Opting Out question

Anonymous · ‎08-23-2019

If I opt out through the opt out website, does it opt out everyone for pre screened offers at my home address (say myself, spouse and daughter) or just me?

Remedios · ‎08-23-2019

Hi @Anonymous and welcome to the forums

It will only opt out person named in the request.

Anonymous · ‎08-23-2019

Thanks @Remedios

Can I still directly apply to a lender for a card after opting out? In other words, does it prevent an approval like a freeze would? Thanks!

Anonymous · ‎08-23-2019

You can apply and get approvals - it doesn’t freeze your reports for when credit is requested. It only blocks lenders from soft pulling your reports with the intent to market their products to you.

Remedios · ‎08-23-2019

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks @Remedios

Can I still directly apply to a lender for a card after opting out? In other words, does it prevent an approval like a freeze would? Thanks!

You can apply, but you wont be able to check preapprovals, prequals or get unsolicited mail.

It takes a bit for opt out to actually start working, as letters and such re prepared anywhere from couple of months ago to few weeks ago, so you will still see some mail coming your way.

If you change your mind, you'd want to go to the same website, repeat the process, except this time to opt in.

DaveInAZ · ‎08-23-2019

@Remedios wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks @Remedios

Can I still directly apply to a lender for a card after opting out? In other words, does it prevent an approval like a freeze would? Thanks!
You can apply, but you wont be able to check preapprovals, prequals or get unsolicited mail.
It takes a bit for opt out to actually start working, as letters and such re prepared anywhere from couple of months ago to few weeks ago, so you will still see some mail coming your way.

If you change your mind, you'd want to go to the same website, repeat the process, except this time to opt in.

@Anonymous- You are talking about: https://www.optoutprescreen.com ?

I opted out for about a year back in 2017, I was getting too many personal loan offers with pre-approval codes and we were having a problem with mail theft in the area. It does work pretty fast, mail offers stopped in a week or two. It does stop you from getting pre-approvals on CC sites, Capital One even said with "no offers" that it appeared that I had opted out of pre-qual offers. But it in no way prevents a lender from pulling your credit report if you apply for something.

They caught the mail thieves so opted back in earlier this year, it's kind of nice to have offers in the mail again. Well, mostly.

RobertEG · ‎08-23-2019

The opt out provision of the FCRA does not pertain in any way to inquiries related to applications for credit initiated by a consumer.

It applies ONLY to the special category under FCRA 604(c) of "inquiiries" where a credtior with whom a consumer has NOT initiated any request for credit is seeking a CRA screening list of consumer names and addresses of those whose credit files are found to meet certain screening critteria.

"Opting Out" is the specific provision of the statute that permits a consumer to bar the CRA from including their name in any listing that is provided by a CRA to potential creditors with whom the consumer has not inititated any request for credit of screened names and addresses of consumers whose files meet criteria provided to the CRA. Obtaining of such listings is generally referred to as a "promotional inquiry," and coded as such by the CRA. The FCRA explicitly prevents such listings from including any account specific information, or any record of the inquiry from being included in any credit report made to anyone other than the named consumer, which is the definition of a so-called "soft inquiry."

Thus, opting out has NO impact on whether or not an inquiry for a consumer's complete credit report can be or is povided by the CRA.

That determination is based solely upon whether or not the inquiry is for one or more of the permissible purposes provided under FCRA 604, with the additional consideration of whether any fraud alert or freeze has been imposed by the consumer.

Fraud alerts and freezes apply only to obtaining individual credit reports, and NOT to obtaining listings of names/addresses under the special provisions of the so-called "promotional inquiry" procedure under section 604(c).

In summary, fraud alerts and freezes put limitations upon obtaining a consumer's full, individual credit report, while "opting out" places limits on obtaining a listing of consumers who meet screening criteria.

Two totally different processes.