Posted on 09/14/2009 5:54:57 AM PDT by decimon
Credit scores have been getting a lot of attention lately, as lenders tighten credit standards and contend with new legislation that has, among other things, reined in how credit-card issuers can raise rates.
Meanwhile, several firms, preying on our insecurities, are pushing credit scores and credit-score-tracking services for a monthly fee.
For all the attention they generate, though, credit scores are largely misunderstood. For instance, your precise score matters only when you're in need of new debt, like a home, auto or education loan or a new credit card, which should be a fairly rare occurrence.
You don't have just one score, but many. Your FICO score, the one developed by Fair Isaac Corp. that runs from a low of 300 to a high of 850, will vary depending on which credit bureau is reporting it and the kind of lender that requested it.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
A few months ago I had a score of 740 so I guess that's okay.
See which gets you a better discount, though, a good score or paying cash. /daveramsey
If you go into credit modification for a home loan, or do a settlement for your credit cards, your credit score will fall into the 400’s to 500’s. Don’t believe any of the stuff that says, “no problem”. Honestly, you might as well file bankruptcy as go this route.
Pay cash and live below your means and you will not give a rat's @ss about your credit score (but they will be excellent living this way).
I am engaged in paying off all my credit cards and canceling all but a couple. I am refusing to fall for this credit trap any longer. Mostly cash from here on using credit only for convenience and paying off balance every month.
My credit was in the 700’s last year this time. Now that I have been out of work for a year and I got a loan mod ... it’s probably in the 300’s. BUT I don’t care ... I’m paying cash for now on (cept the house)
I've had a collection agency after me but once. That was for a payment for a college course. The college had no record of my owing money. I'd have chewed off a leg before paying a dime to the collection agency and wouldn't spend the time or money for a legal remedy. I was dead-ended.
This credit score stuff is a bit of a racket.
Could you please elaborate on what you said last? How can someone, out of the blue, chase you for money they say you owe them?
Ping to see what other comments come up.
I will answer. They have the wrong person.
I was once houded by a collection agency. My name (and that is all) was the same as the dead beat.
It only stopped when I threaten legal action (after I had already provided information proving I was not the one they were looking for.)
[I realize that this is different from the fee-based credit score.]
I don't know what happened.
I took one course for which I paid up front. I completed the course and was awarded a grade. They do not allow you to complete the course if you haven't paid for it.
I later got a letter from the college saying I owed for the course. I called and was told there was no record of my owing money. I let it go until I got a second letter. Same phone call, same no record of owing money. Then came the collection agency.
Two years after the above course, I registered for another course. I thought that would force the issue but there was no record of my owing money so I was allowed to register. But...after completing that course, I got a letter saying I owed for that second course. But...the school still had no record of my owing money. The story from the collection agency followed suit in saying I owed for the second course.
Damned if I know what the story is.
I don't know. I have an account with HSBC and am allowed a free score check (from Transunion, IIRC) once a month.
I believe the site is annualcreditreport.com
Once a year free report from each of the three major agencies.
During the process, each will try to sell you add ons.
This credit score stuff is a bit of a racket.
Which is why Dave Ramsey calls it a FICO Scar. You must use and carry and pay off over a few months a credit card in order to get a better score. I only use loans for home and autos. Credit cards get used for big ticket items and repairs that can’t be paid for via lump sum cash.
Ramsey used to be on WABC in New York. What I liked about his advice was that it spoke to how many, if not most, people really live. Other financial advisers speak to how a perfectly rational person would act.
Written record, do not rely on what anyone tells you over the phone. Once you get WRITTEN proof you paid for the course and owe nothing, copy the collection company and tell them you will be reporting them to both the Frederal Trade Comm and Credit Bureaus.
In this case you describe, WRITE the college advising them that some collection outfit is falsely claiming this debt. I would first write the Dept. responsible for billing and if that didn’t clear up the issue, copy the Dean.
Were you ever a runner in the Wall Street area? There used to be a messenger who would stop on the streets to call out, “Cry out loud!”
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