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Is it legal.....

SShepherd

SShepherd

New member
ok, so we have a friend who's a mortgage broker. We were talking about how low interest rates are, and about a refinance. He said he'd look into the value of our home in the current market.

the rub

Evidently, the company he used PULLED OUR CREDIT REPORT. No permission, they didn't have any info-not even a SS#. How do we know? Because we have a monthly credit report statement sent to us ( to watch for fraud) and when a company checks your report it actually lowers your credit rating.

is what happened legal?
 
Everyone and their freaking uncle knows about your credit report these days, Shep.
Nothing is sacred, nothing is safe.
 
SShepherd said:
ok, so we have a friend who's a mortgage broker. We were talking about how low interest rates are, and about a refinance. He said he'd look into the value of our home in the current market.

the rub

Evidently, the company he used PULLED OUR CREDIT REPORT. No permission, they didn't have any info-not even a SS#. How do we know? Because we have a monthly credit report statement sent to us ( to watch for fraud) and when a company checks your report it actually lowers your credit rating.

is what happened legal?
Click to expand...

They had your address. That's all it takes for a skip trace.
 
yes, but is it legal?

A few years ago, state farm was running credit checks on insurance applicants and if I'm not mistaken there was a large class action lawsuit.

My credit report has nothing to do with the market value of my home.:hammer:
 
You asked your mortgage broker friend about refinancing your home and now you're asking if it's illegal that he does a credit check?
 
ok...so I did some google-fu:brows:

FCRA § 616. Civil liability for willful noncompliance [15 U.S.C. § 1681n]

"(b) Civil liability for knowing noncompliance. Any person who obtains a consumer report from a consumer reporting agency under false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose shall be liable to the consumer reporting agency for actual damages sustained by the consumer reporting agency or $1,000, whichever is greater."

From the 1998 FTC opinion letter Greenblatt at http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra/gree…

"Any person who procures a consumer report under false pretenses, or knowingly without a permissible purpose, is liable for $1000 or actual damages (whichever is greater) to both the consumer and to the consumer reporting agency from which the report is procured."

Also from the Fair Credit Reporting Act:

§ 617. Civil liability for negligent noncompliance [15 U.S.C. § 1681o]
(a) In general. Any person who is negligent in failing to comply with any requirement imposed under this title with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of
(1) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure;
(2) in the case of any successful action to enforce any liability under this section, the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the court
 
jpr62902 said:
You asked your mortgage broker friend about refinancing your home and now you're asking if it's illegal that he does a credit check?
Click to expand...

"he" didn't do a credit check, he supposedly just looked for comperable properties and their current value. evidently the company he works for did.
 
SShepherd said:
ok...so I did some google-fu:brows:

FCRA § 616. Civil liability for willful noncompliance [15 U.S.C. § 1681n]

"(b) Civil liability for knowing noncompliance. Any person who obtains a consumer report from a consumer reporting agency under false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose shall be liable to the consumer reporting agency for actual damages sustained by the consumer reporting agency or $1,000, whichever is greater."

From the 1998 FTC opinion letter Greenblatt at http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra/gree…

"Any person who procures a consumer report under false pretenses, or knowingly without a permissible purpose, is liable for $1000 or actual damages (whichever is greater) to both the consumer and to the consumer reporting agency from which the report is procured."

Also from the Fair Credit Reporting Act:

§ 617. Civil liability for negligent noncompliance [15 U.S.C. § 1681o]
(a) In general. Any person who is negligent in failing to comply with any requirement imposed under this title with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of
(1) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure;
(2) in the case of any successful action to enforce any liability under this section, the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the court
Click to expand...

Good luck with that.:hammer:
 
When we were considering moving to Florida a Realtor we contacted pulled ours without ever asking. I saw the inquiry on my credit report and wondered who it was. Took some phone calls to track down who actually asked for it. I don't worry as I have never had any problems from inquiries being made. Most employers do it as part of the job screening also. Some physicians do it before doing surgeries if they need co-pay beyond insurance.
 
Shep - Sadly, you are probably right. I think you would have to sue to get anything. Their argument would probably be that since you inquired about a refi, that represents a permissible purpose.

In the end, justice is no longer about right or wrong, it is about money. They most likely have deeper pockets and can jerk you around till your run out of money or give up.

Sad truth of the times.
 
I don’t like this idea of virtually ANYONE who pretends to have a reason can access credit reports. This is one of the things that I found that is SUPPOSED to happen but like most laws, people have ways around it.

"The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) specifies who can access your credit report and why. The FCRA states that a company must have a legitimate reason to view your credit report. Any organization or individual who obtains a copy of your credit report under false pretenses can be fined and jailed for up to a year. On CreditReport.com, you can also find information about the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT). The importance of this act is covered in one of the many articles on CreditReport.com, and the information includes facts about your right to review a monitoring report every year. Other articles on CreditReport.com provide helpful tips that can protect you against fraud and identity theft."
http://www.creditreport.com/creditreports/creditcheck/credit-report-who-can-access.aspx
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs6-crdt.htm
http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/debt-management/credit-report4.htm
 
the reason we're a bit touchy about our credit/personal info is that in the past 5 years someone has attempted to steal our identity.
One of our cc'S has been comprimised no less that 6 times, and thats AFTER we've been issued new cards with different numbers. We've also weked very hard during all this to keep our credit "lilly white", so any dip we notice and question.

I'm not sure the guy we asked actually knows our report was pulled. We'll ask him and see what he says. I have a feeling in the end it's just going to be a matter of contacting the company to get it resolved.

All this info is supposed to be pvt. for a reason........just like your SS#, for people to pull it at their whim should almost be the same as difficult as abtaining you medical records.
 
Shep i would let it blow over m8.....no matter where you go and use your debit/credit card these days companies use them details to have a little looksi to see what you buy to then send on offers on what they think you can afford....like it or not no-one as a private life when it comes to finances now...the big companies wont admit what they do but the world is rife with it...thats before the Government start looking through all your private details.

Yes it is wrong...in fact it is is damn right disgusting.....only thing you can do keep everything as secure as possible (changing passwords ect on a regular basis and not keeping unsecured details on your PC) identity theft is happening more and more these days.....other option is to deal mostly in cash like i do but if you want a credit rating then that does have negative effects as strange as it sounds.

Remember you have lost nothing so let it go m8 it aint worth the stress....it's just a piece of paper.:thumb:
 
Generally, those "you have been pre approved" letters have pulled an in file credit report. If you read the fine print, they will sometimes so state.
It is pretty easy to get a credit report on anyone. All you need is your social security number, and the credit companies already have that.
 
The credit bureaus are independent Companies. Yes there are some laws to monitor them. In truth there is little accountability for their actions.
 
Unfortunately, the answer to the original question is: "Yes, it is legal." A routine inquiry into your credit history has been made each and every time you receive an offer of credit in the mail - "What's in Your Wallet". You can find each and every one of these inquiries on your credit report, and each one will be clearly annotated with the information that you did not initiate the inquiry. If a company is thinking about extending credit to you for any reason they can query your credit record, as that is an allowed inquiry under the law.

You can request that the entry be expunged from your record, but it is up to the Credit Reporting Agency to determine if your request meets the criteria for this action.

(This data comes from Dragonfly Lady, who has many years experience in consumer, commercial, and real estate credit.)
 
Trying to correct a credit report error can be a hassle. It up to you to prove them wrong. Often this means proving a negative.

An IRS lien from 1992 showed up on one the three credit reports a couple of years back. I have tried off and on to get this corrected. I received a letter stating that they needed a copy of the release. The catch: There is no release as there never was a lien, and credit reports are only supposed to go back 6 years.

A large percentage of a loan processors workload these days involves clearing up credit.
 
This peanut has this to share.....

There are two types of inquiries. Those that impact your score and those that don't. Most of the offers you receive, employment inquiries and such do not impact your score. The one you described likely does. Do you have recourse? Yes. Is it worth the pain of fixing? Maybe not if your credit score is high enough that a single ding will be overcome by your good credit practices in a relatively short period. Should you report them? (and you can which will create some grief for them and which may be sufficient enough retribution) Yes/No depending upon your discussion with your friend and the impact on him/her. Because they would have to produce the signed document giving them permission to pull your credit (which they can't), your claim would be justified and the reporting agency would likely have to remove it at least and possibly note/report this activity. How long will this take? Good question. That depends on the reporting agency and if it involves all three. In today's environment and the emphasis on accountability in this area you are likely to get better cooperation for a situation like this as opposed to disputing a debt which could be quite involved. You'd be amazed at what you can accomplish with a well orchestrated letter writing campaign.

Hope this helps.

This comes from being married to a life long (30+yrs) banker and financial specialist.

BTW...Hi all. it's been a while I know. I hope y'all are doin OK. With the end of the governments fiscal year at my door step I should find a little more time for socializing...:smile:
 
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