Don't open checking account with charles schwab bank!!! They will screw your credit score, your interest cost will go up, and they are horrible to deal with.
I applied for a checking account with Charles Schwab Bank a few months ago. Recently I have noticed that they did a hard inquiry against my credit report when I applied to open a checking account with them (no overdraft or other credit lines). This inquiry shows up on my credit report under "inquires made by companies with whom you have applied for A LOAN OR CREDIT" and it impacts negatively my credit rating and FICO score. Obviously I wasn't applying for any credit, quite to the contrary I was lending my money to Credit Schwab Bank, so I figured I just need to call the bank to clarify it and have it corrected by the credit reporting agency.
Well, how naive was I!
I called the bank and asked for a letter clarifying that they made this inquiry NOT in connection with me seeking credit or them extending credit to me. I wanted to provide such letter to the credit reporting agency as support for removing this inaccurate information from my credit report.
They first agreed to write the letter and fax it over to me. The next day a woman from their "Escalation Team" calls me and says they refuse to provide me with such a letter. I ask why. She gave me typical B.S. About their policy which doesn't allow for providing such letters. When I asked to point me specificly what exact policy explicitly prohibits them from providing such letters, she of course couldn't do so. She said they are not in the business of providing letters like that.
At least I wanted her to confirm over the phone that I wasn't applying for credit with them. Well, she refused to address my question as to whether the inquiry they made was in connection with them extending a credit to me! She "won't address this question"!!!
I asked to be transferred to her supervisor. SHE EVEN REFUSED TO PROVIDE ME WITH A CONTACT INFORMATION TO HER SUPERVISOR!!! Unbelievable!
What a fantastic business practice, Charles Schwab Bank!!! First you screw up your customer by running a hard inquiry on their credit report when they want to invest their own money with you, and when the customers contact you to correct your screw-up, you refuse the even acknowledge the issue!
Folks, this bank sucks big big time.
How is it that while other institutions are satisfied with a soft inquiry when you open a checking / savings account with them (which doesn't hurt your credit score), Charles Schwab Bank runs a hard check as if you were applying for their credit. Given that soft inquiries get an institution the information they need, why must some institutions damage your credit report with a hard inquiry? Is there anyone trying to pass any legislation to prevent this in future? It seems unfair that your credit score declines when you are lending a bank your money!
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