For years people have been victims of trigger leads! They either had no idea they had been victimized or had no idea what to do about it! I believe that to be the case today as well. So, let’s start by defining what a trigger lead is!
When you apply for a loan (since my loan expertise is centered in mortgages, we will consider a loan as a mortgage), the lender’s representative will request a credit report from the major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and Trans Union. An inquiry is then generated on your credit report record. The inquiry generates a query from lenders who pay a fee to receive that information. The bureaus sell your information to lenders who order those queries. They now have a “fresh (new) lead”; someone who just applied for a loan!
In an effort to solicit your business, a lender representative from that company will now call you or send a letter to indicate that they are available to provide a loan to you at a very aggressive interest rate! Some companies even do things to make it appear that they are from the same company/bank where you have actually applied for your loan! Deceptive? Perhaps, but they are, with a few exceptions, acting within the limits of the law!
The result is that you now have the lender you chose to assist you in obtaining your loan and one or several other lenders trying to lure you to do business with them! They will tell you they have a better interest rate, lower closing costs or some other enhancement that your chosen lender has not offered. My advise… stick to the company that you researched and chose initially! I have my soap box theories on this type of solicitation, but will keep this post professional! But, the last thing you need or want is someone trying to make you take your eye off the ball when you are involved in a transaction that for many, is the largest purchase you have ever made!
So what to do? The first thing would be to call and register on the Do Not Call Registry. Some will say you do not need to register your cell phone, but it doesn’t hurt to do so. The National Do Not Call Registry can be found here. https://www.donotcall.gov/register/reg.aspx or you can call 1-888-382-1222 or 1-888-5OPT OUT.
You can also stop or greatly reduce your mail solicitations regarding credit by contacting the major bureaus. Once you restrict your information with them, they can no longer include your information to companies purchasing leads through various queries. The three major bureaus are as follows:
Experian
NCAC
P.O. Box 9556
Allen, TX 75013
Office in TX: 1-888-397-3742
Business: 1-888-211-0728
Equifax Information Services
P.O. BOX 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374
Business Line (also has option for Personal): 1-888-202-4025
Office in GA: 1-800-685-1111
Dispute Fax #: 1-888-826-0573
Business: 1-802-304-0364
General: 1-800-797-6801
TransUnion
Customer Disclosure Center
Trans Union Consumer Relations
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022-2000
Office in PA: 1-800-888-4213
1-888-259-6845 (6am-12 pacific time)
1-800-916-8800 (consumer relations)
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