2017 Vermont Statutes
Title 8 - Banking and Insurance
Chapter 200 - Consumer Protection
§ 10206 Trigger lead solicitations for mortgage loans

§ 10206. Trigger lead solicitations for mortgage loans

(a) In this section:

(1) "Consumer" means a natural person residing in this State.

(2) "Trigger lead" means information about a consumer, including the consumer's name, address, telephone number, and an identification of the amount, terms, or conditions of credit for which the consumer has applied, that is:

(A) a consumer report obtained pursuant to section 604(c)(1)(B) of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681b, where the issuance of the report is triggered by an inquiry made with a consumer reporting agency in response to an application for a mortgage loan; and

(B) furnished by the consumer-reporting agency to a third party that is not affiliated with the financial institution or the credit-reporting agency. A trigger lead does not include information about a consumer obtained by a lender that holds or services the existing mortgage indebtedness of the consumer who is the subject of the information.

(3) "Trigger lead solicitation" means a written or verbal offer or attempt to sell any property, rights, or services to a consumer based on a trigger lead.

(b) A person conducting a trigger lead solicitation shall disclose to a consumer in the initial phase of the solicitation:

(1) the person is not affiliated with the financial institution to which the consumer has submitted an application for credit;

(2) the financial institution to which the consumer has submitted an application for credit has not supplied the person with any personal or financial information; and

(3) the name of the person who paid for the trigger lead solicitation.

(c) A financial institution which has had its name, trade name, or trademark misrepresented in a trigger lead solicitation in violation of this section may, in addition to any other remedy provided by law, bring an action in Superior Court in the county of its primary place of business, or if its primary place of business is located outside Vermont, in Washington Superior Court. The Court shall award damages for each violation in the amount of actual damages demonstrated by the financial institution or $5,000.00, whichever is greater. In any successful action for injunctive relief or for damages, the Court shall award the financial institution reasonable attorney's fees and costs, including Court costs. (Added 2009, No. 100 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)