Don't forget that you can get your credit report (not score) for free from each credit reporting agency once a year at www.annualcreditreport.com (not www.freecreditreport.com, which is decidedly un-free).

Also worse when you consider that for the longest time a consumer wasn't able to back check or do anything with their credit report unless they paid for it!

The whole system is ridiculous, but it makes you realize the deeper undertones as to why they targeted the credit buildings in the movie "Fight Club"-- supposedly to cause anarchy, and to remove the statistics that are associated with us as an individual.

Federal law requires that all three major credit reporting agencies provide you with a free credit report once every 12 months. You can get them all from the same site: http://wwwannualcreditreport.com

More info is available on the official FTC page:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.htm...

"Wonderful that something can affect consumers so much, that every lending company has access to, is a proprietary formula, and you gotta fork over the scrizzle to find out where you stand."

At what point do you finally realize that you are playing with snakes?

Can we get a real consumer advocate post about the myth of the credit score? As in, you don't need one. The FICO score is simply an indication of how long and deeply you are willing to stay in debt, and thus how much crap someone like "Dan the mortgage man" can sell you. Its not a measure of winning, or success by any means. Why not a post about avoiding this trap as well as that of the credit card racket.

Sure, there are some legitimate industries that are starting to rely on credit scores, and guess what - for every group of butt-monkeys using your credit score to determine your insurance rates, theres another still doing it the right way.

Grow up, get over yoruself and get out of debt.

At Fico.com, the 30 day trial process just locked up while I was signing up. Some sort of system glitch, so I wasn't able to complete signup and because I tried to sign up a second time, they put some sort of hold on applying for the next 24 hours.

After talking to customer service, they explained they were having some technical difficulties (which they claimed was rare) and offered me a 10% promo code for my trouble. So, if anyone is interested, it's "FICO4548". There is a 30 day trial, but if you go past 30 days, the 10% will apply.

Huh? You need a credit score if you want to, you know, buy a house. I don't think it's a 'trap,' they have to judge people on something.

Additionally, what's the 'credit card racket'? Do you mean the system whereby I get to conveniently buy goods and services without having to hand cash over directly... thereby allowing me to make large purchases or purchases over the phone/internet that would have otherwise been difficult or impossible? If you pay your bills on time, the credit card is an amazing and free service for consumers, providing ease and safety in dealing with vendors. It's only a 'racket' if you're a 'moron' who doesn't 'pay their bills.'

Actually to buy a house you can get banks to look at current income, future earnings, ltv on the mortgage etc. to write your loan. Especially if you live in a market that requires you to take a non-conforming mortgage (i.e. the 417K upper bound for single family homes ain't cutting it in Manhattan) the rates are not uncompetetive with what people with good fico's will get.

That being said, I'm in the process of repairing my FICO. Through a series of adventures in fiscal irresponsibility and extreme stubbornness I have a fico that is below average. Considering my Credit Card company is now using a FICO score rather than just my payment history with them to set the rate I'm guessing that the FICO is getting more important rather than less. If anyone has any helpful tips for repairing this magic number let me know. Most of the dings are what I'd call scrapes, basically unpaid utilities from when I moved (and PECO failed to quit billing me), my long standing feud with verizon wireless (they failed to retur my deposit, or even acknowledge its existence when I terminated services), and my intense dislike of household financial (poor decision to utilize best buy's store credit card when younger to buy gadgets I didn't need). I've never missed a credit card payment (6 years) or auto loan payment (4 years) but that seems to get swamped by these little things.

I'm not convinced that I'll come up with anything other than pay bills on time, time heals all wounds, etc. but if I come up with anything I'll let you guys know.

Thrillhouse has a point, actually. My dad is a business & bankruptcy lawyer of two decades, and you should hear the things he says about credit scores.

In short, they do primarily exist for the banks' benefits, period. They let banks pick out the "best" customers and charge higher rates for accepting ones that aren't as profitable -- basically, they let banks give preferential treatment to rich people and collect extra compensation for having to do business with people who aren't rich. On top of that, the whole "low credit score will ruin your life--improve your credit now!" line is really just another commerical pitch -- the ONLY time you really benefit from a high credit score is when buying a house or financing a car (which my dad would tell you to never do anyway, since you're almost always getting reamed on that deal).

Banks put a LOT of money into propaganda that makes your credit score seem important, and then they use the threat of lowering it as leverage to keep people from refusing to pay ridiculously high interest rates and fees, pure and simple. I've seen numerous lawyers get people out of trouble by telling them, "Just quit paying the bill. They'll lower your credit score a few times, and when that doesn't work, they'll give up on getting their fees and just settle with you for a more reasonable amount". And they really will -- my mom did exactly that, and a several-thousand-dollar bill (which was, of course, mostly interest and fees) became a few hundred bucks, which she paid off and that was the end of it. Yes, her credit score was decimated, and you know what happened to her rent, utilities, car lease, etc.? Absolutely nothing. As she has no plans to buy a house anytime soon, it was the ideal solution for her.

But people are so successfully convinced that their credit score is the be-all and end-all of prosperity that I've seen people walk into my dad's office who were *managing to pay their credit card bill, but couldn't buy groceries*. The shock on their faces when he told them to stop paying that outrageous bill and feed themselves instead was both priceless and a little sad.

Oh yeah, and another weird side-effect of your credit score being lower: The collectors who call you on the phone get NICER. Seriously. They're downright nasty while your score is high, but as it drops they call less frequently, are more sympathetic and polite, and offer you better and better deals.

And they're probably going to send a sniper to my house for posting this. *eg* Seriously, I've been bugging my dad to write a book on it, but in the current economy he's so swamped trying to help all his clients (many of whom can't pay him) that there's no time. Ah well. At least you guys are informed, right? Right!

-M/PD

Very well said, Mary. What we are dealing with here is the most heavily marketed "product" in the world today - Debt. If it were a good deal, then it would sell itself. The one point you miss is that these debt-mongers like Chase, Citi, MBNA, and others are actually going after people with horrible credit scores as well as people who have filed bankruptcy. They are offering them tens-of-thousands in new credit because 1) they have a taste for it 2) they are desperate and learned nothing by their current situation.

Ingen-
What Roddy Piper is describing is called Manual Underwriting. Its the way loans were processed before the lending industry went to hell in a handbasket. Look at where that 'great FICO score' got the Uzbek kid in another Consumerist post.

And credit cards are a racket. You don't need them. A Visa debt card will afford you all those same conveniences with the exact same zero-liability protection. And the paying the bill or not issue usually has more to do with life happening, than being a 'moron'. If you really think is this "great free service" (out of the goodness of their hearts, non-the-less), then check out the clips for the movie MAXED OUT. Its a bigger problem then you know. And if you still haven't gotten it, then listen to the Dave Ramsey Show - its free online. Listen to what this "great free service" of credit has done for thousands of others.

Oh, and Piper-
Pay off the credit cards, put them thru the shredder, and quit worrying about your stupid FICO score. Its not a measure of winning, or you as a person. It simply says "I love debt, sell me more crap" or "I hate debt, don't bother me"