I hear you on the hard pull surprise—had that happen with a car loan pre-approval once, and my score dipped just enough to bump me into a higher interest rate bracket. Super frustrating. I’ve started asking for email confirmation about the type of inquiry, but even then, it feels like there’s always some fine print. Has anyone actually managed to get a lender to reverse a hard inquiry when they said it’d be soft? Or is that just wishful thinking...
I’ve been down that road too, and honestly, I’m not convinced lenders ever really “reverse” a hard inquiry, even if they admit it was their mistake. I tried once after a mortgage pre-qual—had the emails and everything—but all I got was a generic apology and a promise to “review internal procedures.” The system just isn’t set up for easy fixes. Still, pushing back is worth it, if only to make some noise. It’s frustrating how much these little things can impact your rate...
Honestly, I’ve tried the “fight the hard inquiry” route too, and it felt like yelling into a void. My tip—before you even agree to a pre-qual, ask if it’s a soft or hard pull. Sometimes they’ll do a soft check if you press a bit. Saved me some points once... but yeah, the system definitely isn’t on our side.
That’s a solid tip about asking upfront. I’ve noticed some lenders act like it’s always gotta be a hard pull, but others are way more flexible if you just ask. Has anyone actually seen a soft pull turn into a hard one after the fact? I’m always a little paranoid about that.
I get where you’re coming from—there’s always that nagging worry they’ll say “just a soft pull” and then you spot a hard inquiry on your report later. In my experience, it’s rare, but I have seen it happen when people move from pre-qualification to actually applying without realizing it. Did anyone here ever get clear documentation from a lender about which stage triggers the hard pull? Sometimes the language they use is pretty vague, almost like they want you confused...
