What counts as a bad mortgage lead
The line between a mortgage lead defect you can prove from the record and an outcome that only feels like one, plus what to capture the moment you find a defect.
A bad mortgage lead fails on a fact the record already holds: a disconnected number, a consumer outside the states you lend in, a duplicate already paid for, or a property type or loan purpose that contradicts the order. A quiet consumer or a weaker credit story is an outcome, not a defect, and disputing it gets you nowhere.
What actually counts as a defect
A defect is checkable without asking the consumer anything else. A phone number that rings dead or was never in service, a lead from outside your footprint, a person already delivered and billed again, a property type or loan purpose that contradicts the order, or a plainly fabricated identity or a minor, each sits in the vendor's own record. Proving a defect does not depend on how the call went.
What is not a defect
A consumer who never answers, goes quiet after one text, or says they are just looking has not failed on anything you can check. Neither has one whose credit was weaker than expected, or who picked a different lender first. None of that is provable against a record, because the record was accurate when it was delivered. A run of it signals something about the source. One instance is not a defect to dispute.
| What happened | Checkable? | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| A disconnected number, a duplicate, or the wrong state, property type or loan purpose | Yes | A defect, worth disputing |
| The consumer never answers, goes quiet, or says they are just looking | No | An outcome, not a defect |
| The consumer's credit was weaker than hoped, or they chose someone else | No | A stage or a decision, not a defect |
Judging one lead differs from judging its source, and how many bad leads it takes before a source is the problem is covered on its own.
What to record when you find one
Write down the lead identifier, the time you found the problem, and the exact field that is wrong, the number, the state, or the loan purpose. A screenshot of the dead-number response, or the CRM record showing an earlier delivery of the same contact, is worth more than a description later. That record turns a dispute into something checkable against the vendor's own file, rather than a complaint taken on faith.
Source: FCC, Reassigned Numbers Database, for checking whether a number has been disconnected or reassigned before dialing it. fcc.govQuestions this page answers
A disputable lead fails on a fact the record already contains: a phone number that was never connected, a consumer in a state you do not lend in, a duplicate of someone already delivered, or a property type and loan purpose that contradict what you ordered. Those can be checked without asking the consumer anything. A slow call-back, a vague answer, or a consumer who chose another lender sits in a different category, an outcome of the sales process rather than a fact you can prove wrong.
On its own, no. One unanswered call or one consumer who stops responding after a text describes ordinary buyer behavior, not a flaw in the lead itself, and there is nothing in the record to check it against. A pattern across many leads from the same source is worth watching, because it may point to timing, dialer setup, or targeting. A single instance is not evidence of anything you can act on yet.
The lead identifier, the exact time you checked it, and the specific field that failed, the number, the state, or the loan purpose, before you contact anyone about it. Add whatever proves the finding: a screenshot of a disconnected-number message, or the CRM entry showing the same contact delivered earlier. That record lets a vendor verify the problem against their own file quickly, instead of relying on a description of what you remember happening.
Buying questions rather than research ones are answered on the FAQ, and anything that is not there gets asked on a call.
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