, and pay on time.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

But it sounds like from the OP that he didn't give them his SSN. How did they do a hard credit check without that? I actually thought they needed that to do it, that the only kind of check that might be able to be done without it is a soft check, which doesn't affect the score.

They should ask permission before running a hard pull.


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## ronsanjim (Mar 19, 2008)

Agree with the others.... D's customers can run up a huge monthly bill, and if that bill isn't paid, it affects the rest of us with yearly $$$ increases. Can you imagine allowing "everyone" to have access to this service, without verifying their past paying habits!


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## hilmar2k (Mar 18, 2007)

dpeters11 said:


> But it sounds like from the OP that he didn't give them his SSN. How did they do a hard credit check without that? I actually thought they needed that to do it, that the only kind of check that might be able to be done without it is a soft check, which doesn't affect the score.
> 
> They should ask permission before running a hard pull.


OP must have provided SS#. Also, for new credit applied for by the consumer, it is always a hard pull. Soft pulls are are used by existing creditors, or by companies offering credit that wasn't applied for by the consumer. If the consumer accepts the credit, a hard pull is generally done.

Bottom line is that credit inquiries have little effect on credit score, and it is well within DIRECTV's rights to check credit prior to extending credit (which is exactly what they are doing when providing their equipment).


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## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

paulmazz said:


> I was just checking my credit report and saw that DTV checked my credit report when I signed up. And it was in the area on credit were it could affect my credit score. *How can they do this without my knowledge and my S.S. #* ?


 They can't without you providing your SS# (or at least the last 4 digits of it). You probably just don't remember giving it to them. You can "opt out" of providing your SSN but if you do they charge you a $200 or $300 fee up front which they repay you like $5/month for 156254 years and they limit the number of receivers you can have.


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## greatwhitenorth (Jul 18, 2005)

dpeters11 said:


> But it sounds like from the OP that he didn't give them his SSN. How did they do a hard credit check without that? I actually thought they needed that to do it, that the only kind of check that might be able to be done without it is a soft check, which doesn't affect the score.
> 
> They should ask permission before running a hard pull.


I used to work for a credit card bank, approving and declining applications. It is a myth that the SSN is needed to pull a credit report. All that's required is a name and address. Many of the applications we recieved were filled out at sporting events and the like, so customers were reluctant to provide their SSN. We were able to pull reports approximately 90% of the time without the SSN. Just my $.02.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

greatwhitenorth said:


> I used to work for a credit card bank, approving and declining applications. It is a myth that the SSN is needed to pull a credit report. All that's required is a name and address. Many of the applications we recieved were filled out at sporting events and the like, so customers were reluctant to provide their SSN. We were able to pull reports approximately 90% of the time without the SSN. Just my $.02.


So with the proper logins and a phone book, that's all that's needed technically to do a hard pull that affects someone's credit? Now, I'm sure one hard pull every once in a while isn't going to severely ding a score, but still, seems like more info should be required.


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## BobStokesbary (Oct 24, 2010)

I think Paul just missed the part where they said they would run a credit check. The lady I talked with was very clear that that was what they were doing and even asked me to repeat my number because she could not repeat it because someone at their end of the line could overhear her repeat it.

And of course they would want to know that info. They installed over $500 worth of equipment at my house at no cost to me. If I were D* I would want to know that my investment was safe.


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## JosephB (Nov 14, 2005)

Don't you have to pay a deposit if you don't provide your SSN?


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

BobStokesbary said:


> I think Paul just missed the part where they said they would run a credit check. The lady I talked with was very clear that that was what they were doing and even asked me to repeat my number because she could not repeat it because someone at their end of the line could overhear her repeat it.
> 
> And of course they would want to know that info. They installed over $500 worth of equipment at my house at no cost to me. If I were D* I would want to know that my investment was safe.


Not to mention tech time, that can take half a day. Heck, when I moved to my current city, I had to get a credit check for the electric company to turn on power.


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

JosephB said:


> Don't you have to pay a deposit if you don't provide your SSN?


Yes.

DirecTV's average cost for a new subscriber is around $700. That included the cost of the equipment, the installation, the sales commission, and advertising. And while the advertising may be a more general cost, the others are directly related to the customer in question. So, of COURSE they are going to do a credit check before giving a new customer an average of $700 in equipment and labor for no up-front cost. If they didn't, they'd be scammed constantly and everyone's bill would increase as a result.


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## greatwhitenorth (Jul 18, 2005)

dpeters11 said:


> So with the proper logins and a phone book, that's all that's needed technically to do a hard pull that affects someone's credit? Now, I'm sure one hard pull every once in a while isn't going to severely ding a score, but still, seems like more info should be required.


That's true, however, credit reports aren't free, and the requestor has to claim the applicant's permission. Someone trolling through the phone book would soon find themselves with a huge bill, and probably their privileges revoked.


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## Dave (Jan 29, 2003)

Actually if you are that worried about them pulling your credit report, you can tell them no. If they then state it will cost you $ 700 to get the install. Tell them simply you will buy and install your own equipment. You can buy the equipment for a very reasonable price at www.solidsignal.com and other companies selling the equipment. Then the equipment is yours unless otherwise stated.


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## crkeehn (Apr 23, 2002)

Dave said:


> Actually if you are that worried about them pulling your credit report, you can tell them no. If they then state it will cost you $ 700 to get the install. Tell them simply you will buy and install your own equipment. You can buy the equipment for a very reasonable price at www.solidsignal.com and other companies selling the equipment. Then the equipment is yours unless otherwise stated.


Incorrect. Read the listing, it clearly states that the equipment is leased, it will not belong to the lessee.


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

Dave said:


> Actually if you are that worried about them pulling your credit report, you can tell them no. If they then state it will cost you $ 700 to get the install. Tell them simply you will buy and install your own equipment. You can buy the equipment for a very reasonable price at www.solidsignal.com and other companies selling the equipment. Then the equipment is yours unless otherwise stated.


While you can BUY dishes and switches from Solid Signal, you can only LEASE receivers from retailers, with the exception of the HR21 Pro.

DirecTV *does* have offers for those who don't want to give credit information, and you *will* own the receivers, and you won't pay full price either. But you will pay up-front (around $300 for an HD-DVR and an SD rcvr), and you won't get any programming discounts.


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## paulsonj72 (Oct 21, 2010)

BattleZone said:


> DirecTV *does* have offers for those who don't want to give credit information, and you *will* own the receivers, and you won't pay full price either. But you will pay up-front (around $300 for an HD-DVR and an SD rcvr), and you won't get any programming discounts.


Or have a prepaid debit card rather than a card tied to a major bank. Then you can only get 2 receivers and will have to add any receivers at a later time.


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## sunking (Feb 17, 2004)

I'm not quite understanding how the inquiry is dinging your credit score. I'll assume ignorance on my part, please explain.


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## hilmar2k (Mar 18, 2007)

sunking said:


> I'm not quite understanding how the inquiry is dinging your credit score. I'll assume ignorance on my part, please explain.


Credit inquiries make up 10% of your credit score. Too many in a specific period of time can have a negative impact.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

sunking said:


> I'm not quite understanding how the inquiry is dinging your credit score. I'll assume ignorance on my part, please explain.


There are two types of credit inquiries. Hard and soft pulls. A hard pull is when you're applying for credit or for services etc. My mistake in this discussion was thinking an SSN was needed. These will ding your score, with a few exceptions. If you, say, are looking to buy a car, and you shop around for the best financing rate, multiple pulls will only count as one if done within a specific timeframe. That is so you don't get penalized for being a good consumer.

Pre-approved credit card offers etc are soft pulls. No effect on score, and they don't need your permission. If you pull your own credit, like through annualcreditcheck.com, it's soft.

I don't know how much one hard pull dings you, but have seen references to about 15 points. There are things that affect credit a lot more, either positively or negatively than a credit check.


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## hilmar2k (Mar 18, 2007)

dpeters11 said:


> I don't know how much one hard pull dings you, but have seen references to about 15 points. There are things that affect credit a lot more, either positively or negatively than a credit check.


The only way a single inquiry could possibly affect your score by that much is if it was the last inquiry that put you into a different bucket in terms of quantity. There is no way that an individual inquiry has anywhere near that significant of an impact.

Some additional info can be found here: http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/CreditInquiries.aspx


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## bills976 (Jun 30, 2002)

Allow me to go slightly off-topic here since we're on the topic of SSNs and the security of credit pulls.

One of the big problems in this country is that the banks, credit agencies, etc deem an SSN to be a means of authentication. This is hogwash - the three factors of authentication are as follows:

- What you are (biometric data - dna, fingerprints, retinal scans, etc)
- What you have (like a smartcard or an RFID chip)
- What you know (a secret like a password)

An SSN is NOT a secret by any means. Your bank knows it, DirecTV knows it, the feds know it, your employer knows it, etc. Do any of these places have access to your passwords? Likely not - sure they can reset your password or they can view your account, but it is very likely that they don't know what your password is. Therefore, an SSN falls under none of these categories - it's just a unique, public number that the government refers to you by. Same thing with your mother's maiden name - anyone in your family would know the answer to that security question.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

paulmazz said:


> I was just checking my credit report and saw that DTV checked my credit report when I signed up. And it was in the area on credit were it could affect my credit score. How can they do this without my knowledge and my S.S. # ?


To answer your questions...

1) It is a standard practice to check your credit worthiness for providing a service over any extended period of time - most providers do this

2) Your sing-up documents would clearly state that your credit would be checked

3) A simple credit check *in and of itself * has no significant or lasting impact to your credit score


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## Joe C (Mar 3, 2005)

Directv does not have my SSN. They did not ask for them in 1995. I would most likely not give it to them anyway.


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## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

bills976 said:


> Therefore, an SSN falls under none of these categories - it's just a unique, public number that the government refers to you by.


 And something that can make it MUCH easier to steal your identity if it got into the wrong hands.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Joe C said:


> Directv does not have my SSN. They did not ask for them in 1995. I would most likely not give it to them anyway.


But back in 1995, it cost a lot more to get service, didn't it? None of this "No startup costs", people were paying close to $1000 for a box at one point.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

dpeters11 said:


> But back in 1995, it cost a lot more to get service, didn't it? None of this "No startup costs", people were paying close to $1000 for a box at one point.


Actually....I think the whole credit check process revolves around the DirecTV desire to reduce their operating risk in dealing with potential customers who simply will not pay their bill for equipment and services in a reliable manner. Many other businesses have adopted this same procedure.


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## markfp (Mar 9, 2010)

If you've got a decent credit score and haven't been applying for a lot of credit recently one request from DirecTV isn't going to matter. 

Besides, most lenders realize that occasional credit checks are required to get services and aren't going to see them as a sign of an impending credit card binge. In fact, in certain instances, they would expect clusters of credit checks. If for instance, somebody takes out a mortgage it would be logical to expect additional credit checks for phone, cable or satellite and utilities.


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## Hoosier205 (Sep 3, 2007)

Every time I see the title of this thread, "Why would Directv check my Credit History"...the same response always comes to mind: "Well...why wouldn't they?"


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> To answer your questions...
> 
> 1) It is a standard practice to check your credit worthiness for providing a service over any extended period of time - most providers do this


And has been for a long time. My first experience with this was back in 1981 when the cable companies ran a credit check on new accounts.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

Why would someone object to a company checking out their credit history unless they didn't have good credit?


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## tigerwillow1 (Jan 26, 2009)

I don't object to them running a credit check, but I do object to having my SSN in yet another company's database.


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## smithrh (Oct 3, 2007)

richierich said:


> Why would someone object to a company checking out their credit history unless they didn't have good credit?


Because there's a lot in there that they simply don't need to know.

Credit score? Sure, have at it. It's flawed, but it's not a horrible indicator.

Credit history? No need for DirecTV to have their nose in my business.

Like another poster, I simply want my SSN as protected as possible - in addition to the above.

When I re-signed up for DirecTV about 10 years ago (after a hiatus of about a year) they wanted my SSN. I declined, and instead they offered first and last months payment in advance in lieu of the credit check, which I readily agreed to.


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