Class Action Lawsuit Claims Experian Illegally Sells Consumer Phone Numbers to Third-Party Lenders

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

A proposed class action lawsuit claims that Experian Information Services unlawfully sells or otherwise discloses credit applicants’ telephone numbers as “trigger leads” to third-party lenders without consent.

Get class action lawsuit and settlement news sent to your inbox – sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter.

The 16-page lawsuit states that whenever a lender requests a credit report from Experian to evaluate an individual’s mortgage or home equity loan application, the agency immediately discloses without consent the person’s phone number and credit report to “a swarm of third-party lenders hungry for sales leads.”

Per the case, selling a consumer’s credit details to a third-party lender is known broadly as a “trigger lead,” since such loan or credit report requests “trigger” the sale of information to third party lenders who are seeking leads on potential sales.

According to the suit, Experian’s “trigger lead” sales and/or disclosures are made without consumers’ consent or knowledge despite the fact that it concerns protected personal information. The company’s conduct has consistently resulted in an overwhelming number of unsolicited advertising and sales phone calls and texts to the phones of unsuspecting Experian users, the case claims.

“Since Experian knows precisely when consumers have applied for credit with one lender, it views these consumers as more susceptible to offers of credit from other lenders,” the suit expands.

Experian performs these sales and disclosures through its Prospect Triggers, Prescreen, Mortgage and Refinance Leads, and Mortgage Broker Leads services, the filing says.

Prospect Triggers, specifically, encourages the third-party lenders with whom Experian deals to make unsolicited credit and loan offers “by mail, phone or email to increase response rate, reduce overall acquisition costs, boost profitability and reach credit active consumers,” the lawsuit claims.

However, despite Experian’s claims that the trigger lead information it sells is fully compliant with federal requirements, the complaint says that the disclosure of unique personal information such as a phone number is illegal under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

The class action lawsuit against Experian Information Solutions seeks to represent anyone in the U.S. whose phone number was disclosed to a third-party lender by Experian in connection with a firm offer of credit at any time from June 6, 2023 and continuing to the present.

Want to stay in the loop on class action lawsuits that matter to you? Sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter.