Equifax to Stop Renting Mailing Lists to Firms : Marketing: The big credit-reporting firm, under fire for the practice, admits its action won’t slow the flow of junk mail.

Citing concern over consumer privacy, one of the nation’s largest credit-reporting agencies said Thursday that it would stop renting mailing lists to direct marketers.

Atlanta-based Equifax Inc., which has been under pressure from the New York attorney general to stop the practice, admitted the move probably won’t slow the flow of junk mail solicitations. But Equifax said it made the decision--which will cost the company $11.5 million each year--to foster better customer relations.

“This decision clearly reflects . . . our commitment to maintaining the delicate balance between consumer concerns about fair information practices and business’ legitimate information needs,” said Equifax President and Chief Executive C. B. (Jack) Rogers Jr. in a prepared statement.

The action by Equifax is part of a larger debate over credit bureaus’ responsiveness to consumer complaints about inaccuracies and the confidentiality of credit reports.

The issue has attracted the attention of Congress. And last month lawsuits were filed against TRW--an Equifax rival--by New York and 10 other states, alleging that the agency fails to keep accurate records and ignores consumers’ privacy by selling their names to marketers.

Shortly after the lawsuits were filed, Equifax and TRW, whose credit bureau operations are based in Orange, announced that they would set up toll-free telephone numbers and take other steps to be more accessible to the public.

“Consumers are unaware that the credit-reporting agencies are reaping significant profits by unlawfully raiding their personal credit histories to create mailing lists for junk mailers,” New York Atty. Gen. Robert Abrams told the Associated Press.

Martin Abrams, director of consumer affairs and policy analysis for TRW, would not comment on the lawsuit against his company or Equifax’s action, but he said TRW would continue to rent consumers’ names to direct marketers.

TRW, said Abrams, “has long had a policy of respecting the wishes of any consumer who for whatever reason wishes to opt out of (the) TRW list database.” TRW believes its approach is “lawful, sensible and in the public interest,” he added.

A spokesman for the third major credit agency, Chicago-based Trans Union Corp., could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Robert Elis Smith, a credit agency critic who publishes the Privacy Journal from Providence, R.I., applauded Equifax’s decision not to rent its lists to direct marketers.

“Credit files ought to remain sacrosanct and confidential,” Smith said. Equifax, he added, “made a very progressive move. I hope its two competitors do the same thing.”

Equifax spokeswoman Tina Buckholtz said the list rental business “was not as profitable as we thought,” even though the company will lose about $11.5 million a year in revenue, or 1.2% of its total sales, by discontinuing the service.

Equifax had rented about 120 million names in its credit files to about 225 direct mail marketers who could request that the names be segregated by sex, income, age and other demographic factors, Buckholtz said. Officials added that the decision to stop the list rentals was voluntary.

Buckholtz said Equifax will fulfill its current contractual commitments to direct marketers within the next 90 days. However, the company will continue its separate enterprise of providing prescreened lists for “a credit grantor making a legitimate credit offer” such as a credit card solicitation, Buckholtz said.