Where is the permission for credit bureaus to share our information?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

They share information that is not necessary for credit decisions.  I'm just asking for an opt out.  Why shouldn't that be available?

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You don’t really know what goes into their credit decisions, you’re hazarding a guess but you don’t know. 

[stw715]

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@Anonymous wrote:

The permission we give seems to be for the potential credit company to check with the credit bureau.  However, it is obvious that everything you put on an application ends up in the system.  I have no concerns about them reporting of whether or not you paid a debt except when it is wrong.  You should have to opt in and perhaps you should be able to choose which of the three agencies you want to keep your data.  You won't get credit these days without a credit report and we have no control over what they have, what they collect, and what they give out.  So there is no harm to any potental creditor by not having a credit report. The problem is all the other information and what they do with it. I've also been told that just by stepping in a business you give them permission to check your credit.  I have a car dealer do that when it was going to be a cash purchase. While we were on the test drive they checked out credit without permission.

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Freezing all three credit reports would prevent that from happening.

[MakingProgress]

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@Anonymous wrote:

The permission we give seems to be for the potential credit company to check with the credit bureau.  However, it is obvious that everything you put on an application ends up in the system.  I have no concerns about them reporting of whether or not you paid a debt except when it is wrong.  You should have to opt in and perhaps you should be able to choose which of the three agencies you want to keep your data.  You won't get credit these days without a credit report and we have no control over what they have, what they collect, and what they give out.  So there is no harm to any potental creditor by not having a credit report. The problem is all the other information and what they do with it. I've also been told that just by stepping in a business you give them permission to check your credit.  I have a car dealer do that when it was going to be a cash purchase. While we were on the test drive they checked out credit without permission.

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They may have done it without permission, but you would have had to provide them with enough information to do it.  Possibly taken off DL, but SSN is normally required to pull your credit and there is no reason to provide that for a test drive. 

[RobertEG]

A car dealer only obtains permissible purpose to pull your credit report if you are initiating a request for credit thru them, or if the business transaction has a clear legitimate business need for them to review your credit as part of the transaction.

If you are paying cash, they would have no permissible purpose under and section of FCRA 604 upon which to base an inquiry.

If that has occured and you did not either initiate a request for credit or in some way your transaction involved some legitmate business need for them to review your credit, such as you were paying with a personal check, then you can dispute the inquiry as lacking any permissbile purpose, and/or you can file formal complaint with the CFPB or bring civil action for lack of compliance with the FCRA.

The FTC has published an advisory opinion detailing when a car dealer can pull a credit report.

If you wish to see a copy, let me know and I will post in full......

[800FICOGoal]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Credit bureaus don't share "your information" they share information about you.  A subtle, but important distinction since its not '"our information" as we don't own any of it.  In other words they collect information about consumers and share it with lenders/creditors.

Read your credit card agreements; when you apply for credit you agree for the creditors to share information about you with the credit bureaus.

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When that information can affect me legally and financially, it becomes my information. 

[RobertEG]

The FCRA grants statutory authority for a CRA to provide others with a report showing a consumer's credit history under the conditions specified in section 604.

"FCRA 604   Permissible purposes of consumer reports

[15 U.S.C. § 1681b] 

In general.  Subject to subsection (c), any consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report under the following circumstances ... "