So you've applied for a mortgage with us and, within hours, you're getting flooded with offers for other lenders.This happened because when we check your credit to provide you a rate quote, one (or more) of the national credit bureaus takes our inquiry and sells it to other lenders.
This selling of "hot prospects" is a very lucrative side business for the bureaus -- who staunchly defend their right to sell applicants' personal financial information. (After all, they're the ones who provided us -- for a fee -- with your credit score, credit card balances, and other financial information, to begin with.)
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers disagrees. It argues that when credit bureaus sell overnight trigger lists to third-party lead generators, they fail to comply with a key provision of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
When we check your credit, we are unable to tell the credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax) not to sell our inquiry to other lenders. However, you can opt out of uninvited mortgage offers by visiting http://www.optoutprescreen.com or by calling (toll-free) 888-567-8688.
Opting-out via the optoutprescreen.com web site will prevent you from receiving "firm offers" for credit and/or insurance for five years. To permanently opt-out, you will need to complete and submit the Permanent Opt-Out Election form available through the web site
The Washington Post has published an excellent article on this topic, which you can read here.
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