<prompt> Human: Hi rpersonalfinance. Im a long-time lurker, but dont comment or post much on here, but everything Ive learned is great. Anyway, on to my story...I live in Florida, for reference.About 3 weeks ago I was in the market to lease a new car. I stopped by a local car dealership owned by a nationwide company called Victory Automotive Group. I test drove a new Accord, liked it a lot, and went to discuss numbers with the salesman. We sat down and started chatting and half way through he asked to do a soft inquiry on my credit as it would let him give me a better idea of what price they could offer. I agreed and he plugged some information into a computer, came back with a score and we chatted some more. I wasnt ready to purchase as it was my first stop, but I had an idea of the numbers, thanked him for his time, and left. I ended up leasing a 2015 Hyundai Sonata, which has been great. Fast forward to today, and I received a letter in the mail from the original Honda dealership saying my request for vehicle financing had been denied. Also included in the letter was the usual terms under the Fair Credit Reporting Act including If you need a statement or specific reasons why your application was denied or was accepted, but not on the terms you requested, please contact our General Manager at the number or address shown above within 60 days of the date of this letter. We will provide you with the statement of reasons within 30 days of receiving your request. more on this shortly.I assumed some mistake had been made as I did not apply for any financing. I checked my credit report, and yes, there was a hard inquiry from them. It was a small 6 point hit, but Im purchasing a house soon so wanted to make sure I could get this cleared up if necessary. I called the dealership and asked to speak with the General Manager. The nice lady who answered let me know he was with a customer but would call me back when he was free. The General Manager, Adam, called me back about 15 minutes later. After exchanging pleasantries I began to explain the situation. The conversation went something like this:Me: I wanted to call and talk to you about this letter I received that implies I applied for auto financing. The salesperson, John, told me it would be a soft inquiry so we could -- cuts me offAdam: There is no such thing as a soft inquiry, its just an inquiryMe: I didnt know that, I thought there was a difference, maybe its a training opportunity with John, on the correct -- cuts me offAdam: Ive been doing this for 27 years, we got 30 people in finance, 10 lawyers on staff, I think we know what were doingMe keeping my cool, but in shock: Well, ok, um, let me look into this a little further and Ill call you back if I find anything. Your name was Adam right, and youre the GM? Whats your number?Adam: You called me buddy.Me: Yeah, sorry I meant your direct line or extensionAdam: Ugh, its 555-555-1234I went and poked around and did some research on credit pulls and the rules regulating the automobile industry and came across this from the FTC although its fairly old. I could not find anything new. The line that struck me was Obtaining credit reports solely for the purpose of negotiating with consumers is not permitted. Since this is the purpose of the supposed soft inquiry, I was a little taken aback.I called Adam, the General Manager back, and our conversation went like this. It may not be verbatim as the adrenaline started pumping very quickly.Me: Hey Adam, its me again.Adam: Yeah whatMe: Hey I said Id call you back once I looked into things. I dont remember filling out any kind of application for financing, and I was looking at the FTCs website and I saw this line about --Adam: I dont like being called a liarMe: Um, Im not saying that I just think we can work together to figure this outAdam: raising voice Im glad you think you know more than me. Ive been doing this for 27 years, but yeah, sure you know more than me about auto salesMe: I never said I did. I dont know why youre getting so combative and angry. I contacted you about a question that I thought we could resolve or figure out together and youve been so rudeAdam: Im rude because you keep calling, I dont have time for this shit!Me: Whoa, look man I wanted to resolve this amicably but I guess thats not possible -- cuts me offAdam: Its not possible if you keep calling me wutt?Me: getting angry, but maintaining composure and level voice ok well per the letter Id like to request the statement of reasons the letter says Im entitled to, and Id appreciate it if you could provide a copy of the signed finance application.Adam: Im not giving you shit! If you want it, bring the letter to the dealership and Ill give you whatever you want again, wutt?Me: Im requesting by mail, as the letter says I have the right to doAdam: I dont know who you are, Im not mailing you shit! Bring the letter down here and Ill give you whatever you want. We dont keep applications its all done on the computerMe: Im not taking my personal time to come down there when I made a perfectly legal request to get it by mailAdam: Im done with this conversation, dont call her anymore, goodbyeSooo that was my afternoon in a nutshell. My questions for you rpersonalfinance are:1. Was the dealer allowed to submit an application for financing and pass it around to banks without any kind of written consent? When the salesperson said it was just a soft inquiry. 2. Does the GM Adams denial of my request to have the statement of reasons and copy of application mailed to me constitute any kind of violation?Im kind of at a loss here. I dont want to go the legal route, I just want them to remove the hard inquiry from my credit report and maybe an apology for being such a dick would be nice.Any advice from the amazing folks here?  <response>: send the request, certified mail. they blow you off. profit. 