On XXXX, in the XXXX XXXX https : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, NY store XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX New York XXXX XXXX XXXX salesperson XXXX asked me to become a member of the store. She explained that this would result in a soft enquiry on my credit report ; after some questions she clarified that membership means a store credit card. I agreed, based on the understanding that it would not result in a hard credit enquiry. When Synchrony bank tried to confirm my identity on the phone, I asked them to confirm that it was soft credit enquiry. They confirmed it was a hard enquiry. I asked to stop the application, but Synchrony bank said the credit check has already been run at that point. 

XXXX, and her manager XXXX, confirmed that they understood the enquiry would result in a few points drop of credit score. They nevertheless called it a soft enquiry, claiming that that's what their training taught them to say.