A nonprofit watchdog has asked federal regulators to review advertising by Quicken Loans that it says could lead homeowners to believe they can research mortgage refinancing rates without sharing their personal data.
The National Advertising Division of BBB National Programs takes issues with promises by Quicken Loans that “No Registration, No Login,” is required in company advertisements “encouraging consumers to refinance their mortgage and learn more about its low refinancing rates.”
A Quicken Loans mortgage refi ad promises, “No Registration, No Login.”
The group said it referred such claims to the Federal Trade Commission for review, after Quicken Loans did not respond to NAD’s requests to substantiate them.
“NAD determined that the claim ‘No Registration, No Login’ reasonably communicates the message that consumers’ personal data will not be collected or shared with third parties,” the group said. “However, despite this claim, NAD noted that consumers must enter a significant amount of personal information before any information about mortgage rates is provided.”
Quicken Loans’ privacy policy “indicates that it shares and collects personal data,” the group said. “Quicken Loans identifies the types of personal data it collects, the sources of such data, as well as how and why it may share such data with third parties.”
This use of personal data “contradicts the reasonable takeaway from the ‘No Registration, No Login’ claim that consumers’ personal information will not be shared with third parties,” NAD said.
Quicken Loans, which will rebrand as Rocket Mortgage on July 31, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Inman.
To get rates from the company’s RocketMortgage.com website, consumers provide information on the type of property they’re refinancing, and whether it’s their primary residence, a second home or an investment property. They also self-report their credit score in one of five buckets: excellent, good, average, below average or poor.
After that, users are asked to provide their name and email address, and a username and login to create a user account. By creating an account, users agree to Quicken Loans terms of use and security and privacy policy. But they’re given the opportunity to opt out of sharing their personal data with third parties, including Quicken’s mortgage partners, partner companies and affiliates.
Quicken Loans is a BBB-accredited business with an A+ rating from the bureau. Customer reviews are not factored in to the rating. Based on an average of 1,805 customer reviews as of May 19, the company scored 3.36 out of 5.0 on a customer rating scale.
Since the restructuring of the Council of Better Business Bureaus in June 2019, BBB National Programs has operated independently of the bureau to develop and administer third-party accountability and dispute resolution programs.
The group’s National Advertising Division says it provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, reviewing national advertising with a goal of setting consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy. NAD says its decisions represent the single largest body of advertising decisions in the U.S.
