What Is THD/CBNA On My Credit Report and Can I Remove It?

What is THD/CBNA? You may be confused if you see this combination of letters on your credit report and wonder what they’re doing there. If you find them, chances are you applied for a credit card at The Home Depot or were added as an authorized user. THD/CBNA stands for The Home Depot/Citibank North America because Citibank issues The Home Depot credit cards.

If it appears on your credit report and you did not apply for the card or become an authorized user on another person's account, then there may be something amiss. The article below will discuss the reasons why you might find a THD/CBNA reference on your credit report and steps you can take to remove it if it’s not supposed to be there.

What does THD/CBNA stand for?

As mentioned, THD stands for “The Home Depot.” The Home Depot is the world’s largest home-improvement retailer, with 2,300 stores in North America and half a million employees.^[1]

The Home Depot offers three credit cards through Citibank North America, a New York-based financial institution and credit card issuer.

Citibank North America is commonly abbreviated as CBNA. They also sometimes appear as CBNA Sioux Falls, because Citibank opened a financial services office in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 2019.^[2]

Why is THD/CBNA on my credit report?

THD/CBNA might appear on your credit report for one of two reasons. Either you were added as an authorized user on a Home Depot credit card or you applied for a Home Depot credit card.

You were added as an authorized user on one of The Home Depot credit card accounts

An authorized user is a person who is allowed to charge items on someone else’s credit card. Unlike a joint account holder, an authorized user doesn’t have to apply for a credit card with the primary user. They can be added later at the primary user’s request. Businesses often add their employees as authorized users so they can make purchases for the company.

Authorized users aren’t responsible for repaying charges, but that doesn’t mean their credit scores can’t be affected. If the primary user misses payments or is carrying a large amount of debt (i.e. has a high credit utilization ratio), that can be reflected on an authorized user’s credit report.

You applied for one of The Home Depot credit cards

The Home Depot offers three types of credit cards through Citibank, so if THD/CBNA appears on your credit report, it’s possible you applied for one of them: The Home Depot Consumer Credit Card, The Home Depot Commercial Revolving Charge Card, or The Home Depot Commercial Account.

Applying for credit typically lowers your credit score by a few points because it triggers a “hard inquiry” — a credit check to see whether you’re a good candidate for a loan. Such “hard pulls” are recorded by the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) and can stay on your credit history for two years.

If you applied for a credit card from The Home Depot, there’s nothing you can do to remove it from your credit report. Accurate information will stay there. However, if someone else engaged in fraud by making a hard credit inquiry using your name, there are steps you can take to remove it.

Can I remove THD/CBNA from my credit report?

The Home Depot credit card can appear as a hard inquiry on your credit report, but it might also show up as a soft inquiry. A hard inquiry can affect your credit score, but a soft inquiry won’t.

• Hard inquiry: A hard inquiry can’t be removed if it’s accurate. It will stay on your credit report for 24 months (two years). How much it affects your credit score will vary. For instance, if you have a shorter credit history and a small number of accounts, it could have a greater impact.
• Soft inquiry: A soft inquiry appears on your credit report but isn’t visible to anyone but you. One from THD/CBNA might show up if you’ve been prequalified for a credit card from The Home Depot. A soft inquiry can be generated without your consent or can show up on your credit report if you want to check your own credit or if a prospective employer runs a background check on your credit. As with a hard credit inquiry, a soft inquiry remains on your credit report for two years.

How to remove inaccurate hard inquiries from your credit reports

If THD/CBNA appears as a hard inquiry on your credit report, but you know you didn’t apply for credit with The Home Depot and aren’t an authorized user on anyone else’s card, you can dispute the information.

First, you have to have access to your credit report to know it’s there. Fortunately, you’re entitled, under federal law, to see a free credit report from each credit bureau once a year, and you can access them by visiting annualcreditreport.com.

Errors on credit reports aren’t uncommon.^[3] That’s why it’s a good idea to go over your credit report and look for anything suspicious. Errors can be simple duplication, transposed numbers, balance errors, or cases of mistaken identity. They can also be the result of fraud or identity theft.

If you see an inaccurate hard inquiry, make sure to request proof of the inquiry by contacting your credit card company and asking them to provide information on who requested the credit pull. This will help you build a solid case when filing a dispute with the credit reporting agencies.

You can file a dispute with the credit reporting agencies by phone, online, or by mail, or you can hire a credit repair company to do it for you. (Note that you can do anything a credit repair firm can do without having to pay a dime.)

When you file your dispute, identify any unauthorized inquiries you want removed. Include any paperwork, such as an FTC identity theft report or police report that indicates you’ve been the victim of fraud, and any letters from lenders showing how your account should be corrected.

The bottom line

If you find a THD/CBNA notation on your credit report, don’t worry. It might simply look strange because you didn’t realize it stood for The Home Depot/Citibank North America.

If you believe an inquiry has been added to your credit report in error or as the result of fraud, it’s worthwhile to have it removed — especially if you are considering a major purchase in the near future and want to reflect a stellar credit history.

Sources

1. Home Depot. “Our Founders Story,” https://corporate.homedepot.com/about. Accessed September 14, 2021.
2. SiouxFalls.Business. “Citi: New Sioux Falls headquarters reflects commitment to the community,” https://www.siouxfalls.business/citibank-new-sioux-falls-headquarters-reflects-commitment-to-the-community. Accessed September 14, 2021.
3. Consumer Reports. “More Than a Third of Volunteers in a Consumer Reports Study Found Errors in Their Credit Reports,” https://www.consumerreports.org/credit-scores-reports/consumers-found-errors-in-their-credit-reports-a6996937910. Accessed September 14, 2021.

About the author

Lauren Bringle is an Accredited Financial Counselor® with Self Financial– a financial technology company with a mission to help people build credit and savings. See Lauren on Linkedin and Twitter.