Credit Check Authorization

How You Authorize

You provide this authorization by checking the separate Credit Check checkbox in the online utility setup flow and submitting the form. This checkbox is separate from the Letter of Authorization checkbox and from the SmartSwitch checkbox. It is presented unchecked, is optional, and takes effect only if you check it. Checking the box and submitting the form is your electronic authorization, as described in Section 8.

This authorization is requested only when a provider you have asked Utility Wallet to set up needs your Social Security Number or a credit check to verify your identity, determine eligibility, or determine deposit requirements. If you decline, Utility Wallet will not submit your Social Security Number or authorize a credit check, and some providers may require a larger deposit, delay enrollment, or decline service.

1) Parties and Relationship to the Letter of Authorization

Customer/Resident (“Customer”): the person responsible for utility or telecom services at the service address provided in the online utility setup form.

Authorized Agent (“Utility Wallet”): B&Z Homes Inc. d/b/a Utility Wallet.

This Credit Check Authorization supplements the Utility Wallet Letter of Authorization (the “LOA”, current version at utilitywallet.com/utility-agreement/v2026-05-17) and requires an active LOA. The LOA alone does not authorize Utility Wallet to submit Customer’s Social Security Number or to authorize a credit check; that authority arises only from Customer’s separate, affirmative consent under this document. If the LOA is revoked, this authorization terminates automatically. Defined terms not defined here have the meanings given in the LOA.

2) What You Authorize

If Customer provides this authorization, Customer authorizes Utility Wallet, acting as Customer’s agent, to:

Collect. Collect and securely store Customer’s Social Security Number (or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) and related identity information, such as legal name, date of birth, and current and prior addresses.

Submit. Submit and disclose that information to the specific utility, telecom, internet, and retail energy providers Customer has asked Utility Wallet to set up, and to identity and credit verification vendors acting on those providers’ behalf, solely to verify Customer’s identity, determine eligibility, determine deposit requirements, and complete the requested enrollment.

Permit a Credit Check. Permit those providers and their authorized agents to perform a soft credit check (a soft inquiry) using that information as part of the requested setup.

Limited Purpose. Utility Wallet will use Customer’s Social Security Number only for the setups Customer has requested. Utility Wallet does not sell Customer’s Social Security Number and does not use it for marketing.

3) Soft Credit Checks and Hard Credit Checks

Soft Credit Checks. The credit check authorized by this document is a soft credit check (a soft inquiry). A soft credit check does not affect Customer’s credit score.

Hard Credit Checks. If a provider requires a hard credit check (a hard inquiry), which may affect Customer’s credit score, Utility Wallet will not authorize it under this document. Utility Wallet will request Customer’s separate, explicit consent — through the app or another verifiable method, and after disclosing that the inquiry is a hard credit check — before any hard credit check is authorized.

4) Permissible Purpose

Customer’s consent under this document provides the permissible purpose required for a provider or its verification vendor to obtain a consumer report or credit information in connection with the utility or telecom service Customer has asked Utility Wallet to set up. This authorization does not entitle Utility Wallet or any provider to obtain consumer reports for any purpose other than completing and supporting Customer’s requested setup.

5) How Your Social Security Number Is Handled

Utility Wallet handles Customer’s Social Security Number using industry-standard safeguards appropriate to its sensitivity, including encryption in transit and at rest and access limited to the personnel and systems that need it to perform the authorized actions.

Customer’s Social Security Number is shared only with the providers and verification vendors needed to complete the requested setup, is retained only as long as reasonably necessary to provide and support the requested services or as required by law, and is handled in accordance with Utility Wallet’s Privacy Notice. Utility Wallet does not sell Customer’s Social Security Number and does not use it for marketing.

6) Accurate Information

Customer confirms that the Social Security Number and identity information provided belong to Customer and are accurate, and that Customer is authorized to provide them. Providing another person’s information without authorization is prohibited.

7) Duration and Revocation

This authorization, once submitted, stays in effect until revoked by Customer. Customer may revoke it at any time through the app or at the contact information below, without affecting the rest of the LOA. Revocation applies prospectively: it stops future submissions and credit checks but does not undo a submission or credit check already completed or already in progress before Utility Wallet receives and processes the request. Revoking the LOA also terminates this authorization.

8) Records

Utility Wallet may capture and retain evidence of this authorization, including the document version, immutable URL, exact checkbox text shown, initial checkbox state, checkbox click timestamp, form submission timestamp, IP address, user agent, and the providers to which Customer’s information was submitted. For security, Utility Wallet does not include Customer’s Social Security Number in these consent records; the number itself is stored and transmitted using the safeguards described in Section 5. These records may be used to confirm Customer authorization, support provider requests, respond to disputes, and comply with legal obligations.

9) Liability

The liability terms in Section 11 of the LOA apply to this authorization. In addition, except for willful misconduct or gross negligence, Utility Wallet is not liable for provider eligibility decisions, deposit determinations, provider credit-check practices, or provider acts or omissions. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so these limits apply only to the extent permitted by law.

10) Governing Law and Dispute Terms

This authorization is governed by the same governing law and dispute resolution terms as the LOA, including the arbitration agreement and class action waiver in Section 12 of the LOA, which apply to any dispute arising out of or relating to this authorization.

11) Changes to This Authorization

Utility Wallet may update this authorization from time to time. Each revision, including corrections, receives a new version identifier and a new immutable URL; version identifiers are never reused. The version and date above identify the current terms. Material changes will be presented for review and new consent where required. Consent records will reference the version shown at the time of consent.

12) Contact