Markets Wired

Teletrack, Inc. has agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it sold credit reports to marketers, in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This settlement seeks to protect consumers’ privacy by ensuring that their sensitive credit report information is not sold for marketing purposes.

According to the FTC’s complaint, as part of its business Teletrack sells credit reports and other services to businesses – such as payday lenders, rental purchase stores, and non-prime rate auto lenders – that mainly serve financially distressed consumers. These businesses use Teletrack’s credit reports to decide whether and on what terms to provide credit to their customers.

The complaint alleges that Teletrack created a marketing database of information that it gathered through its credit reporting business. It then sold the information in this database – including lists of consumers who had applied for non-traditional credit products – to marketers. For example, Teletrack sold lists of consumers who previously sought payday loans to third parties that wanted to use this information to target potential customers. The FTC’s complaint alleges that these marketing lists were credit reports under the FCRA because they contained information about a consumer’s creditworthiness. The FTC charges that Teletrack violated the FCRA, which makes it illegal to sell credit reports without a specific “permissible purpose” under the statute; marketing is not a permissible purpose.

“The fact that a consumer has applied for a payday loan is credit report information protected by the FCRA,” said FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director David Vladeck.
“The FCRA says a credit reporting agency like Teletrack can’t sell a consumer’s sensitive credit report information for mere sales pitches.”

The settlement order resolving the FTC’s charges requires Teletrack to furnish credit reports only to those people that it has reason to believe have a permissible purpose to receive them under the FCRA, or as otherwise allowed by the FCRA. It also requires Teletrack to pay a civil penalty of $1.8 million, and contains reporting and record-keeping requirements to ensure the company’s compliance with the decree.

The Commission vote to authorize the staff to refer the complaint to the Department of Justice, and to approve the proposed order, was 5-0. The DOJ filed the complaint and proposed order on behalf of the Commission in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on June 24, 2011. The proposed order is subject to court approval.

NOTE: The Commission authorizes the filing of a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendant has actually violated the law. This stipulated order is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission by the defendant of a law violation. Stipulated orders have the force of law when signed by the district court judge.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics. Like the FTC on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

(FTC File No. 102-3075; Civ. No. 1 11 CV-2060)
(Teletrack.final)