Solicitation Warning aka Trigger Leads
We want to share a disconcerting situation with credit pulls that has greatly impacted our industry and is causing frustration for our clients. When a full mortgage credit report is pulled, many borrowers are getting immediate solicitations by other lenders (telemarketers) after their credit is pulled. It’s a practice known as ‘Trigger Leads’ that allows 3rd parties to purchase information when a borrower’s credit is pulled from any agency. The credit agency with whom we do business, Advantage Credit does not sell your data to any 3rd party, nor do they purchase Trigger Leads from the credit bureaus. However, whenever credit is pulled from any credit agency, the bureaus are reselling this data to companies that purchase such leads from them. There are companies that pay the bureaus to be notified when a borrower has credit pulled when they begin the mortgage pre-approval process.
It sounds like it should be illegal, but in fact it’s allowed although currently under scrutiny by congress. You may be subjected to an onslaught of phone calls, texts and/or emails, all unwanted solicitations that create confusion at the beginning of the mortgage loan inquiry. These unscrupulous solicitors may even imply or tell you they are affiliated with our company. Please DO NOT provide any personal information to an unknown caller.
In an effort to cut down on these solicitations, you can ‘opt-out’ of soliciations as a result of Trigger Leads. Here is what you can do:
Logon to this registry www.donotcall.gov to enter your phone number to block calls and then use this link: www.optoutprescreen.com which is the official Consumer Credit Reporting Industry’s website where you can opt out of your data being used.
Please know we do not sell your private information and if there were ever any issues on your file, we would personally reach out to you to discuss any issues!
Please act quickly on this authorization as we’ve had some clients receive literally hundreds of calls. We hope congress puts an end to this practice soon, but in the meantime, we’ve worked out an interim solution.
You can find more information about this practice by clicking this link to the reputable credit reporting agency that we use: https://www.advcredit.com/?s=trigger+lead