Credit Scores and Why you need to know yours

Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to knowing credit score
From Alabama comes reassuring news that Chucky, the 1,000-pound zoo alligator who escaped during Hurricane Ivan, has been captured. That means you can stop worrying about finding a giant reptile in your bathtub and move on to other concerns. Here's a good place to start: your credit score. Your credit score influences everything from the interest rate on your mortgage to your car insurance premiums, yet many Americans don't worry enough about their scores. A recent survey by TrueCredit.com found that only 10% of Americans know their score. Another survey released last week by the Consumer Federation of America found that many consumers harbor some dangerous misconception about their scores.
The knowledge vacuum is troubling, consumer advocates say.
"The cost of not knowing your score and its significance could be not only denial of credit, but also difficulty obtaining needed services and even a job," Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the CFA, said last week.
Credit scores are compiled by the three major credit agencies, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, based on information provided by creditors. Most scores are based on a formula developed by Fair Isaac, a research firm. They're designed to measure the likelihood you'll repay a loan, based on your record of repaying debts in the past. Some common fallacies about credit scores include:
• Your credit score is like your golf score: the lower, the better.
A high score indicates a borrower is a low risk; a low score signals trouble. If your score is below 600, you can expect to pay above-average interest rates on a loan, if you can get one at all.
Borrowers with scores above 700 usually qualify for relatively low rates. If your score is above 760, you probably qualify for the lowest rates.
• You can improve your credit score by marrying well.
Married couples don't get a combined credit score, so you can't improve your number by marrying someone with a 780.
"When you get married, you're not mixing your credit history," says David Chung, interim president of CreditXpert, which sells credit-management products.
However, lenders will look at both scores if you apply jointly for a loan, such as a home mortgage, says John Danaher, president of TrueCredit.com, a subsidiary of TransUnion.
• Earning more money will improve your score.
The amount of money you make doesn't affect your credit score. Your score is based entirely on your history of repaying your debts, Chung says. If you're behind on your bills, your score will suffer, no matter how much you earn.
"I could be a multimillionaire, but if I don't pay my bills, the bank doesn't care," Chung says. "They didn't get their money — that's all they care about."
Your occupation, age and employment history don't affect your credit score, either. However, individual lenders may consider those factors, along with your credit score, when deciding whether to give you a loan.
• There's little you can do to improve your score.
Actually, there's a lot you can do, although it may take time.
About 40% of consumers surveyed by the CFA didn't realize they could raise their scores by paying off a large balance on a credit card. A disturbing 28% mistakenly believed they could improve their score by maxing out on their credit cards.
Most credit scoring calculations look at the amount of your outstanding debt compared with your credit limits. Borrowers who have maxed out on their credit cards are considered riskier because they may have trouble making payments. The formula rewards borrowers "who are using credit but using it responsibly," Danaher says.
Paying your bills on time will also go a long way toward improving your credit score. Your score is adjusted as new information comes in.
If you pay your bills on time, your score could improve in as little as three months, Danaher says.
• You can get your credit score for free.
Sadly, that's not true. A federal law enacted last year will allow consumers to get a free copy of their credit reports once a year. The rollout will start in December on the West Coast, expanding to cover all parts of the country by September 2005. But unless you're applying for a home mortgage, you'll still have to pay to get your score.
All three credit reporting agencies will sell you a copy of your credit report and score. You can purchase all three reports and scores HERE for $38.85.
To test your knowledge of credit scores, go to www.consumerfed.org/score.

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Read all of these questions and answers and see if you find something of use!

my opinion is yes
i would go after the creditor and the dern bureau the more i think about how creditors do this stuff and bureaus don't police.the more angry i get
lets take a lender here in town "SOMETHINGNICE finance
they cater to poor credit people with local ties and like to tie up a home with car loans and the like....this is what they do
if you pay well
they don't report to the bureaus
if you dont pay well
they do report

they do this to keep you comming back if you pay good....
because they haven't reported.....you have to come back to them.....
no one else knows you paid well...get it.

then if you pay bad they put it on there so it makes your life miserable...this is preditory lending and reporting

the bureaus should make ALL CREDITORS report both the bad and the good or not report at all

I say don't do business with anoyone who doesn't report

do bureaus have any qualms about the foementioned...
do they even look for it.....nope
all they do is what they are told by creditors
they never bother to see if it is a duplicate of another account
which should be against the law.....and probably is
the problem lies in that creditors have money, time, expertise and the bureaus mighty hand to wave
and guess what
the bureaus just stand idly by and say nothing
what each bureau should have IS
an internal police commission, with all
commissioners being elected by the consumers of America......
...poor consumers....illiterate consumers.....unorganized consumers...and yes a few intellectual consumers with law degrees....then consumers would have a voice and some decent living might be cited by a bureau and a creditor after they lose a couple hundred thousand lawsuits.
which they would
in a court of law a judge will routinely use the "Reasonable Man" feature
would a reasonable man do this...or think this is right.....
on the bureaus side
they have to make money
and its hard and time consuming to do these things
BUT
In my opinion they have to do them.....or else be liable by law.....
lets go one step further
the links on my website that point to buying a credit reportare only clicked on and bought by....guess who...people who want to improve
or repair their credit.....guess what......consumerinfo.com wants me to take off any links that have todo with credit repair....why....they don't like police knocking on their door....what reason do they cite......OH...Credit Repair companies prey on poor consumers........I would like to know what you think.....who is being preyed upon here AND is it better to have a 35.00 per month option to repair your credit using a professional law firm .....or shall we say police the bureaus and creditors
or NOT.....My bet is lex law is more in line with the law than creditors OR bureaus....i may end up taking the links off
but if i do.....i will step up my own campaign to get these preditors off the mapI do know that the people need to be able to look at their credit....and be able to understand it...and be able to change preditors ghastly habits
buy a USA today
today's edition
and see what the nice lady has to say about credit scores....or click on this linkthe creditors and bureaus have the upper hand and the consumers don't even know what's going on.....they need help as is evident in this article
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/columnist/block/2004-09-27-ym_x.htm
bo majors 931-455-6066 days 931-393-3326 nights 931-247-2066 cell
majors@oskie.com
----- Original Message
Sent">majors@oskie.com>Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2004 2:09 PMSubject:
Re: help!!!! 2 email same subject
so is the fact that the date is so recent, on a 4 year debt --is this anexample of re- aging ? what do I do to stop it ?>> and this same debt has run out... the statute of limitations say itsover...how do i get it totally removed, the fact that its being re aged ismore gun power for me...is it not?
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Get a Report with free SCORE HERE!---------------------------
companies will re report your account or put it in as another account tomake it stay on longer.this is a very common predatory creditor practice that is not properlypoliced by ANY bureau.it is in FACT against the law......bureaus AND creditors should all be heldliable of this awful practice.
----- Original Message ----- From:
To: <majors@oskie.com>Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2004 12:45 PM
Subject: help!!!! 2 email same subject your website has been very informative to me... thanks soooo very much. Can you answer a question for me? how can i get a debt that has had the statute of limitations run out on it removed from my report ??
and can you explain what" re- aging an account " is-- i think i may be a victim. thanks soooooo much !!!!!> Sabrina
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Fruad alert's will not get you turned down in most cases UNLESS you are unable to be contacted at the phone number you list in the alert. Make sure you include several phone numbers on any alerts.
Remove an alert the same way you had it placed. Use a 50-100 word letter to ask for removal. Include several items of your personal effects such as drivers license, social card and a phone bill or insurance card.
----- Original Message -----
From: Some one
To: majors@oskie.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2004 5:14 PM
Subject: how to take Fraul Alert Off?
I’ve read a lot on your site, what a great site – I’ve book marked it. But I have a question I did not find any info about on your site. A couple months ago I got on line searching for the best interest rate I could find because we were trying to buy a house. After giving my social security number to several different finance/mortgage companies and letting them run a credit report I was told every time someone run that report it would lower my credit rating. Because I was not even sure whom all I had given my number to I called the automated numbers with Equifax, Experian & Trans Union to stop this but found I could not talk to a real person to explain my situation – I chose to treat it as “fraud”. I knew it was not but didn’t know what else to do at the time. Today applied for a Yamaha loan and was denied. I think the ‘fraud alert’ is probably the reason I was turned down because I have excellent credit. Can you please give me a little advice on how to take the Fraud Alert off?
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it really is not probable but maybe possible

i had the same with toyota
they wouldnt take it off at all
and 2003 puts you to 2010 till it comes off......dont pay someone thinking this will come off
if you haave tried and called and disputed
thats all that can be done

Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2004 10:11 PM
Subject: web site
I was reading your web site. I found some of your information very helpful. I am in a similar situation. My credit was as bad as yours if not worse. All my charge offs are 7 years old or older. So I had them removed. I paid all derogatory items on my credit report. Had those marks removed. My credit score was 541 last November. Now it is 706. I have to credit cards that I pay on time every month. But my problem is Chrysler financial I was late on 32 payments out of 60. I paid loan off 5 months early. So now when I apply for a loan or credit card. Chrysler comes back to haunt me. I took out this loan in October of 1998 and payed it off in May 2003. Is it really possible to have them remove the entire file from my credit report? Thanks Dave
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----- Original Message -----
To: majors@oskie.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2004 12:20 AM
Subject: credit report entry
I was searching the web for”RELS” –it is reported on virtually all of my borrowers credit reports and no phone number
Nor reason nor debt can be associated- Thru my search, I linked to your report and it is also on yours but not addressed except as an inquiry- so I decided what the heck- I’d ask you about this entry-

I pull their credit from all 3 bureaus and it (RELS) appears in the same section as an inquiry around the same time frame but when I pull my inquiry is listed as either Wells Fargo (or whomever the Lender is) or as Landsafe Credit or Info1 ,and says the name of my mortgage company, as the designee. This ‘RELS’ hit is strange- not one borrower knows who it is or why and the dates don’t coincide with my Freddie Mac or Credit pull either-

Do you know what this RELS is for and how and why it appears on credit reports consistently-am I creating this or my title company/Closing Atty or the Lender somehow?

Thanks for the Info if you have it-

Finance Specialist
Professional Mortgage
Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact-it's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a Dare. Impossible is potential Impossible is Temporary.Impossible isNothing.....
*INQS-RELS 181ZB03708 01/14/02 PEOPLES BK 414BB15822 11/06/01 CITIFINANC 243FP256 07/20/01 FUSA, NA 458ON5704 07/07/01 LEND TREE 241FZ157 04/26/01 AEDC CR UN 772FC31 01/15/01 Im certian that rels just means something associated with inquies and expanations....not an inquiry......what does rels mean. Who knows with the bureaus you can never tell and there is no one to talk to about it. It's like they are dead except when its time to prove you don't need the money you want to borrow. but rels in this report, and area, i would assume means nothing other than inquiries. This is the entire premise for my website. the bureaus are so bogged down for time.....millions of reports.....so overburdened they cannot and WILL NOT EVER enjoy a positive working relationship with real live folks and even subscribers as your self who use their services to make loans.....why else would you email me........bureaus....need to get real....
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they change them so often that ive stopped keeping up.....they look for ways to run from you...so just mail it in
----- Original Message -----
To: majors@oskie.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2004 12:16 PM
Subject: fax #'s
I read your website and was wondering if you had the fax #'s to these bureaus? I want to fax my bankruptcy papers to them. Thank you. Merika
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i think you are right
possibly i would look for a rent to own or owner finance home
575 is a low score but i dont know how far it dropped over a late payment......but paying collections helps some but not much until 2 years have past OR you make an agreement to have the account removed as a basisi for your payment
----- Original Message -----

To: majors@oskie.com
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2004 5:21 PM
Subject: credit question
Thank you for your site, i found it quite helpful. I find myself wondering if my mortgage company is being straight with me or not.

The initial credit report showed a score in the range of 575. Over a couple of weeks we were able to clear off by payment and letter 7 items. I provided a letter regarding some 30 day late payments in the past.

Now, it's the week before i have to be out of our current home and the finance person tells me that because we've had one additional late payment the score is 541??? Because the loan we were going for requires 580 minimum, we are in great jeopardy of not only losing the deal, but the roof over our heads too. The finance guy's comment was that he has some "other ideas"...i wonder if he's just looking for a way to soak us for more money, now that we are over a barrel.

I just don't understand how one late payment could hit us that hard unless paying off the old collections and providing letters of payment meant nothing. and if they meant nothing to our bottom line, why did i waste 2 weeks on the phone and a lot of cash out of pocket trying to clear them up?

If you could get back to me on this, and tell me how this could be, my husband and I would greatly appreciate it. We are really in trouble here....Thank you.
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Thanks for your response.I told them that I would go for "their" Judgment style and asked for aletter from them to the 3 credit bureaus indication PAID AS AGREED and toremove any credit info that may appear.Joe>

matters of law are not my specialty> all i know is that they will show up for up to ten years> sounds like the credit union has ya> ----- Original Message -----> From: Sent: Monday, September 20, 2004 2:07 PM> Subject: Credit question
I saw your website and wanted to ask a simple question. Your immediate>> response would be greatly appreciated.
My wife's union filed a lawsuit against her to collect back some money they paid. Although we are willing to pay 100% of what they are claiming, they are requiring that a declaratory (they want it on record that they sued and won for future cases) was entered. I thought, for credit purposes, it would be better to enter a Settlement Judgment. What do you think and/or is there any better way to handle this to avoid it impacting our credit?>>>> Thank you,>>
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you need to open a credit card account
by sending them monies
then pay them well for 12 months and wha la
in the meantime
if your looking for a home
look for seller financing
----- Original Message -----

To: majors@oskie.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 9:55 AM
Subject: (no subject)
I just got a 3 in 1 credit report.. like you I have al lot of late payments listed on a car installment loan that was paid off in 2002. My problem is Equifax has used the 2 yr payment history as a current thing.. showing 2003 and 2004 thus increasing my score to 654. Experian and Trans union are still showing the account under the 2 yr payment history as being from 2001 and 2002. This is killing my credit score. I understand they have the right to report late payments for 7 yrs.. and that should be done under the 7 yr payment history.... not the 2 yr, like the guy from expirean said.. please give me some advice here. Ps does the lexington law firm.. really help repair credit ? I make 99k a year and cant qualify for a bucket to pee in... I have 4 outstanding collection accounts that the bills got lost in moving.. <> I have 4 settled medical bill account.. I owe no one anything at this current time.. and unfortunately have paid cash for almost everything I own.. I need help !! I also havent had any negative credit since the car loan was paid off in 2002. How can I benefit from this and delete old loan negativity ? Charlow RN

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