I asked for a credit limit increase. The bank replied with an offer that depends on a fresh credit bureau check. Can I decline the bureau check, and will it hurt my score?
1 Answers
You can decline. The bank needs your consent for a fresh credit bureau pull, and a hard enquiry can lower your score slightly and stays visible to other lenders.
What to keep in mind:
- Read the offer carefully first. Banks word limit offers ambiguously ("additionally from your existing limit"). Ask them to confirm the new total in writing before deciding.
- If you decline, say so explicitly: "I decline this offer and do not consent to any credit bureau enquiry in connection with it." That protects you if a pull happens anyway.
- Keep other requests separate. If you also have a pending card upgrade request, say it remains open, so the bank doesn't close everything together.
- Ask what they're basing the decision on. Banks often decline upgrades citing "income criteria" without saying what the criteria are. You can ask them to disclose it; in one of my complaints the Ombudsman directed the bank to disclose limit information it had withheld.
If you do want the increase, accept knowing it may mean one hard enquiry. For someone with a strong report, that rarely matters much.
