Originally Posted by GMAN

I am not sure how a company can check you Social Security information. That is supposed to be confidential.

Anyone can pull a check on you if they have your SS number. When I did some work for 2 government agencies I lived in Reno and Cedar Rapids for 6 months to a year. Both times I rented a house. Without any signature or authorization they pulled my credit info. It's up to me to buy an optional credit monitor service to find out if anyone pulled a check on me without my permission.

On another note. Any credit card you have, mortgage, loan or anything else gives those people the right to check your credit which they do all the time. They also have the right to sell your credit score to anyone they feel like. These are all items you agreed to when you signed there agreement which is like 1,000,000 pages long. If you don't like it, go some place else.

Some places advertise they will not do this if you don't want. All you have to do is write to them, (no phone, no web access) and they will send you the forms. Once you fill them out it takes about 6 months to take effect. Ya, right.

[GMAN]

I have had people get into my credit file without my permission. Apparently, all anyone needs to say is that they have a business need to know. In Tennessee, one legislator has been talking about forcing credit agencies to get written documentation before anyone can access your credit file. I think that is a good idea. It is too easy for anyone to access your personal information. I would like to see civil and crimminal prosecution for those who access personal credit files without written permission.