(NewsNation) — Americans who apply for mortgages would be shielded from receiving unsolicited commercial offers under a measure signed Friday by President Trump.
The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act restricts when credit rating agencies may sell to third parties the personal information of mortgage applicants undergoing a credit check. Data brokers and lenders have bought these so-called “trigger leads,” resulting in a barrage of spam offers to mortgage applicants.
“We’re going to make it easy for people to buy a home without getting hassled. For years, their private, personal information has been bought and sold in the open market, resulting in them getting innumerable phone calls and text messages,” House sponsor Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn., said at a White House bill-signing with Trump. “We’re going to put an end to that so that when Americans try to realize the American dream of owning a home, they’re able to do so without being harassed.”
Under the law, an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a third party may send offers with prior authorization from a borrower or if they have an existing financial relationship with the consumer. It takes effect in 180 days.
How ‘trigger leads’ have been abused
Consumer groups and financial and home industry associations have expressed support for the bill.
“Entities that have no relationship with the consumer are buying trigger leads as soon as a customer applies for a mortgage — and then bombarding the applicant with hundreds of confusing calls that seek to lure them away from their chosen lenders. Naturally, consumers often call to complain to the mortgage lender they have chosen, accusing that company of selling their data,” organizations, including the American Bankers Association, said in a letter to congressional leaders earlier this year.
