We’ve all been there – buying that new car, a house, even shopping for a credit card or personal loan. Without fail, it seems like the very moment we let one entity pull our credit, we’ve doomed ourselves to an endless amount of spam calls from a call center in Des Moines for the exact product we’re shopping for (how coincidental, right?).
So how does that happen? The short story is that there are companies across many different industries that purchase “Credit Trigger Leads”, which provide them a lead that they KNOW is looking for exactly what they’re selling (they know that Bob over at the local Dodge dealer just ran your credit for that gorgeous TRX pickup; or in our case, a home loan).
What is a “Credit Trigger Lead”? The format and origins vary depending on the provider of the service, but these are personal information packets, sold by the credit bureaus, to various companies once your credit has been pulled.
Now for the real question – Is it avoidable? YES! Well, at least for the most part…We can’t promise you won’t get any calls ever again, but for a few years now we’ve shared this link with our clients, and it genuinely does cut down on the number of calls when completed. BEFORE you get your credit pulled, open a separate window on your computer or smartphone and type in www.optoutprescreen.com in order to stop credit agencies from selling your information for an extra buck (unless of course, you enjoy all the cold calls). Important note: it takes up to 5 business days for the opt out to take hold (read: if you complete the opt out, then have credit pulled before 5 business days have elapsed, it won’t work!)
As always, we are happy to address any questions / concerns you may have.
Cheers,
Drew (& Team)
