@rootpooty wrote:
i opted out 6 months ago cleaned up my reports and im wondering if i should opt back in. what are the advantages/disadvantages of being opted out or in? just wondering cause ive been to about 4 different lenders to do an online prequal and they have all told me they are unable to locate me. does this have anything to do with being opted out? also while im opted out I wont recieve credit card offers in the mail right?
You'd want to be opted out when apping for a mortgage. You might know the reason but for others reading this, opting out prevents the CRAs from selling your info. It's not uncommon to have a CA subscribe to your CRs. While opted in, the CRAs will notify the CA of your mortgage app. As a result, the CA will often start reporting on the knowledge that your lender might require you to pay the debt as a condition to approval. Opting out prevents the CRAs from selling your info and cuts off the decision making process by the CA because they can't see the mortgage inquiry.
The downside to being opted out is that you won't get pre-approved offers from lenders you don't do business with now. You won't get those offers because the CRAs won't sell them your info. You also lose out on volumes of junk mail. But opting out will not prevent you from applying for credit. I've opened up CCs, a personal loan, and a mortgage all while opted out. Opting out will not have any impact on applying for credit.
If there are issues applying online, then that's a different issue outside of being opted out. That could be indicative of something going on within one or more of your reports (because they'll pull all 3 at once). I would pull all 3 reports. Look for any credit freeze or fraud alert. Also make sure your current address, name, and DOB on your CRs all match the info provided to the lender. All it takes is for one current creditor to mess up your name or address and that'll cause your current info to chang eon your CR. If a lender sees that it isn't matching up with what you are telling them, then it could come back as questionable in their eyes. But start with your current, full reports directly from the CRAs first (or free from annualcreditreport).
