This subject totally irks me…it is just so completely wrong. The three major credit bureaus are selling personal 
information to hundreds of mortgage companies throughout the country as soon as a credit report is pulled from a mortgage lender. You visit your preferred lender to get preapproved for a mortgage, and whammo…within hours you may start getting calls from other unscrupulous lenders who will even go so far as to pretend to be working with the preferred lender. You’ll also start noticing mailers appearing in your mailbox offering special rates and programs, too. You’re going to feel very popular and probably very annoyed.
Private information is being sold without your consent or knowledge. These mortgage companies buying these trigger list (also referred to as prescreening) are generally “fly by night
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Trigger leads are a bad proposition for all parties. The consumer gets hounded. The lead purchasers call under a suspicious “lead-in”. The original originator is faced with “noise” while trying to obtain financing.
What kind of business id built by calling someone and saying, “I can beat that quote!”
It’s terrible. I personally have been called sometimes when I work from my home office. I tell the caller I’m on the DNC list and they don’t care! Then I tell them I’m a lender and they tell me they can beat my rate.
Well let’s see. Data is a commodity; it’s worth money. The companies who want to continue to send us pre-screened credit offers know they can make big money by tapping into our credit histories.
These companies would be….the big banks, right? The banking lobby has a pretty powerful warchest of money that they can use to influence what happens in DC. I don’t see this changing anytime soon.
Rhonda, please correct me if I’m wrong: Is it mostly the huge banks that are doing this? (Capital One comes to mind).
Thanks.
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This information is available to more than just the big banks…it does cost big bucks.
Mortgage News Daily reports on an ad from one the of big 3 bureaus “There are also ads online for several companies marketing leads that sound very much as though they must be coming straight from a credit bureau. One of the most visible marketers advertises thusly:
“(Our Products) are ideal for:
• Automotive lenders
• Banks
• Credit card issuers
• Mortgage and home-equity lenders
• Retailers
Now you can dramatically increase the response rate to your pre-approved credit offers by reaching consumers at the precise time they actively are shopping for credit. With (our product), you can identify opportunities as they occur and make firm credit offers, as often as daily, to consumers who meet your credit criteria.”
One has to figure that these sales leads are available not only to lenders but also to companies who then resell them, probably in smaller packages to those seeking leads.
The last person’s comments are on target…many of these calls are being generated by large banks. It can be a real problem. The bigger issue may be the bait and switch type operators who use callers who do not understand the mortgage business itself. They are just “smiling and dialing
The consumer signs privacy disclosures with their preferred lender at application stating that their information will not be used for anything other than facilitating loan approval.
The preferred lender is not the one reselling the consumers information…the bureaus are.
This is a complete conflict of interest.
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I have had a horrid experience in the last few days with Skype.
My Skype ID was hijacked by someone else and I have been reporting it to Skype repeatedly on an hourly basis.
There was about $40.00 in my Skype out account but what I am more worried about is that it is linked to my PayPal account.
No action has been taken by Skype except to say that someone with the email of antyposter@hotmail.com has now got my Skype ID.
My many pleas for something to be done about it after that one email from Skype have not been answered.
This is a desperate plea for help from the Internet community as Skype is not responding. What can I do?
Jag, I don’t have Skype…I’ll check with a few RCG members who do to see if they have any suggestions.
Jag, I think all the RCG members are in the same boat in that we wouldn’t know how to help. Some of the other technology-related blogs, as oppose to real estate-related, might be able to get you an ear to someone at Skype. Good luck.
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Hey, you made the Real estate undressed top 7. Glad I found this post through his blog. This is good information for anyone applying for a loan. Great way to look out for your clients.
Thanks so much, Pensacola. I was really surprised how many people are not aware of what the credit bureaus have been up to. I’m very honored to be on RE Undressed’s list of top consumer posts. 🙂
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