Opt-out of credit bureau marketing lists

By Lisa Phillips on Feb 17th, 2012 in Credit Repair

Experian, Equifax and Transunion are multi-million dollar companies. Consumers may only think of them as credit reporting agencies but they are much more.

The major credit reporting agencies not only store massive amounts of often erroneous, inaccurate information about your credit habits; they also gather and sell your personal credit information to potential banks, lenders, credit card companies, insurance companies, landlords and even employers.

Your private credit information is sold to telemarketers, marketing and mailing list companies. It is a sure bet that all three major credit reporting agencies has sold and profited off your private credit information.

Six Reasons to Opt Out

1. Mortgage Loan Marketing Lists. One of the most popular marketing lists credit reporting agencies sell are of those which contain information about consumers shopping for a mortgage loan. As soon as an inquiry from a mortgage company hits your credit reports, your information is packaged and sold to junk debt buyers and collection agencies.

(Now do you realize how that old debt ended up on your final escrow documents?) Anyone getting a mortgage knows that before your loan is funded, the lender will require you to pay off collection debts.

2. Unpaid Debts. If you have outstanding unpaid debts you may want to stay invisible to the credit reporting agencies until those debts are either paid or become uncollectible due to Statute of Limitations.

Junk debt buying has become a billion dollar industry full of violations, fraud and deceit. The debt buying industry continues to grow and often the debts they are collecting are erroneous and uncollectible by law.

3. Trigger Leads. The credit reporting agencies make money in several ways, one of them includes selling your private credit information. Your credit files are regularly sold, often without your knowledge or permission.

They also engage in “trigger leads.” A trigger lead occurs when you apply for a loan and the lender obtains your credit files. The inquiry now becomes part of the credit bureau’s trigger lead program.

4. Unshared Profits. Credit reporting agencies should not be able to profit from selling your information. You are entitled to one free report every 12 months. That report does not come with your credit score, that is an extra fee. Yet, the credit bureaus profit daily off of your information by packaging and selling it. It’s an unfair system and until more restraints are put on the credit reporting agencies, you need to opt out and take control of your credit information.

5.  Permission Not Granted. Do you recall opting in? When did you give permission for your information to be sold on the open market and you not get any portion of the profit? If you have bad credit you are especially valuable to the credit reporting agencies.

Credit card companies and other lenders will offer you credit but it will be at ridiculous interest rates. When you dispute an error on your credit report, there is little incentive for correcting mistakes.  Bad credit is a lucrative business for banks and lenders.

6. Take Control. When you opt out you prevent your credit information  from appearing on the credit bureaus’ marketing lists. They cannot include your name on any marketing list or sell your credit history information.

To opt out today go to www.optoutprescreen.com or call (888) 5-OPTOUT or (888) 567-8688 . By opting out online your information will not be sold for 5 years. If you prefer to permanently opt out you will have to put your request in writing.