Opt Out of Uninvited Mortgage Offers

Tim Summers, a vice president at Experian, one of the three dominant national credit bureaus, wrote in an e-mail that his company's "Prospect Triggers" program "provides consumers with choice and potentially significant cost savings by delivering relevant information at the decision-making point instead of weeks after a mortgage lending choice has been made."

Summers said the program meets "all requirements" under federal credit and privacy statutes.

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers disagrees. When credit bureaus sell overnight trigger lists to third-party lead generators, the brokers argue, they fail to comply with a key provision of the Fair Credit Reporting Act: that anyone receiving consumers' personal information must be in the position to make a "firm offer of credit" or have previously received permission from the consumer to obtain credit file data. Third-party lead generators obtain no permission and are in no position to make credit offers, firm or otherwise.

The brokers also contend that even lenders who obtain trigger lists may not be in the position to make the firm offers that the law requires. A firm offer for a mortgage is vastly different from a firm offer for, say, a credit card. The mortgage process is more complex, and rates and fees are more difficult to quote on the basis of a credit score alone.

To make a firm loan quote, DeLoach said, "you need to know a consumer's income, you need to have an appraisal" -- you need to know a lot more than telephone marketers have in hand.

The biggest problem, however, may be the confusion that overnight trigger marketing brings to the mortgage business. Your local lender or broker quotes you one rate and estimated fees. But now one or more outside lenders -- whose reputation for honesty or service you know nothing about, and who are in possession of your personal financial data without your permission -- intervene and offer a lower rate.

Are the rate quotes for real? Or will they morph into costly bait-and-switch deals weeks or months from now?

You really can't know. But what you can do is remove yourself from all potential trigger list come-ons by opting out. Much as with the federal Do Not Call program, you can opt out of pre-screened offers by going to http://www.optoutprescreen.com/ or by calling this toll-free number: 888-567-8688.

Kenneth R. Harney's e-mail address isKenHarney@earthlink.net.