Why do Collection agencies get to pull credit reports? They aren't giving lines of credit or providing insurance. This just doesn't seem right.
LOL! That is a good theory and I suppose you're right. At least, initially. However, I think the rational behind opposing collection entities allowance to review the reports after everything has been reduced to collection is that there is no point to it. I mean you have the name and contact information. Why then do you need to inquire as to the rest of the credit report? I suppose the argument could be presented that they would need to in order to report it but, even then it could be a soft inquiry. Nonetheless, it's legal.
I have no idea the regulations for it to be considered a soft inquiry, however, it gives the collector an advantage to see what other accounts are being paid, have balances, and to see what the debtor is paying and how much. How many debtors do you think are going to be honest when we ask, how much can you pay each month, if unable to pay the full balance. 9 our of 10 are going to say 25-50-75 somewhere around there. If we can halfway verify what they are making each month, and subtract all the payments we see from the credit report and other bills we know they have, we can gauge if they are lying or not. Also, if the debtor says they don't have any other cards to payoff this debt with, we can easily question them about this one card with ample balance to pay it off.
Makes sense too me. We probably evaluate credit reports in the same fashion but, in a different context.
