Hard credit pull by Schwab when I got POA on a brokerage account

I am an existing Schwab account holder.

Earlier this year, I was given POA for someone else’s Schwab brokerage account. A month or two later, I checked and saw a hard pull from Schwab. I contacted Schwab and they said they hard pull was done because there was a Schwab checking account linked to the brokerage account.

So, be warned, even if it’s not your account and the account was already open, you are going to get a hard pull if you are added as POA on a Schwab account with a linked checking account.

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Another good reason to keep credit frozen.

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So what gave Schwab permission to pull your credit? POA doesn’t make you personally liable for someone else’s debts. And if the attached checking account allows overdraft (which is the only reason I could think of why the bank would issue you any credit and thus need to see your report), then I would have expected the credit pull to be mentioned in one of the forms you signed.

And I think it’s irrelevant that you also have an account at Schwab.

Most likely the paperwork. You’d be surprised what they stuff allows.

(I read a lot of financial contracts. Many times you are giving away your first born.)

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Ding, ding, ding, ding!

The CSR said that my agreement with Schwab allows them to do a hard pull. Even though I was an existing Schwab Brokerage customer, Schwab Bank is a different entity and is allowed to do a hard pull for the checking account.

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Schwab also does hard pulls for margin accounts if I recall correctly.

That’s different, because there’s risk in a margin account and you may be borrowing money from them.

Thinking that you’d be borrowing money on a checking account, especially one that isn’t yours, is BS.

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