Compliance Center
Dealer Responsibilities in Credit Marketing
What a dealership must do when it markets to consumers using their prescreened credit data.
Who carries the obligation
When a dealer uses prescreened credit data to market, the FCRA places specific obligations on the dealer as the entity making the firm offer. Because the dealer is the one extending the offer, the dealer — not only the data provider — carries the compliance duties. These are what keep the program permissible.
Core responsibilities
- Extend a genuine firm offer of credit to everyone selected who still meets the criteria.
- Include the required prescreen opt-out notice on the solicitation.
- Honor consumer opt-outs and use the data only for the permitted purpose.
- Keep the selection criteria and offer terms consistent with what was used to prescreen.
- Safeguard consumer information and dispose of it properly (the FTC Disposal Rule).
- Confirm offer terms and disclosures with qualified counsel.
The short version
Soft Pull Mailers supplies the compliant mail mechanics — the firm-offer language, the opt-out notice, the data handling. The dealer stands behind the firm offer itself. That division is why a dealer should understand these responsibilities rather than assume the vendor absorbs all of them.
Primary sources
Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §1681b(c) (prescreen), §1681b(f) (obligations of users of consumer reports), and §1681m(d) (opt-out notice); the FTC Disposal Rule, 16 CFR Part 682; and FTC guidance for businesses using consumer reports.
This page is educational and is not legal advice. Confirm your program, offer terms, and disclosures with qualified counsel before you mail. Soft Pull Mailers is not a credit bureau.