Does ATT require a credit check for internet?
Among the top internet providers available in the United States of America is AT&T. One of the inquiries consumers of AT&T's Internet subscription process ask is Does AT&T do credit checks? Knowing the AT&T credit check policy will therefore help you to estimate what to anticipate when registering for an account with the firm.
In essence, the answer to the issue of whether or not AT&T examines your credit when registering for the internet is yes but largely a mild credit check. One should still take various exceptions to this rule into account.
What is a Soft Credit Check?
When AT&T is verifying your credit, they do what is called a soft credit check. A soft credit check is used to gain access to someone’s credit report without affecting their score.
Soft checks enable companies such as AT&T to assess a customer from a credit risk perspective. Still, since soft inquiries do not impact your score in any way, you can heave a sigh of relief if AT&T has run a check on your information.
IS: About AT&T Credit Check Policy for Internet Customers
According to AT&T's website, the company says it may run a soft credit check when signing up for the following types of services.
- AT&T Internet
- DirectTV Stream
- AT&T TV
Therefore if you are subscribing to home internet from AT&T through an internet-only package of AT&T Fiber or via a bundle including AT&T U-verse, prepare for a soft credit check during the registration process.
The reason why AT&T checks potential internet subscribers is to establish the creditworthiness of the consumers, evaluate the deposit on the account, and verify your identity by comparing your details with the credit reports.
Why does AT&T permit the credit check to be waived for Internet service?
While AT&T does issue soft credit pulls in most internet signup scenarios through AT&T Fiber or their legacy internet products, there are some situations where they may waive the credit check requirement.
- No check for existing customers: This means that if, for instance, you have other AT&T services such as wireless phone service or DirecTV, then you might not be subjected to another soft credit check when subscribing to internet service, considering that you are a loyal customer.
- Business accounts: Business accounts for internet service from AT&T do not necessarily entail credit checks on individuals, although the business requesting the service may undergo some financial scrutiny.
- No available credit history: However, there are rare reported incidences of when if you do not have an existing credit report that AT&T can pull against, they might not even do a soft credit check when signing up for the internet.
- Down payments: Sometimes, as a flexible policy, instead of checking your credit score, AT&T may let you make security deposits or even prepayments on your account. This provides them with financial security without affecting their credit check record.
In conclusion, based on the information presented here, you will get a soft credit check if you are not an AT&T customer yet or if there are any other exceptional cases, but it is crucial to know that AT&T Fiber internet accounts, AT&T Internet accounts, and bundled services will prompt the soft credit check. Here, it is critical to note that soft checks will not harm your credit score in any way.
Will I Ever Get A Hard Credit Check?
To reiterate AT&T is very specific with their policy where you will only be subjected to a soft credit check once you apply for standard home or residential internet services. Hard checks do appear on your report and they suggest that you are being active in the process of applying for other credit lines.
The only occasion where AT&T may initiate a hard credit check is when you apply for financing offers that include deals such as Affirm financing offers for internet devices. Promotional financing credit checks are usually as tough as a normal credit check since they entail real lending risk.
But again, for regular and ordinary AT&T internet services subscriptions, always be prepared for the credit hit (if any) to be a non-dinging one that does not affect the credit score.
How Long Do Soft Checks Affect Credit?
Most people are concerned about whether soft credit checks will even leave their credit reports marked for years. Fortunately, that is not true – soft checks only appear on your credit report for a very limited time.
Most soft inquiries wash off your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion credit reports in 6-24 months. In particular, soft checks are reported on Equifax for roughly one year to a year and a half.
Therefore, if AT&T uses a soft credit check during home internet installation, it will affect your credit visibility for roughly one year or less. However, that existence does not affect your scores - it is just an entry in an inquiry.
Does Checking Your Credit File Trigger an Inquiry?
One last query that often comes up is whether when one runs his or her credit report or score, it leads to a hard or soft inquiry. However, you can freely navigate your credit report and receive all the necessary data without worrying about direct requests being made to the credit reference agency.
If you get your credit reports or your credit scores directly from TransUnion, Equifax, or Experian, that is considered a self-check instead of a soft or hard inquiry. The only way to get copies of your credit report is to order directly from the credit bureaus, and in this way, you never get any hits on your file or score.
Other websites such as Credit Karma also allow you to check your latest credit score for free without having to run any checks or inquiries.
It is always wise to keep an eye on your credit status, particularly before seeking a new internet connection. And in most cases, when you expect to receive a soft credit check from AT&T, this is completely normal and there is no cause for alarm. So all in all, if you do not let them catch you off guard and check your credit before applying for AT&T, the application process will be smooth.
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