Oct 25 6:47pm: Winston with American Mutual

He was more forthcoming with answering my questions than any other telemarketer.

They have my name, phone number, address, names of lenders, at least one loan date, and a number for an interest rate.

They get this information from banks and title companies. They get the information from banks in return for getting people to take out new loans. I asked, if people lower their interest rates, the banks would make less money, so why are they doing that? The answer seems to be that most people actually borrow more money, doing "cash-out" or "debt consolidation". Evidently, giving out information about their borrowers makes the banks more money than keeping that information private.

He said their company targets people who financially struggling, since banks require excellent credit. I asked if their information about me indicated that I was financially struggling. He said no. I asked if their computer profile of me indicated that it was likely that I was financially struggling. Their computer did decide to call me, after all. I think he managed to evade answering that.

He said they call people who have excellent payment history. I asked if their information showed whether I had an excellent payment history. Evidently, their records do not say whether I do or do not have an excellent payment history.