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Opting Out of Trigger Leads

How To "Opt" Out of Trigger Leads
Applying for financing can lead to some of the most exciting times in your life, but it will also result in you receiving marketing from other lenders.  At The Bank & Trust we are here not only to help you succeed through the lending process, but also to help mitigate the amount of unwanted solicitations you will receive.

When you apply for credit or financing, your lender pulls your credit report. This is known as a hard inquiry.

That inquiry automatically “triggers” lenders that you’re looking for new credit. Those lenders purchase inquiry data from the major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and Transunion and your information is passed on as a "Trigger Lead".

Yes! The good news is that you have options that can help reduce or eliminate the unsolicited contact that results from triggered leads as well as from prescreened offers for credit and insurance.
The National Do Not Call Registry was created to stop unwanted sales calls. It’s free to register your home or cell phone number.
 

How to register for Do Not Call:
  • Go to donotcall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222 (TTY: 1-866-290-4236) from the phone you want to register. If you register your number at DoNotCall.gov, you’ll get an email with a link you need to click on within 72 hours to complete your registration.
  • It can take up to 31 days for sales calls to stop.
  • If you continue to receive unwanted calls after your number is on the National Registry for 31 days, you can report it to the FTC.

Not sure if you’re already registered for Do Not Call? You can check whether your number is on the Registry at DoNotCall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the number you want to verify.

You can decide that you don't want to get prescreened offers of credit and insurance in the mail.
  • To opt out for five years: Go to optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688). The major credit bureaus operate the phone number and website
  • To opt out permanently: Go to optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688) to start the process. To complete your request, you’ll need to sign and return the Permanent Opt-Out Election form (which you get online) once you’ve started the process

When you call or visit optoutprescreen.com, you’ll be asked for your personal information, including your name, address, Social Security Number, and date of birth. The information you give is confidential and will be used only to process your request to opt out.

Requests to opt out are processed within five days, but it may take several weeks before you stop getting prescreened offers. This is because some companies may have received your information before your opt out request was processed.