Consumerist
credit scores
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credit
Denied A Credit Card? Try A Reconsideration Letter
Frugal Travel Guy has a story of how he was able to get a credit card for his son after the company first denied him. The magic bullet was a well-crafted "reconsideration letter." What's that? More » -
credit scores
Negotiating Reduced Payoff Can Hurt Credit Score
Did you know negotiating a reducedpaymentpayoff with a lender negatively affects your credit score? More » -
refinancing
How A Disputed Item On Your Credit Report Can Screw Up Your Home Loan
Thanks to federal regulations, when you dispute an account on your credit report and the dispute is resolved in your favor, the credit reporting agency is required to remove or correct the account. Credit reporting agencies often don't do this, though, and the Washington Post notes that it can come back and interfere with your next home loan application. More » -
rate hikes
Capital One Invents Its Own Christmas Creep, Raises Interest Rate On December 26th
When Wally first got his Capital One credit card, the interest rate was 12 percent. Then they raised it to 22.9 percent. Now they're going to raise it again—the day after Christmas—to 25.9 percent. More » -
annual fees
Help! My Credit Card Is Adding An Annual Fee!
Michael is in a situation that we anticipate will become very, very common in the coming months. His credit card company has imposed a $99 annual fee. He can accept the fee, or close his account. Not only is this his only credit card, but it's the oldest credit line he has, so closing it would hurt his credit score. What would you do? More » -
intimidation tactics
Freescore.com Sues Yahoo To Reveal Blogger's Identity
Freescore.com is one of those online companies that offers a free trial, and then attempts to enroll its customers in a $30/month subscription service. Now they're suing Yahoo in an attempt to reveal an anonymous blogger who quoted a Reuters article when criticizing the service, and who pointed out that Freescore is owned by a company with a reputation for billing customers without permission. More » -
mortgages
Homeowners With Good Credit Are More Likely To Strategically Default
Here's an interesting discovery about mortgage defaults from the LA Times:
More »Research using a massive sample of 24 million individual credit files has found that homeowners with high scores when they apply for a loan are 50% more likely to "strategically default" — abruptly and intentionally pull the plug and abandon the mortgage — compared with lower-scoring borrowers.
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fico
Old Debts Under $100 Don't Matter Under FICO '08
An update to how the new FICO '08 scoring system got revamped this year: More » -
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credit cards
Credit Card Limit Cuts May Lower Your Credit Score
As credit card companies hedge their economic bets by lowering customers' credit limits, they're also hobbling their credit scores. More » -
questions, answered
Will My Credit Score Hurt If I Pay Off And Close My Credit Card?
Does paying off and closing a credit card hurt your credit score? That's a two-part question. The answer to the first one is no, it helps, and the answer to the second is yes, closing your credit card hurts your credit score. Credit bureau Exerpian's "Ask Max" says, More » -
ask consumerist
How Long Before That Debt Falls Off My Credit Report?
Reader Frank asks,
Is a true that after 7 years your bad credits go away?
By credit you mean debts, and, for the most part, the answer is yes. However, it depends. Some negative information can stay on your report for up to 15 years. Here's a breakdown of how long each of 10 different kinds of negative items stay on your report, aka, drag down your credit score: More »
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credit scores
Take Your Score From 650 To 800 With The Credit Karma Report Card
Credit Karma recently launched the free Credit Report Card service that assigns letter grades to each component of your credit score. If you want to improve your credit score, try to bring up your performance in areas where you have low or failing grades. Not every component has the same bearing on your score, so underneath each section Credit Karma tells you how much weight it has. For those who look at their reports and scratch their head, the Credit Karma report card, which is drawn from your TransUnion report, makes understanding why your credit score is the way it is a snap. Full screen shot inside. More » -
recession
Dirty Credit Report Scuttles Job Prospects
Dan Denton was about to get a much-needed job. Then the recruiters saw his blemished credit report and took away their offer. More » -
When your credit score sustains a dent, make sure your car doesn't. Because higher car insurance is just what you need when you've lost your job. Auto insurers use customers' credit scores as part of the formula to determine premiums. Shop around—different companies assign different weights to credit score in their calculations. [MainStreet.com]
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credit reports
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Of Fixing Credit Report Errors
A great way to improve your credit score is to get rid of errors on your credit report that are dragging you down, but how do you start? More » -
credit limits
Citibank Comes Up With Elaborate Cash Back Offer That Reduces Credit Limit And Temporarily Suspends Card
Compared to what some other banks and card companies are doing to reduce their exposure to debt, we guess Citibank's cash back offer isn't that bad—it's sort of a "let us help you help yourself get rid of your debt" scheme. It's funny, however, if only because it's such an elaborate way to get customers to self-select for a reduction in credit. More » -
credit scores
Credit Scores: How Do They Make 'Em?
A three-digit number that creditors use to quickly evaluate whether to give someone a loan and how favorable the terms should be, the credit score remains something of a mystery to many. How is it figured out? What matters, and what doesn't matter? The exact scoring system is a proprietary secret of the Fair Issac corporation, but there are 5 general categories, each weighted differently, that determine where you sit on the range from 300-850. In easy-to-read outline form, let's take a closer look. More »
