After applying for a personal loan or mortgage, an applicant’s information can be sold by credit bureaus to other lenders. Those lenders can then reach out with other offers. The leads can prompt unsolicited calls, texts, and mail.

During the course of reviewing a loan application, we will request your credit report and credit score from the major credit bureaus. All three national credit bureaus have ‘event-based trigger’ programs, which identify you to be in the market for new credit in the near-term based on certain changes in your credit profile. In this case, the fact that you are applying for a mortgage may indicate that you are likely to be shopping for a mortgage. Other lenders purchase this information and will contact you quickly in an attempt to win your business before you close your loan.

Event-based trigger programs are legal, even if you don’t particularly like them. They meet all Fair Credit Reporting Act regulations and guidelines and are presently offered by all three national credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion). Consumer information could vary depending on the credit bureau providing the trigger notification service, but lenders may purchase a list that includes your name, address, inquiry type, credit score, and other optional data attributes. They may buy your phone number from a third-party provider.

 

If you have joint credit relationships, like a mortgage or a car loan with a spouse, partner or other adult, you may continue to receive pre-screened solicitations until both exercise your opt-out right. Opting out has no effect on your credit score or your ability to apply for or obtain credit or insurance. Requests to opt out are processed within five days, but it may take up to 60 days before you stop receiving pre-screened offers. Calling the opt-out line or visiting the website will stop the pre-screened solicitations that are based on lists from the major consumer reporting companies. You may continue to get solicitations for credit and insurance based on lists from other sources. For example, opting out won’t end solicitations from local merchants, religious and charitable associations, professional and alumni associations, and companies with which you already conduct business. To stop mail from groups like these — as well as mail addressed to ‘occupant’ or ‘resident’ — you must contact each source directly.