Credit Bureaus Selling
Your Information!
By Jeanette Joy Fisher
It's not well known, but if you
have recently applied for mortgage credit, the
information you shared was probably sold within
twenty-four hours of your application. Credit bureaus
commonly sell what they term "trigger lists" of folks
who have recently contacted mortgage lenders for rates
or loan preapproval and have given loan officers
permission to check into their credit.
These leads are being bought by data marketing companies
who then resell the information to lenders who are
interested in trying to entice you to use their lending
services. The information the data marketing companies
provide is valuable, because it tells lenders everything
about your creditworthiness before lenders pitch you
their offers.
One such company is Mortgage Inquiry Data, which tells
lenders that they can provide access to every potential
borrower who applies for a mortgage loan within
twenty-four hours of the original request, making them
prime candidates for lending services in the immediate
future. Another company, Intellidyn, offers what it
calls IntelliAlert, which provides similar valuable
information to prospective lenders.
The data is worth a great deal to lenders, and comes
with a hefty price tag. For instance, Intellidyn charges
$31,395/month for its "platinum" level information, for
which Intellidyn promises to let lenders know about
every mortgage inquiry or application in any designated
area in the U.S.
Just what other sort of information is being sold?
Mortgage Inquiry Data also sells credit scores, open
mortgage balances, monthly payments, loan-to-value
rations, revolving credit card balances, and other
personal credit information besides just marketing
application information. All this leads to ethics
questions in the minds of many bankers, who generally
have to pay to get the information, only to then see it
sold to other lenders who may be in direct competition
with them for home loans.
Of the three major credit reporting firms, Equifax and
Experian have publicly confirmed that they sell trigger
lists within twenty-four hours, but TransUnion has yet
to comment. However, Equifax and Experian both state
that such lists aren't in violation of any laws.
Instead, they view them as simply fresher versions of
preapproved credit lists they have routinely sold to
lenders for many years.
One of the most disturbing things about this process is
that even if you don't want your credit information
shared, there's currently no option available for
refusing to allow it to be sold. However, consumer
protection agencies in several states are looking into
the practice, and you can personally express your
disapproval by contacting the Federal Trade Commission.
Copyright Jeanette J. Fisher
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Jeanette
Fisher teaches how to get out from under credit card debt,
how to use credit to make money, and six ways to
build strong credit to finance your first home and
multiple investment properties. For a free credit
advice and free ebook "Credit Tips for Mortgage
Financing," see
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