About “Trigger Leads”

What are “Trigger Leads”

When a consumer applies for credit and consents to a credit check, a bank pulls their credit report to evaluate their application. This action “triggers” the national credit bureaus to sell your contact information – to other institutions or lenders who do not have a relationship with the bank or customer – once a credit inquiry appears on your credit report. Usually these offers are more annoying than anything else, but sometimes your information may be sold to someone who is trying to trick or scam you. Bank customers in recent years have reported a dramatic increase in unwanted calls, text messages, emails and other solicitations, with some designed to deceive customers into believing the solicitations are coming from the bank where they applied for credit.

Trigger leads were created by the three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. This practice is legal under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which pre-empts all but a few very specific state laws passed before 1971. There is little states can do to regulate trigger leads. Essentially, the credit bureaus can sell your contact information within 24 hours of your mortgage application to anyone who wants a list of people applying for mortgages. While advocates of trigger leads say they provide more choice to the consumer, most people find it confusing and annoying to be contacted with unsolicited offers.

Recently, the American Bankers Association urged Congress to pass legislation to ban the practice of credit reporting firms selling consumer contact information to lenders who then barrage those same consumers with unwanted solicitations. In a letter to lawmakers, the association expressed support for S. 3502 and H.R. 7297, both of which would eliminate abusive mortgage “trigger leads” and limit prescreened credit offers to consumers who consent or who have a preexisting relationship with a financial institution.

CCNB does not sell your contact information to other lenders, but we cannot stop the credit bureaus from doing so.

According to the ABA, “Trigger leads” can damage banks’ relationships with their customers, who often mistakenly believe it was their bank that sold their information,” ABA said. “In reality, banks carefully safeguard their customers’ privacy and it is consumer reporting agencies who sell trigger leads. Nonetheless, this misconception can erode customers’ trust in their banks and in the financial system.”