Complaint Review: First Life Inc - Lending Tree - ROBERT CRUTCH

Never submit personal information to Lending Tree
All Lending Tree does is dump your information off to ANY AND EVERY third party that MIGHT be able to sell you a loan. As my experience shows, they have little or no interest in keeping your information out of thieves hands. Ask a friend or a relative for a reference to a LEGIT mortgage or loan broker -- just don't enter your personal information into lendingtree.com.

Has this happened to you as well? Do you get "pre-approved credit card" solicitations from phone numbers beginning with 1-718-645-xxxx since submitting a loan application to Lending Tree? If so, I'd love to hear about it.


Harassing phone calls came from:

1-902-482-3277, 12/01/04 @ 02:17PM
1-718-645-4733, 12/01/04 @ 12:10PM
1-718-645-5230, 11/30/04 @ 11:51AM
1-718-645-5231, 11/23/04 @ 01:02PM
1-718-645-3372, 11/17/04 @ 11:12AM


This odd-looking Russian company has numbers with that same prefix -- see
http://fin-rus.com/aboutfin/contactus/default.asp.

Perhaps Lending Tree or one of their MANY MANY affiliates is passing off my personal information to the Russian organized crime? The Lending Tree rep I spoke to on the phone seemed pretty quick at having an answer to my complaint. "Sometimes the third parties that are supposed to get permission before they call don't actually bother getting permission," he said. I also tired to talk to a lending tree rep online. See that conversation below.

Perhaps this company is behind (718) 645-XXXX? --
Russian Service Center
1311 Kings Highway, 3-rd Fl.
Brooklyn, NY 11229
Phone: (718) 645-2411, 645-5002


LendingTree "Customer Care" --

Please wait while we find a LendingTree Customer Care agent to assist you...
You have been connected to Tara A.
Tara A: Thank you for contacting LendingTree, Abe. How may I assist you today?
Abe Shelton: Ever since I applied for an auto loan through lendingtree.com I have been getting harassing phone calls from unidentified third parties telling me I have been approved for a credit card
Abe Shelton: The phone number I receive these calls on is not a public number and has never been used on a credit application except for when I applied at lendingtree.com
Abe Shelton: I would like you to remove any reference to my telephone number from your databases.
Abe Shelton: I would like to know how my information submitted to lendingtree.com ended up with a third party that does not obey the law
Tara A: What lender is contacting you that we did not match you with?
Abe Shelton: They refuse to identify themselves -- as soon as I ask who they are and how they got my number they disconnect
Abe Shelton: I have traced the call to a Fiancial Services company in Brooklyn
Tara A: What are they saying when you answer the phone?
Abe Shelton: They are saying that my credit card application has been approved
Abe Shelton: No one could be the source except for lendingtree.com -- I haven't applied for a loan anywhere else
Tara A: For security purposes, please verify the last four digits of your Social Security Number. This is to ensure the protection of your personal information.
Abe Shelton: XXXX
Tara A: Thank you, one moment please.
Tara A: Have you ever received pre approval applications in the mail for credit cards?
Abe Shelton: No
Abe Shelton: I am on the privacy lists with the credit agencies -- I NEVER receive credit offers
Tara A: I can assure you that LendingTree has not given or sold your information to anyone other than the lenders that have already been in contact with you.
Abe Shelton: Never have I given this number out except in the loan application I filed with y'all on 10/24/04. These calls started in November. Perhaps someone stole the information from Lending Tree?
Tara A: We use extensive, sophisticated technology to ensure that the data you send us remains absolutely confidential and secure. These hardware and software systems work together to protect your privacy at all times.
Abe Shelton: After I submitted the loan application, many many random loan agents from random car dealerships starting making unsolicited calls to my private number.
Abe Shelton: Does that seem "confidential and secure" to you?
Tara A: To better assist you with your request, please contact one of our Customer Care consultants by dialing 1-888-272-1355. Our consultants are available Monday-Thursday 8:00 am - 1:00 am, Friday 8:00 am - 12:00 am, Saturday 9:00 am - 8:00 pm , and Sunday 11:00 am - 10:00 pm EST.
Tara A: Is there anything else I can assist you with today?
Abe Shelton: You didn't assist me at all. I WOULD LIKE MY PRIVATE PHONE NUMBER REMOVED FROM YOUR DATABASE, IMMEDIATELY
Tara A: While we can assure you that we will not share the personal information provided by you on your loan request with any third party, we must maintain a record of your inquiry to comply with state and federal record retention laws. This is also consistent with our privacy policy. Should a state or federal regulator request records of consumers who completed loan requests, as a regulated entity, we must comply with that request to produce any such records. You can also visit our Security section to learn more about how we do this.
Tara A: I will be happy to add you to our do not call list.
Abe Shelton: Please add me to your do not call list.
Abe Shelton: What is the exact California and or Federal record retention law that requires you to maintain my PRIVATE PHONE NUMBER in your database?
Tara A: All of this is outlined in the disclosures on our home page.
Abe Shelton: I have read all of the disclosures, an exact law is not cited.
Tara A: I apologize I do not have access to that information. Please call us and a consultant will be happy to look that up for you.
Tara A: Is there anything else I can assist you with today?
Abe Shelton: Who is the proper person to contact at Lendingtree regarding the theft of my private information?
Tara A: The number noted above is the proper number to begin the process.
Abe Shelton: What is Lending Tree's corporate address and phone number?
Tara A: The corporate address is LendingTree Inc. 11215 Rushmore Dr. Charlotte N.C. 28277. The phone number is 888-272-1355.
Abe Shelton: Thanks, that's is all.

When I contacted the Lending Tree legal department they put me into this woman's voice mail: Robin Chandler, 704-943-8726 rchandler@lendingtree.com. I await her response.

The telemarketers called once again.. 12/1/04, 2:15PM while at work, said his name was "John Zinck." Said he was in Champlain, New York. Had a New York accent.

After lengthly sales pictch, during which I said "yeah sure, great," "yep, great" to everything he said, he cut to the chase: gaurenteed secured visa, only $299 dollars.

He then took my bank routing number, bank account number and drivers license number, "for verification when Fedex delivers our package."

"If we run the charge today the package with the card will arrive on Friday."

Eventually said 866-871-5224 is customer service #.

After speaking with John, he handed me off to "Taylor Morgan", in their "verification department." (Google "Taylor Morgan" -- she's a famous porn star AND works in the "verification department" apparently....)

She finally gave me the name of the company: First Life, Inc.

These are the shucksters, but Lending Tree is still to blame for letting my personal information out.

http://appsext5.dos.state.ny.us/corp_public/display_entity?p_nameid=2494578&p_corpid=2467523&p_name_type=A&p_search_type=BEGINS&p_request=1&p_entity_name=FIRST%20LIFE,%20INC.&p_entity_name_input=FIRST%20LIFE


FIRST LIFE, INC.
232-09 HILLSIDE AVE
QUEENS VILLAGE, NEW YORK 11427

Chairman or Chief Executive Officer
ROBERT CRUTCH
232-09 HILLSIDE AVE
QUEENS VILLAGE, NEW YORK 11427
Robert Crutch phone number, as published here: 718-479-4855

---------------------------------------

Official response from Lending Tree:

Dear Mr. Shelton,
I have been working on your issue for several days now. I have contacted the credit bureaus as well as the numbers you have given me. The credit bureau would not tell me whether they had a current opt out for you (they expire after 2 years) and they did tell me that there still might have been an ability for your name to be on a list, although they would not give me information on this. The numbers you gave me all rang with no one picking up. The one number that did answer would not provide me with any information.

In speaking to the lenders you were matched with, some of them are brokers and may have brokered out your loan. All of the lenders assured me that they abide by our contract and do not sell your information. Should LendingTree find out that one of our lenders has broken contract and sold your information, we do invoke strong remedies and will reprimand accordingly.I can truly understand your frustration and apologize again that you received calls. If you should receive additional information that you would like to give to me, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Robin Chandler
Customer Care Performance Manager
LendingTree, Inc.

Thanks,
Abe

Abe
Venice, California
U.S.A.