How do they know?

[Anonymous]

okay i dont know what happened in the first post, but anyways.

thanks to you guys my scores are awesome

equifax-592 in feb 08 it was 473 lowest was 463

experian-622

transunion-598

but check this out.  midland credit got deleted from all three finally(transunion is psycho! i had to dispute like 5 times) and asset acceptance fell off on its own i guess last year.  well recently i got a credit card from credit one bank. to help rebuild my credit. so look these two clowns asset acceptance and midland credit send me letters saying we know you recently applied for credit and got a card, so they want me to pay them.  what i want to know is how they even know my personal business?! i never received notice of an inquiry. anyone know?  how can i stop this?

[Anonymous]

I think anytime you apply for credit, the creditor can update your file/ personal and contact info. I purchased a vehicle back in April, and low and behold, Asset and Calvary started calling my cell phone. The phone is not even in my name, I am on someone elses plan and I pay the bill every month. I just denied that I was who they where looking for and no more calls. Anyways, they most likely did a soft INQ. saw the new account and decided to hound you for theirs. I would send them a Cease and Desist letter. Make sure you are past the SOL first. (time frame they can take legal action to sue you.) HTH Someone feel free to chime in, I'm new too.

[Anonymous]

you were on thier list and caught thier attention when the triggers were tripped (amex is very heavy into triggers as well).

what's a trigger? well anything they want to pay the cra's to alert them to. new inq's, new accounts, new addy, etc...

as for the c&d be darn sure you are sol cause you could end up being sued and being blind sided by it cause they were complying w/the law and honoring the c&d. you can try a limited c&d, something on the order of "contact me by mail only".

bear in mind this will not stop the soft inquiries, just be lucky they aren't trying to poison your score/reports by pulling hard inq's.

[Anonymous]

I guessing that is a service of the CRAs that sell to clients. Seems that these CAs had been monitoring your social for collections and may have submitted this to the CRAs. When your CR got better the CRA notified them. They might also be watching your credit by them selves. Look for soft hits too.

This next part is illegal for anyone else but you. I wonder if companies do this anyway. Look for soft hits as your self on days you might not have pulled a soft hit. They know your personal information and could however it being very illegal could pull your credit file in your name. It probably doesn't happen very often. I look for this myself. But it's hard to identify and even if you do harder to prove. I count my soft hits.

[Anonymous]

They know because the CRAs do exactly what was mentioned above, they alert the CAs & JDBs (through a paid subscriber service) when there is any significant movement on our CRs based on criteria chosen by their clients, the CAs & JDBs, for example "EX's Coll. Trggrs" (deliberately abbreviated to avoid search engine results).  They are all in bed together...truly sickening!

Please google EX's Coll. Trggrs (with appropriate vowels included) and read up on them a little, paying close attention not only to their own marketing pages touting this service, but the ROR reports on it.  You NEED to know this info as you are a PRIME example of what they're doing!!!

PLEASE file your own ROR on the subject, as it's very necessary that attention be drawn to this!  All along we've been duped into thinking the CRAs are "consumer-friendly" when, in fact, they are engaged in SERIOUS conflict of interest here and WE, the consumers, are the ones getting screwed in the deal.

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 I look for this myself. But it's hard to identify and even if you do harder to prove. I count my soft hits.

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Not necessarily THAT hard to prove and here's why:

we have this wonderful resource called the Internet and the CRAs are, naturally, operating through servers, just like we do, through our ISPs, leaving footprints absolutely everywhere we go while online. 

If it became necessary, the server logs could be subpoenaed in order to extract the IP addresses from which the INQs were made.  Drama?  HE11 yes... opportunity to NAIL them to the wall...worth every moment!!! 

Message Edited by WhatzUrPlan on 07-21-2008 07:56 PM

[Anonymous]

Yep, happened to us, too.

The first time I pulled our CRs about 4 months ago, DH had three medical collections. Two stated "Trying to locate consumer" and one didn't say anything. Each time, for the past several months, that I've pulled our CRs, it has said that.

JUST got three CCs each and checked our CRs @ TC. And guess what? It's changed from "Trying to locate consumer" to "Have located consumer!"

Go figger, right?!

[RobertEG]

IMHO, they appear to be monitoring your CR through a legal, permissable pull.

I presume from your post that they are a prior creditor or assignee of the original creditor, such as a colllection agency,

Under the FCRA:

FCRA § 604. Permissible purposes of consumer reports [15 U.S.C. § 1681b]

(a) In general. Subject to subsection (c), any consumer reporting agency may furnish a

consumer report under the following circumstances and no other:

…….

 (F) otherwise has a legitimate business need for the information

(i) in connection with a business transaction that is initiated by the

consumer; or

(ii) to review an account to determine whether the consumer continues to

meet the terms of the account.

If they are monitioring your CR and have a legitimate business connection with an account you had with them, or their assignor of an account you had with the assignor to them, then it appears to be a permissable pull.