"File blocked for promotional..."

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by catnap1972, Oct 18, 2002.

  1. catnap1972

    catnap1972 Well-Known Member

    I just ordered my EQ FICO score/report and there's a "FILE BLOCKED FOR PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES" under the "additional information" part. Is there some significance to this or is it normal?

    And what the heck is "Bell Atlantic" doing snooping through my file (it's only a "PRM" but strange since they don't even offer service in this area)???
     
  2. GEORGE

    GEORGE Well-Known Member

    You must have signed up for the OPT-OUT...(SOMETHING I WOULD NEVER DO EVEN IF I GOT PAID $1,000 TO DO IT)...but that's me...

    PRM, AR, AM all help with BUMPAGE...

    Also if you get an offer...90% or more of the time they are better offers than you can normally get!!!
     
  3. SilentBob

    SilentBob Well-Known Member


    Why?
     
  4. GEORGE

    GEORGE Well-Known Member

    WHY????

    Huhhhhh???


    WHAT????
     
  5. Hope

    Hope Well-Known Member

    Yeah, you must have checked the box where the fine print says something like "if you don't want us to share your personal information, yadda, yadda..."

    But it can help or hinder to do so.

    1) For instance, in my and hubby's case, we didn't want potential creditors getting/storing snapshots of our credit while the balances were high (it's been proven here that they can and do this!!), and we were paying down debt and while I get some derogs off mine.

    So when we finally apply for new high CL cards later, the new creditor will only have the current report to go and not be able to compare it some older report.

    2) On the other hand, my son intentionally NOT blocked his because he's building credit, and wants to received preapprovals.
     
  6. SilentBob

    SilentBob Well-Known Member

    Opps Sorry ,should have been more clear . I was asking for you wouldn't block your report from promo's?
     
  7. dep_tx

    dep_tx Well-Known Member

    Does anyone know how to get the block removed?
     
  8. tracyb0313

    tracyb0313 Well-Known Member

    I opted out 8 months ago, and got 2 offers in the mail today. Discover (funny, they denied me in May) and a Platinum One, 0% til Oct. 2003. I wanted to fill it out, but I just got a few cards. Need to wait awhile (which is why I opted out in the first place, no willpower!)
     
  9. PsychDoc

    PsychDoc Well-Known Member

    Re: "File blocked for promotional..

    Bob, unlike George, I heartily recommend opting-out. I am quite happy to have the "file blocked for promotional purposes" on my reports. Here are my reasons:

    1) There is some anecdotal evidence (the operant word here is ANECDOTAL... not scientific, so please nobody ask for proof, lol) that certain PRM inquiries do indeed detract from your credit scores -- especially with Trans Union whose reports hint at that possibility. Search the board, and note especially Marie's investigations and commentaries regarding this possibility.

    2) I'm not too happy with the idea that the credit bureaus sell my information to anybody who wants to buy it. With a promotional block, the likelihood that this will occur is lessened. (You can see that my trust level vis-a-vis CRAs isn't very high, lol.)

    3) I personally hate junk mail. I don't want to receive tons of offers from Citi Financial Equity Loans, etc. Such offers waste my time. Others like such mail. Your mileage will certainly vary, and to each his own. In any event, my first two reasons are the real factors which led me to opt-out.

    As for why George answered you back with "WHY?"... this is my hypothesis, and if I'm wrong I certainly hope George will say so. My hunch is that George understood full well what you were asking. His one-word response was really his shorthand for saying this: "Gee, Bob, how could you be so stupid as to ask why? Any thinking individual already knows the answer. The reason is because we love receiving promotional offers, and blocking the reports will lessen the number of those you receive. My gosh, I'm still shocked that you would ask such a dumb question." Needless to say, I don't share George's reasoning, rationale, or modus operandi for answering questions from newcomers. Again, if I've misread George, I'm sure he'll say so. Right, George?

    Doc

    P.S. Tracy, not all offers that arrive in the mail are tied to a PRM inquiry. I still receive a few interesting offers every month as well.
     
  10. GEORGE

    GEORGE Well-Known Member

    Re: "File blocked for promotional..

    The answer was already in the statement~~~
    PRM, AR, AM all help with BUMPAGE...

    Also if you get an offer...90% or more of the time they are better offers than you can normally get!!!

    I LIKE GETTING MAIL...junk or other-wise.

    :)

    We have one of those "CUBBY-HOLE" mail boxes 2 for the whole street and I have to walk 6 houses to get then mail...RAIN, SLEET, SNOW, 95 DEGREES, BLIZZARD...if I only get some junk mail it was worth it going (if I get NO mail at all...I'M REALLY TICKED OFF)!!!
     
  11. tracyb0313

    tracyb0313 Well-Known Member

    Re: "File blocked for promotional..

    I'm thinking it's because I just applied for (and got) the ATT Universal card, and the Chase Platinum. They sell your information too, don't they? The credit card companies? I hadn't had any offers in a while, until I applied for the 2 cards.

    I don't like getting them, because I want to apply for every card that comes my way. Bad Tracy!!
     
  12. MandyB

    MandyB Well-Known Member

    Re: "File blocked for promotional..

    Just want to say that Bell Atlantic offers a MC or Visa (or at leat they did) so that might be why you received the PRM. If your file is blocked you shouldn't have recieved it though and that shows the weak effect of the OPT-OUT. EQ is the only CRA that clearly marks your file if you opt out. I have been unable to ascertain if the opt-out went through for me w/ TU and EX. The only evidence I have is that I have an AR from a creditor that I don't do business w/ on my EX. The CRS (Priority Club and Special Services) have been unable to tell me.

    I am w/ Doc. I don't like the idea that the CRA's can sell your info to almost anybody. Don't know about the negative score effect but I can believe it.

    And ccs DO give your info out both w/in their company and to 3rd parties which is why they send that notification every year about their privacy policy and how to opt out w/ their company. Please note that most of these policies say that they apply to both current and FORMER customers so even if you close your acct, they can still use your info later if you don't tell them not to do so. And WFFNB says that that this info includes your credit score which leads me to believe that other companies share your score as well. Kind of a work around of the CRA opt out.
     
  13. catnap1972

    catnap1972 Well-Known Member

    Re: "File blocked for promotional..

    "Bell Atlantic card is no longer issued" (that's what I got from Chase's website).
     
  14. MandyB

    MandyB Well-Known Member

    Re: "File blocked for promotional..

    Then it's even stranger that the poster received the PRM.
     
  15. SLOYAROLE

    SLOYAROLE Well-Known Member

    Re: "File blocked for promotional..

    I OPTED-OUT FOR TWO BASIC REASONS...

    1-TO PREVENT THE UNECCESARY USAGE OF MY CREDIT FILE.

    2-THE CONCEPT OF "BAIT AND HOOK" DOES NOT WORK ON ME.

    WITH REASON 1, I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT OUTING MYSELF WILL PREVENT THE UNWANTED SNOOPERS FROM SEEING MY FILE. BY THE WAY, IT IS WIDELY KNOWN (OR ASSUMED) THAT OUR SSN's ARE NOT NEEDED TO ACCES OUR FILES. HAS ANYONE FILLED OUT ANY "ENTRY" FORMS LATELY? THOSE CONTESTS WE ENTER WHILE AT THE GROCERY STORE DISPLAY, CONTRIBUTES TO TO PRM's.

    WELL, REASON 2 IS SIMPLE, I KNOW WHERE TO GET CREDIT IF I WANTED IT. "SPECIAL OFFER's" DO NOT TEMP ME TO APPLY JUST BECAUSE I CAN ONLY GET THIS "DEAL" BY REPLYING "NO LATER THAN...".

    FINALLY, MY LEAST FAVORITE JUNK MAIL OFFER IS FOR LIFE INSURANCE. BUT I DID RECEIVE SOME NICE ADDRESS LABELS ONCE, AS A SORT OF "WE GAVE YOU FREE LABELS!!!, NOW WILL YOU BUY OUR POLICY?
     
  16. jaj1701

    jaj1701 Well-Known Member

    There is a lot of truth to the statement made earlier about getting better offers in the mail then if you just applied directly.

    Sometimes better APRs, sometimes more.

    In the case of my lastest with Cap1, the APR was the same as online, but I have no BT or Cash Advance fees ever at the same APR. The no cash advance fee is not online and was not offered the first three times they mailed me offers. They sweetened the deal with the forth mailing. The 4.9% APR for one year on purchases, BTs, and Cash Advances wasn't bad either.

    My two cents.
     

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