Consumerist
-
credit reports
FTC Wants Your Input On How To Improve AnnualCreditReport.com
The problem with annualcreditreport.com—other than its name—is that getting your reports from the site is a little like dealing with GoDaddy: you have to deal with upsells and side-sells at every step. You can indeed get your free credit reports from the site, but you'll also have to keep turning down other offers from the three participating bureaus. Hell, there are even ads (sorry, "sponsor" links) on the home page, the one place where you'd hope for the least consumer confusion. More » -
time warp
You Paid Your Bill 3 Hours Early? Then It's 30 Days Late
John's fiancee bought an Apple computer earlier this year, financing it with a Juniper Visa account, then paying the account off early. That's the responsible thing to do, right? Not according to Juniper, which branded her as a filthy, filthy deadbeat. The bank marked the payment she sent in as "late" for arriving three hours before the end of the billing cycle. 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.
-
employment inquiries
Why Credit History Employment Inquiries Matter
Last week, we covered a story in which a job seeker was denied a job because of his credit report.
Have you wondered why? More »
-
annualcreditreport
Wachovia Sends Out Its Own "Free Credit Report!" Offer To Customers
Tom just received a great offer from his bank. He can receive a free credit report just by peeling off this sticker and affixing it to another part of the same page. That's right, a free motherloving credit report! Who doesn't want one of those? Free, you say? Sign me up!
Oh, it also comes with an enrollment in some sort of identity theft protection program for $13 a month. More »
-
credit score
How Credit Bureaus Correct, Or Fail To Correct, Errors On Your Report
SmartMoney's Anne Kadet looked into the process by which the three major credit bureaus—Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax—investigate and correct errors on credit reports. What she found was that the process is "almost entirely automated," and that "many lenders respond by simply rereporting the erroneous data." Here's how it works, and your meager options when something goes wrong. More » -
american express
NewCreditRules Asks, Which Of These Stores Will Get Your AMEX Card Reduced?
Last month we posted about Kevin Johnson, a 29-year-old self-employed businessman with excellent credit and an established history with American Express, who had his credit limit cut by 65% because AMEX said he was shopping at the wrong sorts of stores. Johnson has created a website called NewCreditRules.com to try to uncover what, exactly, he did wrong to fall under AMEX's high risk category. More » -
ask the consumerists
Can Businesses Really Check My Credit Report Before Offering Me A Job?
Reader Brandon wants to know if those freecreditreport.com commercials are being misleading when they tell you that your credit report can affect where you get a job. More » -
-
identity theft
DIY ID Theft Protection
Do you want to be one of over eight million identity theft victims? No, but most of the services sold by "identity theft protection" companies you can get for free. Here's how. More »
1:12 PM on Sun Dec 14 2008
By Bargaineering.com
19,434 views, 42 comments -
fico
Bad FICO? Here's Three Other Credit Scores That Can Help
FICO score isn't the only credit score game in town. That's good news for people who have low scores thanks to being an immigrant, divorcee, or don't have the means to acquire the credit in the first place. It's one of those quirks of the system. To get credit, you have to have a credit history. To get a credit history, you need to be able to get credit. Thusly, some people find themselves a bit stuck. To meet the needs of these these "thin credit file borrowers", some alternatives to the standard FICO score are out there. Let's look at three. More » -
credit repair
What's The Point Of Credit Repair Companies? (Not Much)
If you have bad credit and have been thinking about working with a credit repair firm, think again. Credit repair services aren't doing anything that you can't otherwise do for yourself. They review your credit history, lodge disputes, follow up, rinse and repeat. The appeal of a credit repair service is that they spend all that time resolving issues so that you don't have to. They can't take legitimately negative things off your record and they can't work magic. Any firm that promises or guarantees to improve your score isn't telling you the whole truth and you should watch out. More » -
fico
Check Your Credit History Year-Round, For Free
Statistics show that 80% of credit histories have at least one error. Most of them are minor and inconsequential but some can have an adverse effect on your credit score, often costing your thousands on mortgages and car loans. I believe credit bureaus were so lackadaisical about accuracy because it forced consumers to buy their credit reporting services. You wouldn't know there's an error unless you paid Equifax for a copy of your report. Fortunately, federal law now makes it possible for us to police our own records and force bureaus to correct them, all on their dime. Here's how: More » -
credit scores
Hard And Soft Credit Inquiries, And How One Hurts Your Credit Score
Did you know that when a company checks out your credit report, it can damage your credit score temporarily? It depends on if the inquiry is "hard" or "soft." Hard inquiries ding your score, soft don't. If you're going to get a mortgage or a car loan, a few points difference translates into a big chunk of change. So how do you know when an inquiry is going to be "soft" or "hard?" More »
12:57 PM on Sat Dec 6 2008
By Bargaineering.com
28,386 views, 58 commentsMost discussed SadSam: When I bought a car this past fall I ended up with a hard inquiry and a ding to my more »
-
equifax
Equifax Double-Reports Student Loan, Still Hasn't Corrected It 12 Attempts Later
"David" can't get Equifax to correct his credit report. Since 2006, he's been trying to get them to remove a misreported student loan, and they've repeatedly ignored him or said it's not their fault. Because of this, David's credit report says he owes a total of $56,910 in student loans, instead of the accurate $28,455. More » -
credit history
PRBC Helps You Create A Credit Score From On-Time Rent, Bill Payments
Payment Reporting Builds Credit (PRBC) is an alternative credit reporting agency that will record your payment histories for things like rent and utilities bills. PRBC says you can then use this verified credit history to supplement your FICO score and credit history from the big three reporting companies. It's meant in part as a way to help people who don't have extensive standard credit histories, or who have always paid monthly expenses on time but have other blots (like medical bills) on their official credit histories. More » -
capital one
Capital One Will Ruin This Guy's Credit One Way Or Another
Joseph is having problems paying his Capital One card, mainly because Capital One keeps making it hard for him to pay it, and then reports his payments past due after they've cleared the bank. Now he wants to know what he can do to remedy the situation. More » -
CompuCredit
Use Your Credit Card At A Marriage Counselor, See Your Limit Get Reduced
Forget boring old FICO—the new world of credit scoring wants to know what you buy and where. The FTC filed a suit last week against subprime credit card company CompuCredit, alleging that it engages in deceptive marketing practices. CompuCredit says customers can use their credit card anywhere, but that's not entirely true: More » -
bad company
Company Bills Customer For Chargeback
After Ilan successfully filed a chargeback on a company, the company decided to bill him directly for the amount that was refunded. What's even sneakier is the company (which Ilan didn't name) waited until after they reported the matter resolved to the Better Business Bureau. Now Ilan's wondering what options he has to fight back. More »
credit history
New York, 1:34 AM
Wed Nov 11
22 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip Your Editors:
tips@consumerist.com
tipline: 347-42C-ON95
Co-Managing Editor:
Ben Popken
Email | AIM | Twitter
Co-Managing Editor:
Meghann Marco
Email | Twitter
Senior Editor:
Chris Walters
Email | Twitter
Weekend Editor:
Laura Northrup
Email | AIM | Twitter
Associate Editor:
Alex Chasick | Email
Associate Editor:
Phil Villarreal
Email
