Trigger leads; quick, opt out before it's too late

You dont want an invasion of privacy but you are willing to enter your Social Security # on a non governmnet sanctioned website??? 

Thanks Jim.  I've heard of these trigger leads and I think it's pretty shady.  What if a clients chose to do business with me because they knew me or was referred to me, all of the sudden they get solicited by other lenders just because I pulled their credit report.  Terrible.

One of things i have been messing with is ordering the credit reports for customers WITHOUT their phone #'s. Getting the credit report. Then going back in and adding their phone # in afterwards. So far, seems to be working.
Again, i'm not sure if this actually prevents someone from getting their phone info or not. They can easily 411 it if they want.

I look at a trigger lead in a totally different manner. In my opinion, it gives the borrower an opportunity to shop around with different lenders, without lifting a finger. In this day and age, and the way the mortgage industry is today, I think it's an injustice to the borrower if he or she doesn't get at least 1 second opinion on their financing needs. Unwarranted, maybe, distasteful hardly. So many people are more than cooperative and actually grateful for the phone call and for the opportunity to get a better deal than what they've been offered. For those who are not interested, a simple no thank you will do. But think how many people were actually qualified for a purchase loan because those trigger leads triggered a lender that COULD do their loan. Lets face it, not everyone is a realtor or mortgage professional, so while these advances might be unwarranted to you, to others they are a breath of fresh air and hope!

Forgot to log in....Sorry:)

A few second opinions are great.
But when I have clients who get upset with me,
because they think we sold their information to others,
and they are getting 30 plus phone calls from "other lenders",
who are telling them "we have all of your information here, and we can get you a lower rate",
is truly a violation of privacy, annoying, and deceiving.

Jim,

Very distasteful practice, to say the least. Sadly, it's legal and you have to go opt out to be rid of those potential phone calls.

Whoa...

This may explain a recent change to a person's credit score? Right?

Has anyone checked on that yet?

As for reading the fine print I am guilty of not doing that. I guess the person I trust with these matters has some serious explaining to do. ROAR!

Odds are good the person knows all about this and has never mentioned it.

Oh. It's not Blog Boy (Broker Bryant) I'm ROARING at :)

TLW...ROAR!

This is great info to take advantage of, and also to pass along to our prospects and clients. They'll remember us as the agent who was looking out for them, even when we had absolutely nothing to gain.

It is really an invasion of privacy.  With all of the advertising and maketing, if someone wants to find a particular company, the can easily find them.  We don't need our information sold.  Thanks for the opt out information -- that is great!

wow, had no clue either.....guess I better pay attention!

I find the practice shady and distasteful. Wish there was ONE place that we could opt out of everything at once: phone calls, faxes, spam email, snail mail. I'll sure be happy if we evolve to a totally opt-in society rather than an opt-out one.

That is awful. I agree with you. I would be very unhappy to be called by someone that I did not intiate a conversation with!

Excellent suggestion, Jim.  I have opted out and have recommended that clients to so also, to prevent interception of credit offers in the mail and potential identity theft.

Sorry Jim, I question anything that asks for my social but for future reference you can "opt-out" through equifax's website.  I just felt a little safer that way.  Thank for the info though, it was really helpful. 

Jim, I can't even begin to tell you how much this issue gets under my skin. It's absolutely unacceptable that this unethical practice is allowed. I appreciate your supplying the information for us as to how to opt-out of this garbage. Thanks for sharing!

Hi there,

Going to bookmark the link for reference for anyone who might benefit from this service!

Great link to share with clients!

Thanks

Tom Davis

DE REALTOR (R)

Wow. Thanks for the info.

Great info.  Thanks for sharing.