Have you ever noticed how immediately after you apply for credit (like for a mortgage, credit card, or car loan), you immediately get spammed with solicitations?
Well, that is because Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the credit reporting companies (Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union) are permitted to sell your information to creditors so these creditors can make you additional credit offers? It seems ludicrous right? Seriously, the FCRA allows this to happen because, in a weird way, it is believed to be in the consumer’s best interest.
These solicitations are frustrating and can sometimes go on and on for days or weeks after you initially apply for credit. Once your credit report has been run by a creditor, solicitors can sometimes bombard you with unwanted phone calls and text messages within minutes. Rest assured that we have not sold your information. Rather, it is the credit bureaus who sell your information, often multiple times, which includes your phone number and/or email address if they have it on record. So, if you applied for a credit card six months ago and gave your contact information, the bureaus likely captured it and sold it to these solicitors. This is why it is important to protect yourself as a consumer.
One of the actions you can take to shield yourself from these solicitors is to opt-out of the lists they use. You can do this by going to www.optoutprescreen.com and signing up to opt-out of firm credit offers. Once you’ve opted-out it may take up to 5-days for your request to become effective with the credit bureaus. During these 5 days you can still apply for credit but beware that your request to opt-out will likely not be in full effect and you may still receive those unwanted solicitations. Therefore, if you want to avoid getting these solicitations, you will want to complete the opt-out steps, then wait at least 5 days before applying for any new credit.
On the flip side, there are people who like to receive these solicitations and if you do, you should not opt-out. There is a positive to receiving these solicitations and that is that it confirms you have good credit. If you did not have good credit, it is likely that you would not receive these solicitations. So, it is somewhat of a compliment when you get these calls and texts because it confirms your credit must be pretty good.
If you want to Opt-Out, Follow these Steps:
- Go to www.optoutprescreen.com.
- After reading the details of what it means to “opt-out”, scroll to the bottom of the page and select “Click Here to Opt-In or Opt-Out”.
- Next, be sure to select the second option at the bottom of the next page as shown below and select “Continue”.
- Last, enter all your personal information and complete the security test. Once done, click “Confirm” at the bottom of the page and you’re all set!
