If you recently applied for a mortgage, you may have already received a flood of calls, texts, or emails from lenders you’ve never contacted. The sudden outreach can feel confusing—and even concerning—especially if you’re unsure how these companies learned you were shopping for a home loan. This surge in solicitations is often the result of mortgage “trigger leads,” a legal but widely debated practice tied to credit inquiries.
First and foremost, we want you to know that United Bank did not sell your contact information.
Mortgage trigger leads are a byproduct of the credit reporting system and play a significant role in today’s lending landscape. When a consumer applies for a mortgage, the lender pulls their credit report from one or more of the major credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. That credit inquiry signals that the consumer is actively seeking financing. The bureaus can then legally sell that inquiry data—within specific guidelines—to other lenders. While the practice is legal under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), it often causes confusion and frustration during what is already a high-stress transaction.
For lenders, trigger leads present both opportunity and controversy. They offer a way to compete for business and potentially provide better rates or terms to borrowers. At the same time, some mortgage professionals argue that the practice undermines trust and disrupts established lender-borrower relationships. Industry trade groups and lawmakers have periodically discussed reforms to limit or regulate trigger lead activity.
Consumers who wish to reduce trigger lead solicitations can opt out of prescreened credit offers by visiting OptOutPrescreen.com or calling 1-888-5-OPT-OUT. Opting out does not prevent a lender from pulling credit when authorized, but it does stop the sale of trigger lead information for prescreened offers. This is not a fail-proof way to stop the trigger lead calls, but it can help to reduce them.
Ultimately, mortgage trigger leads highlight the intersection of consumer data, competition, and privacy. While they are designed to promote marketplace competition, their impact on borrower experience continues to fuel debate within the mortgage industry.
The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act (H.R. 2808) was signed into law on September 5, 2025 and is supposed to help eliminate these trigger leads. The effective date is March 5, 2026.
Remember, United Bank does not sell or share your personal information for marketing purposes. While we cannot stop this practice, we’re committed to educating our customers about how it works and giving you the power and choice to opt out of these solicitations.