Credit Report Agencies Thrive on Selling Information About Consumers
Did you know that soon after you have made your application to obtain mortgage credit, the information that you have provided in your application is being shared with lenders and only just twenty-four hours after having made your application. The fact of the matter is that credit report agencies thrive largely by selling information related to consumers - both individual and businesses - and that the amount of money transacted by various credit report agencies in making available these credit reports to interested parties is estimated to run into many billions of dollars.
Selling Trigger Lists
It is also common for these credit report agencies to sell what they call ‘trigger lists' of individuals who have recently got into touch with lenders for obtaining loan pre-approvals and who have also permitted the loan officers to check on their credit standing. In fact, credit report agencies are thriving on the demand for such information that is usually required by companies that will market such data further and who resell information such as credit information to companies and individuals that in the main are interested in lending money.
A company such as Mortgage Inquiry Data provides lenders with access to information pertaining to virtually every potential credit seeker who is applying for mortgage loans. In a similar vein, another company that deals in selling information is Intellidyn which is famous for its IntelliAlert that provides interested parties with information about borrowers just twenty-four hours after the borrower made their application for loans.
Both Experian and Equifax which are two of the top three credit report agencies have also admitted that they sell these trigger lists just twenty-four hours after applications are received from borrowers. The third credit report agencies which is TransUnion has not yet made its stand on this issue public. However, it must also be mentioned that selling of such trigger lists by credit report agencies is not in any way a violation of existing laws. These trigger lists are actually quite similar to pre-approved credit lists that have for long been sold to lenders and which has really been quite common practice over the years.
However, from the point of view of the borrower, the disturbing thing about the fact that credit report agencies sell trigger lists is that even if the borrower does not wish their credit information to be made public, they have little option and they can't stop the same from happening. The only bright side to this picture is that now-a-days, many consumer protection agencies are reviewing this practice and maybe some protection may be forthcoming that can benefit borrowers. Nevertheless, they can still let the Federal Trade Commission know that they disapprove of their credit information being shared through trigger lists.
