When your credit is pulled when you apply for a mortgage, refinance, or HELOC, credit bureaus can legally sell your information to other lenders. Once this happens, you become what’s called a trigger lead, leaving you open to a wave of unsolicited calls, letters, and emails. To limit these offers, you can opt out online in just a few steps.
Trigger leads are perfectly legal under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). While Cornerstone will never sell your information, credit bureaus can by law.
Believe it or not, trigger leads were created with good intentions. They were introduced to help borrowers compare prices and promote healthy competition. A lender might buy a trigger lead because it indicates a borrower is interested in buying or refinancing a house. Trigger leads may also be purchased by credit card, insurance, personal loan, and car loan providers.
They’re legitimate—but trigger leads can be misused. Many borrowers don’t appreciate receiving unwanted calls and emails when buying a car or a house. If your information is sold as a mortgage trigger lead, competing lenders may have access to your credit score, loan type, and even loan amount.
Don’t Become a Trigger Lead: How to Opt Out
It’s possible that trigger leads may be banned in the near future. Until then, you can prevent credit offers after a credit inquiry is made by visiting OptOutPrescreen.com or calling 1-888-5-OPT-OUT.
An opt-out takes roughly five days to go into effect.
Opting out helps reduce the amount of spam and harassment you receive for approximately five years. You also have the option to permanently take yourself off the list. A permanent opt-out request must be sent in writing by mailing a form downloaded from the site. If you change your mind, you can use the site to opt back in again later.
Questions? Reach out to your local Cornerstone loan officer.
When you opt out of becoming a trigger lead:
- You’ll be excluded from the firm offer lists sold by the four Consumer Credit Reporting Companies (TransUnion, Experian, Innovis, and Equifax).
- You won’t receive as many unwanted credit offers by letter, phone, or email.
- You’ll have the assurance that your credit file is only reviewed by those you’ve granted permission to—i.e., your mortgage lender.
- Your credit score won’t be negatively impacted. Neither will your ability to apply for credit and insurance.
Keep in mind that opting out isn’t a 100-percent guarantee. Though an opt-out request will remove you from firm offer lists within five days, you may still get offers from companies that have already received your information. You might also get offers from companies that don’t rely on Consumer Credit Reporting data to create their trigger lead lists.
To take it a step further:
- You can opt out of Direct Mail Association (DMA) lists, reducing the amount of junk mail you receive.
- Before applying for a mortgage, you can also register your phone number at www.DoNotCall.gov.
Opting out of trigger lead and do not call lists won’t limit soliciting from religious groups, alumni associations, politicians, charities, and local vendors. If you want to opt out of calls and mailers from these groups, you’ll need to contact them directly.
Although trigger leads can feel intrusive, there are some borrowers who choose not to opt out. You might allow credit offer calls and emails if you want to receive competing offers and compare loan costs. And since these offers are pre-screened, you’re unlikely to be denied. That said, it’s still important to exercise caution and ensure an offer is coming from a reputable lender.
Many lenders and lawmakers oppose trigger lead lists because they have potential to increase mortgage fraud and identity theft. While arguments have been made that credit offers help the consumer shop around, those opposed say they may promote predatory lending.
Bottom line: becoming a trigger lead might not be on your radar when you’re thinking about buying or refinancing. Since an opt-out request takes about five days to process, it’s a good idea to opt out a week or more before you apply for a mortgage. Opting out now can help you avoid becoming a trigger lead the next time your credit is pulled.
We’re Here to Make Your Life Easier
Whether it’s helping you opt out of unnecessary spam calls or working quickly and efficiently to ensure your loan closes on time: we’ve got your best interests at heart. If you’re ready to buy a house, your local Cornerstone loan officer can help you get started.
Sources deemed reliable but not guaranteed. For educational purposes only.