Did you know that when your mortgage credit report is pulled from one of the big three credit agencies, (Transunion, Equifax or Experian), your personal contact information is sold to other lenders?
The credit agencies that we unknowingly trust to keep our information private, sell your information to hundreds of lenders looking for a “trigger lead.” When your credit is pulled, the credit bureaus will tell hundreds of mortgage companies that you may need financing. These companies are relentless in their pursuit to contact you by phone, email, and direct mail. In fact, I had a recent client that had to turn off his phone because he was bombarded by telemarketers calling after his credit was pulled.
The Federal Trade Commission approves this behavior, as they want to let potential borrowers know about other loan programs and compare costs. I am all for competition, but most of my clients have done their homework and are quite satisfied with the loan program, rates, and fees before I pull their credit. I doubt there are many people that enjoy fielding dozens of phone calls from random lenders.
The solution is to opt out: go to www.optoutprescreen.com/form . This is the Electronic Opt-out that is good for 5 years. Fill out your name, social security number, date of birth, address, and telephone. Once submitted it will take about 5 days for your name to be dropped from their list. Or call 1-888-567-8688 to start the process, again it will take about 5 days to be removed from the list.
Permanent Opt-Out involves mailing a form to the Opt-Out Department in Atlanta. The form can be found at the same website. It will take a bit longer to be removed from the list, but it is permanent.
If there is a chance you may need financing in the next five years and do not want an avalanche of solicitors blowing up your phone, submit the electronic opt out form for 5 years. It is easy and takes just a minute.