Confused by credit come-ons? Protect your privacy.

Confused by credit come-ons? Help protect your privacy.

Joe Bartolotta Florida's Upfront Mortgage Broker 407.340.0220
http://www.joebartolotta.com/ Fidelity Mortgage Services

I am reading the "Your Money" section of the Sunday Orlando Sentinel and the title says "Confused by Credit Come-Ons?". It piques my interest so I read the entire article and decide it is a good topic to share in my blog. Anika Myers Palm, a Sentinel Staff Writer, wrote the article.

The story starts out with a woman who really wanted to buy a house. After applying for a mortgage, she gets inundated with offers from other financing companies telling her they can do better and that she isn't getting the best deal. One caller even told her that she might already be in default even though she hadn't even made her first payment.

The woman stated, "when it first started happening, I was opening the mail and I panicked".

Who is to blame for this happening to her? The mortgage company she applied to? The credit bureaus?? I guess it depends on whom you talk to, but in my opinion, the blame rests solely on the credit bureaus. I tell you why a little later.

When we (mortgage companies, loan officers) check a person credit report, our search is encoded with information that indicates the consumer is applying for a mortgage. Third party companies buy and sell this information; some people refer to this information as "trigger leads". These trigger leads are sold and other mortgage companies then call and mail the individual.

Who's to blame? Mortgage companies say that the problem is the individual may not know it is another company calling them and supply additional information to them that will in turn trigger another credit check. This potentially could throw confusion into the loan process. The credit industry says that mortgage companies are just a little bitter because the market has turned in the last few years. Regardless of who is to blame, consumers need to be aware that this takes place.

I have been charting the trigger leads generated by my own inquires. I have found that if you enter only the minimum information needed, the client receives very little contact from other companies vs. entering everything and having the client contacted by everyone under the sun. By minimum, I mean name, address and social security number. I do not enter birth date, employment info, income, etc on the application while I am pulling the clients credit report, I save that for after I have received the report.

I feel the blame lies on the credit bureaus because they are SELLING this information. They are trying to say they are giving the consumer more choices of which to choose from. I feel they are giving away someones personal information to anyone willing to pay the price but in the end, the consumer is the one that pays the price in numerous ways. Identity theft is just one way that all consumers pay the price.

There are a few things consumers can do to "opt-out", one is to call 1.888.567.8688 or visit http://www.optoutprescreen.com/. The consumer will be asked to enter some personal information, which the FTC says is confidential, and will only be used to process the request. In conjunction with opting out, the consumer should visit www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailing to remove themselves from receiving notices about new businesses in the community, coupons or catalogs unless the consumer has directly signed up for them.If anyone has any other ideas or suggestions, please feel free to share them in the comments section.