How to Opt-Out of "Prescreened" Offers of Credit

After applying for a loan, you might notice you are suddenly getting more "Prescreened" Offers of Credit based on information in your credit report indicating that you meet certain criteria.  How do you Opt-Out of this?

OptOutPrescreen.com

If you get lots of credit offers and want them to stop, you can request that through OptOutPrescreen.com. The service works with all the major credit reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax and Innovis) and you can use it to opt out of credit offers for 5 years or permanently—or opt back in if you decide you'd like to receive them again.

https://www.optoutprescreen.com/opt_form.cgi
Please select from the options listed below to Opt-Out of lists supplied by Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion for firm offers of credit or insurance. If you have previously completed a request to Opt-Out from receiving firm offers and would like to Opt-In, you may also complete your request on this website.
To exercise your right to Opt-Out of firm offers of credit and insurance, you'll be asked to provide your personal information set out below.

• Name
• Address
• Social Security Number
• Date of Birth

Your Social Security Number and Date of Birth are not required to process your request. However, providing this information will help to ensure that we can successfully process your request. This website’s security protocols and features are designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access or alteration. As an added security measure, we only display the last four digits of your Social Security Number on the confirmation screen. If you do not provide your Social Security Number, we will attempt to process your request without this information.
Once you click submit, you will be prompted to enter your personal information. You will have 15 minutes to complete your request.

Opt-In: Your name will be eligible for inclusion on lists used for Firm Offers of credit or insurance. Electronic Opt-Out for Five Years: Your name will not be eligible for inclusion on lists used for Firm Offers of credit or insurance for five years. Permanent Opt-Out by Mail: Your name will no longer be eligible for inclusion on lists for Firm Offers of credit or insurance (In order to complete your Permanent Opt-Out election, you must print and mail the Permanent Opt-Out Election form. See FAQ - What is Permanent Opt-Out)

After you fill out all the requested information and submit, you will get the following confirmation screen:

The following is a confirmation of your 5 year Opt-Out request. Please click here to print this confirmation for your records. Your request will be completed within 5 business days. Although your request becomes effective with Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion within five business days of your request, you may not see an immediate reduction in the amount of offers you receive. This is because your name may have already been provided to some companies that have not yet mailed their offers to you. You may continue to receive certain firm offers for several months. While your name will be removed from the lists that Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion provide to businesses for the purpose of making you a firm offer of credit or insurance, you may continue to receive offers from sources that do not use Consumer Credit Reporting Companies to compile their lists.

Date and Time: 2017/06/09 07:28:14

Tip for managing junk mail:

When junk mail does arrive, don't let it pile up. Instead, get rid of it as soon as you walk in. If you don't have a shredder, keep scissors on hand so you can cut up anything that might contain sensitive information (like credit card offers). Sorting your mail as soon as you get it will keep it from cluttering up your home.

3 precautionary steps before you apply for a loan

I got the following inviting email offer in my SPAM folder: "Reach more Qualified Prospects with Credit Bureau Data". Someone claiming to be Amorena Cervantes from Endless Resources, Inc. was offering to sell me a long list of mortgage leads based on mortgage triggers.

What are Mortgage Triggers?
When you apply for a mortgage, your lender pulls a copy of your credit report,which triggers an inquiry. The credit bureau can then turn around and sell your name to other mortgage companies who may want to compete for your business. This is called a mortgage trigger lead.

Here are some examples of information that may get sold to telemarketers:

• whether or not you've applied for a mortgage recently
• your location
• your credit rating
• your loan-to-value (LTV)
• aggregate balance of your open mortgage trades
• your combined mortgage and HELOC balances
• age of your most recent mortgage trade
• your mortgage lender name
• your current mortgage type

Is this legal?
Yes, the Fair Credit Reporting Act allows the sale of your name. That means credit bureaus can legally sell your information to third-party vendors if you don't do anything to prevent them from doing so. That's why you need to take some action to protect yourself from trigger lead harassment.

1. Sign up for OptOutPrescreen.
Go to http://www.optoutprescreen.com/ and follow the instructions. This will stop the four credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion) from selling your name as a trigger lead. Opting out puts a stop to trigger leads for five years.

Furthermore, some lenders say that by opting out, you can add 10 to 15 points to your credit score! For permanent restraint, you will need to mail in your registration, which is also available on the OptOut Web site.

Here is the confirmation message you will receive if you go through the online 5 year opt out procedure. "The following is a confirmation of your 5 year Opt-Out request. Please click here to print this confirmation for your records. Your request will be completed within 5 business days. Although your request becomes effective with Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion within five business days of your request, you may not see an immediate reduction in the amount of offers you receive. This is because your name may have already been provided to some companies that have not yet mailed their offers to you. You may continue to receive certain firm offers for several months.
While your name will be removed from the lists that Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion provide to businesses for the purpose of making you a firm offer of credit or insurance, you may continue to receive offers from sources that do not use Consumer Credit Reporting Companies to compile their lists."

2. Put your name and phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry. You can register your cell phone number as well. Do this at least a month before you apply for a loan because it takes 31 days to take effect. You'll have to re-register every five years because the order expires at the end of five years.

3. Register with the Direct Mail Association to prevent mortgage lenders from sending you direct mail. You can register online or through mail. Either way, it will cost you $1.00, which can be charged to your credit card. Register early because the DMA distributes its lists quarterly, so it could take a while to become effective. This registration is good for five years.