How to get a clients report… Legally….
The Fair Credit Reporting Act was created to protect consumers in many ways… As credit professionals we use this law and many others to help consumers exercise their rights!!

 
One of the provisions of FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act), is the availability of an individuals credit history, who can view, when they can view etc… 

 
Now… here’s the catch… The law specifically spells out who can get a report and the reasons for someone to be able to get it… Unfortunately a Credit Repair, Credit Consulting, Credit Restoration or any other creative name is not specifically named as an entity that has “Permissible Purpose” to obtain a copy of a clients credit report!!!

Sooo… That means, a credit repair company cannot simply contract with a reseller or directly with the credit reporting agencies to quickly gain access to clients credit reports like banks, loan offices, auto dealers can…

Now we can certainly argue that a consumer that grants permission should be able to expeditiously get a report through the conduit of its choice… But the fact is – The credit reporting agencies DON’T like credit repair companies… So regardless of their legal ability to provide the reports to credit repair companies (Which they legally can – if they wanted to) they don’t want to promote credit repair in any way… in fact the credit reporting agencies would rather the consumers have bad credit anyway… * (that’s an article for another time…)

 
Now I know what your thinking… “ I know a Mortgage Guy that can pull reports for me”, “ I know a car salesman that can pull reports for me”…….

 
The truth is that will probably work for a little while… BUT— Short cuts are really long cuts in disguise in the long run… Many have asked me well, what can happen???

 
Remember Credit Reporting Agencies are VERY SMART!!!! They don’t like credit repair companies… They can usually “Smell them from a mile away”—- How?? Well… The Car or Mortgage guy, that has the ability to pull credit, has a permissible purpose- In his current business…. But not for you…. He has a contract with a specific vendor that states what he is allowed to pull credit for… The contract undoubtedly will state that they cannot pull for any reason other than an application for Mortgage or Auto loan,….

 
Now… Here’s what will eventually happen when you take a short cut- The Credit Bureaus SUPERCOMPUTERS will recognize that there are an abnormal amount of credit pulls coming from that certain company…. When they do- they will attempt to establish whether or not the company has expanded (So they can sell them more products)… or whether there is a non permissible purpose problem… Typically the Credit Reporting Agencies won’t care or do anything about a Permissible Purpose problem unless it is costing them $$$$$

 
Now in the example above- The SUPERCOMPUTERS will not only recognize the abnormal (or normal) amount of Pulls… It will calculate the amount of disputes that it receives after a vendor pulls credit…

 
What that means is this:
If the Credit Reporting Agencies recognize (and they will) that it is common to receive a dispute (5 out of 10) after a certain “Authorized” puller pulls a report… then they will SHUT THEM DOWN…. They will ask for proof of the permissible purpose ie; signed loan applications, borrower’s authorizations etc….

I’ve been asked “Do they really do that” … the answer is “Sometimes”…. But do you want to me one of those “Sometimes”???

 
Obviously NOT!!!

 
So.. Don’t try the shortcut… the easy route is never really easy…

 
Here’s the right way….

 
While the client is on the phone with you, go to one of the consumer sites… Consumer sites like myfico or Free Credit Report …. There are a ton of them… The ONLY one that I suggest is Myfico.com, these are the same FICO scores that lenders use…

 
So, while the client is on the phone with you, go to the consumer site of your choice and enter the client details… You will need to have the client on the phone with you because there will be security questions that only the client can answer…

 
Now all of the data can be entered and you can get to view the clients report… You will have to pay something… so have your credit card ready and be cautious of signing up for ongoing services… Make sure that any additional services are cancelled right away or you’ll wind up with a surprise when your credit card statement comes….
This is called a “Proxy” order.. A Proxy order is a completely LEGAL way for the consumer to get a copy of his/her report to you quickly… This is called a “Proxy” order because you are acting as the proxy for the consumer…
You are technically typing and using your computer for the consumer…

 Many have asked me- “Why don’t you just wait for the consumer to do it themselves”
I think we all know the answer to that one… but just in case… Most consumers will quickly lose interest so you must “get’em while they’re hot”…. Strike while you can… Control the situation by knowing how to get the report fast….

Your friend in the credit biz,
Mike Citron

 P.S. If you found this information useful- e-mail me … Give me some more motivation to keep these rants coming to you…

 
P.P.S. If you don’t like these messages Click here to make your computer EXPLODE….

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