Protect your Privacy – Prescreen Offers and the Do NOT Call List

Opt-Out Prescreen before you Apply

Protect your Privacy! Are you thinking of getting pre-approved? Kevin Retcher, owner of First meridian Mortgage and KSA Insurance Agency says, “Before you call First Meridian Mortgage or any other lender, you should consider opting out of prescreen offers otherwise known as Trigger Leads.” Why you ask? If you apply for a mortgage and are not on the opt-out list, the 3 major credit bureaus—Equifax, Transunion, and Experian—will sell your contact information to anyone that will buy it based on the fact you had a mortgage credit report pulled. While I believe competition is great—privacy is better.

For a free Flyer on how to opt out click www.firstmeridianmortgage.con/optout.pdf

Lack of Privacy if you have not Opted Out

The bureaus will sell your name, email, credit scores, every phone number, and addresses on file. They do not just sell these to one person. They will sell that information to as many clients as they can. First, you will start to begin to receive phone calls, then texts and notifications all hours of the day for about a week. In a particular case, one client of mine had received a combination of 94 texts, emails, and unwanted calls after two credit pulls. Keep in mind if you get pre-approved with more than one lender on different days, you are now on multiple lists and the process starts all over again.

A key note is that many of the text or emails misrepresent their sender, or try tricking you into thinking they are the lender you applied with. They often use verbiage that try to solicit or make you responding/reapply.

The only argument to accepting this torture is that if one of the multiple calls or numerous emails would result in a deal better than the one provided. However, I would argue that the trusted referral, repeat service, and research done on line will be a better choice than the random company with high pressure sales tactics.

What are Trigger Leads

Trigger leads are the bureaus making money by selling your information. It begins when you have someone pull your credit for a variety of reasons. They then sell that information to as many clients that will buy it. This practice has gotten worse as the business has slowed. The average cost of a credit check for a pre-approval has tripled in recent months to an average of $125 for married couple and $65 for a single client with three credit bureaus. It is cheaper for a client to buy trigger leads than to actually do the work. Money for them, unwanted calls after a credit pulling for you.

Stop Trigger leads, Stop Selling my information

The FCRA provides you the right to “Opt-Out”, which prevents Consumer Credit Reporting Companies from providing your credit file information. You can Opt-Out and protect yourself here. The consumer has three options:

Opt-IN (which I cannot suggest)
Opt-OUT for 5 years (phone and email)
Permanent Opt-Out of Mail

You will need your name, address, SSN and DOB to Opt-Out. The biggest reason to submit to the list is the fact that senders are using your personal data as a product without your permission. They do not monitor the ways the info is used, nor know the legitimacy or reputability of the offers. They are only in it for the money! They are searching for the highest bidders, opening you up to lost time, potential scams, and potentially more costly deals.

DO-Not-Call List or National Do not Call Registry

The National Do Not Call Registry is a list of phone numbers from consumers who have indicated their preference to limit the telemarketing calls they receive. The registry is managed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency. It is enforced by the FTC, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and state officials.

For FAQ on the Do-NOT-Call List, click here.

Registering will not keep bonified business relationships from being able to contact you (they are allowed to continue for up to 18 months), but it will keep a number of solicitations to a minimum.

Will the Registry stop ALL unwanted calls?

No. The Do Not Call Registry stops sales calls from companies that do not have a previous established relationship with you. The Registry provides a list to telemarketers detailing what numbers they are not supposed to call. The FTC does not and cannot block calls—that is not what they do. Furthermore, the Registry cannot stop calls from scammers who ignore the Registry.

One reason people get a lot of unwanted calls is because it’s easy and cheap for scammers to call people anywhere in the world. Skilled in masking their calls with local numbers, scammers can make it difficult for the consumer to identify them. To get fewer unwanted calls, read the Federal Trade Commission’s article. Between cell phones, landlines, and home phones with access to internet (VoIP), there are different call-blocking and call-labeling options to implement.

You can find a list of some call-blocking and call-labeling apps for cell phones at ctia.org, a website for the U.S. wireless communications industry. For company-specific information about blocking calls on landlines and phones that use the internet, go to the FCC’s Call Blocking Resources.

Register on the National Do Not Call Registry

It is simple and easy to Register

All you have to do is to go to DoNotCall.gov

Click Register my phone
Then you can verify your Registration also
This only take a minute or two to do.