Dealership Submitted an "Application...for vehicle financing" Without My Consent or Knowledge

On Oct 14th I went to the local Chevy dealership to test drive a Traverse. I also ended up driving a Tahoe, which they offered and encouraged me to take home over the weekend (I did not in any way ask or suggest doing so; it was 100% their idea). Since it was the end of the day on a Saturday, I assumed they wanted to go home rather than work up numbers.

While at the dealership I made it clear that I could not lease or purchase a vehicle without my husband. I told them that I work part time, but that I am primarily a stay at home mother, thus my personal income is minimal. They did not ever mention running my credit, or anything of the sort. They did ask for my DL, SS#, employer, etc. I assumed they needed this information because I was taking the vehicle home until Monday.

Yesterday I received a letter from the dealership that says, “Thank you for submitting your recent application to use for vehicle financing.” It then goes on to show which agencies they obtained a credit report from, that they obtained my credit score and what it was, etc. When I called the dealership about it, I got a run around and was told that it would probably be Monday before they could find out anything. I’m planning on going back tomorrow afternoon or Tuesday, just depending on my schedule.

Does anyone know if Chevrolet corporate allows or condones this sort of thing? Where do I start to try and lessen the chances of this happening to someone else?

Editing to clarify…I did not sign anything that gave them permission to pull my credit. The only paper I signed was a “Rental Agreement” that they told me I needed in case I was pulled over for not having a license plate or temp tag. I most certainly DID read the agreement before I signed.

I am not so naive or careless that I sign any sort of agreement or document without reading over it first. And after some of the previous shenanigans that car salesmen have tried on me before, that rule is triply true at a car dealership.

I found this resource online…https://www.kennethhiller.com/2014/08/can-a-car-dealer-run-your-credit-without-permission/ (I’m not affiliated with this site)

They legally can’t run your credit report without your permission. Do you recall signing any kind of doc where they might have included fine print about running your credit?

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If you signed an application that will have consent to run credit. If not then they must submit to remove the inquiry.

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If you signed a paper with your name and ssn, you gave them permission to run it.

Nope, the only thing I signed was a paper about a rental car agreement That talked about damages I asked what it was for and I’m trying to remember exactly how they answered. But the gist of what they told me was that I was just signing that the Tahoe was going with me for the weekend.

At no time did anyone so much as say the words “credit report” much less talk about putting in an application for vehicle financing.

The first way is to tackle the dispute process on your own. Get the address of each creditor whom you did not approve to perform a hard inquiry. Then send them a certified letter in the mail (make sure you keep a copy for your records) stating that the inquiry was unauthorized and should be removed immediately.

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I think this can be done online for each bureau - incorrect info fix?

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Did you actually read what you signed? I’m still guessing you signed an approval without really knowing.

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they don’t have to say it.
if you sign it, you approved for them to do a credit app.

EDIT: Glad you found your copy. Hope you get it straightened it

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Thanks y’all! I will start with contacting the credit bureau’s. I also want to have a conversation with the General Manager of the dealership as to why they did this.

I did read the paper before I signed as I never sign anything without reading. (I’m one of those that even if I have been doing business with a place for years, I still read over anything new that they give me to sign.) I also just found my copy last night. It’s a “Rental Agreement” (title on front page) and a the back of the form is a “Multi-State Rental Agreement Terms and Conditions” disclaimer. My husband and I both looked over it and there is nothing in about pulling my credit, applying for loans, etc.

Did you get this resolved?