All we wanted was a small second mortgage to complete a combination retaining/support wall on our apartment building. We completed the financial statements required, the application which duplicated the financial statement requests, provided the supporting documentation through tax records and bank statements, but what we DID NOT DO is sign up for a bazillion calls from other mortgage companies! Our home line was ringing off the hook and caller ID proclaimed some pretty exotic mortgage company names. Many of the mortgage solicitor's scripts began, "As a result of your recent inquiry about a mortgage . . . ".
We frowned and questioned until the light bulb finally lit. We had hit the trigger list! How annoying.
A vague recollection fuzzed through my brain that there was a brouhaha with the credit unions about selling trigger lists. Somehow it seemed this practice had been discontinued, but our experience supported the belief it had not. The information about the brouhaha can be found at Rain City Guide with several other supporting entries that one might find helpful.
Since our application was in late October of 2008 and the settlement occurred in July, it's obvious the practice is still in place. Knowing that my personal financial information is being sold to the world is not a comforting thought. Getting the calls was even more frustrating. How long does it take to make a change that the courts mandate? Or is it that only TransUnion has discontinued the practice and others have not? Either way, trigger lists are still being used and it's totally annoying!
Thanks, Alex. I had that info in the post I linked above, but it's good to have it pointed out here as well.
From my previous post: "If you don't want your name to appear on "trigger lists", you can opt out by calling 1-888-567-8688 or by going online here. This option will also remove your name from all those "pre-approval" offers that overflow your mailbox!
Posted by: Bonnie Erickson | November 09, 2008 at 09:08 PM
Easy Solution to avoid getting hammered by trigger list pulls: www.optoutprescreen.com
Gets you off these trigger lists (and stops pre-approved credit offers) for 5 years or for life if you are willing to mail in a form.
Posted by: Alex Stenback | November 07, 2008 at 02:04 PM