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To All:
Before I forget, you need to check out The National Credit Reporting Association, Inc (http://www.ncrainc.org/index.htm). They have a page with links to articles on everything you ever needed to know about protecting your credit.
Lifetime Professional Management Member
To All:
Before I forget, you need to check out The National Credit Reporting Association, Inc (http://www.ncrainc.org/index.htm). They have a page with links to articles on everything you ever needed to know about protecting your credit.
Lifetime Professional Management Member
To All:
The answer is somewhere in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra.htm). I will read it in detail to find the information I know is there.
**
Caution on Credit Reports
I am a mortgage broker by trade and I know by experience that if you "pull" your credit history, it may lower your score 2-3 points. Anybody else that pulls it may lower your score also.
Be careful about applying too many times for credit cards, loans, mortgages. This activity will lower your score. Most banks and lenders will use the middle score of the highest wage earner, in a joint application, to determine your credit worthiness. Generally, 3 scores are provided with each report requested by a bank or lender. The range of scores are 350-850. To obtain the best interest rates, your score should be about 680 or higher. Only 2% of the US population scores above 800.
*** Certified
This information is great to know. Tahnk you for the info.
Lifetime Professional Management Member
Peter,
Thank you for the information. Your post is the first place I have found enough detail to have it make sense.
Peter,
I appreciate the information. I was fortunate to find my score was in the top 2%, but will stop checking if it means I'm lowering the score by looking!
Fred
No, if you look at your report through the link we provided in this topic, there is no penalty at all. The details in the customer agreement at the site we endorse guarantees that. The other member was mentioning a different process of "pulling" your report. But subscribed accounts are exempted.Originally Posted by Frederick Budde
** Certified
Peter,
Awsome! Looks like were both in the same trades.I'm a loan orginator. I was wondering how long have you been in the business?
Barbara Compton
* Certified
When you pull your own credit and or request it , it doesn't count against your score only when someone else pulls it. But your right if someone else pulls your credit it does lower you score.
**
Hi Barbara, I have been in the morgage business about one year. I worked for a branch office of Ameriquest here in the Pittsburgh area. Then I switched to a mortgage brokerage firm in the fall last year and really stated to learn the business. But as everyone knows, rates are going up and business has been slowing down. I have been working part-time from home and was looking for another opportunity to supplement my income. I began with IPIU in March this year and really enjoy the group of people involved. My first assignment is Saturday night, with the Anti-Piracy Investigation.
I did not want to mislead anyone about lowering your credit scores by requesting them yourself. It may be true that your score will not be lowered by requesting them yourself. I was speaking from a Bank or Lenders' perspective. I have seen scores lowered many times due to repeated inquires when applying for loans or credit cards.
Good luck to all.
Pete
** Certified
Peter,
Too bad I didn't know this sooner. I was just in the Pittsburgh area on Friday. (I live in the scranton area and my son had a prom date out there.) We could have talked shop.I do have some angles if your interested.
Good Luck in everything
Barbara Compton
Associate
Learned Something New AGAIN!!
I am amazed at all the information I have come across since joining the International Private Investigators Union IPIU. Thanks so much for the info. concerning how to get your credit reports online. Never thought I would learn so much about that topic here, but guess it goes without saying that identity theft is something that is a big concern and is something a Private Investigator would need to know about.
Off to read some more and see what else I can learn while waiting for my manual to arrive!
Thanks Everyone!!
Peggy
Private Investigator Forum Member
I do debt collections for a living. It isn't my desired line of work but it is work if you know what I mean.
To my knowledge I haven't seen but maybe one or two cases of possible identity theft. Most of the time the debtors just claim to be someone else or claim they never took out such and such credit card when they are really just trying to get out of paying a bill.
It isn't that I am without empathy...our credit went down the tubes about 8 years ago when my husband, for whatever reason, could not get another job. He does have a narcoleptic condition and but he doesn't receive disability. We are still trying to get disability. He still doesn't have a decent job, he works about 10 hours a week at Hardees for barely above minimum wage, and I am left by myself to support a family of four.
Needless to say, I have bills I can't pay too but I'm not going to lie about it and say someone stole my identity. I just keep filing economic hardship and/or unemployment every year on my student loans. I've been laid off 3 times since I graduated from college in 2001.
Hi Lucricia,
Your comment about pulling your own credit report makes sense. However, I've been told my financiers that too many applications for credit cards or loans will bring your credit score down, down, down. And it certainly has happened in our case. We had excellent credit scores about 2 yrs. ago but because I was trying to refinance home/business, it hurt us. I truly believe this is unfair. I know the highest credit rating here in Texas is 700, I didn't know it varied in different states, as I saw the previous comment stated 800 is the highest. Interesting though.
Lifetime Professional Management Member
To All:
I have been looking for the answer to this. I contacted the three major credit reporting agencies (CRAs). I recieved one reply, but it does not answer the question explicitly.
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 17:14:39 +0000
Dear Michael,
Thank you for your interest in TransUnion policies.
Below are some basic responses to questions we receive.
Q: Can TransUnion add an account that is not reporting on my file?
A: TransUnion stores information which is supplied by creditors who subscribe to our services, and TransUnion has certified the accuracy of their information. Creditors usually report account information to us through computer tapes. New accounts may take four to six months from the opening date to appear on a credit report. We do not add checking or savings account information to our computer files. If you would like a specific creditor to report information to TransUnion, you may wish to contact them directly. If the creditor is a member of our services, you can request that this creditor voluntarily report the account information to us.
Q: Can TransUnion delete my social security number from my file? I don't want it appearing on my file.
A: Your personal information, such as name, address, date of birth, and social security number, is reported to TransUnion by your creditors. TransUnion maintains a separate credit report for each individual. Without your social security number, the quality and accuracy of your credit history could be compromised. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act permits TransUnion to maintain personal and credit information in our records.
* In addition to this, TransUnion has begun to truncate the consumer's social security number on all consumer disclosures and corrected consumer disclosures.
One last thing, medical collections are allowed to report to credit reporting agencies.
New PI Forum Member
Yeah, right, freeThe only way to get a free report is if you've been denied by a creditor. then Oh
but you have to pay for a membership or shipping & handling or some other ploy.
Any way, credit ratings depend on the different companys and what you are purchasing. real estate or mortgage differs from autos. I sold new/used autos for a while, I forget what the highest score is but I've seen an 802. No kiddin'
And yes, every inquiry or "hit" to your credit report causes your score to decrease. I saw someone go from a 670 to a 440 within 6 months or less from all the hits, searching for "the best deal"
Keep in mind your credit is reported usually every 30 days and there's a lot of information on them; account #'s, addresses, DOB, SSN, etc.
I have known all along that good credit is important. My credit is not the best. I would imagine they will give me a fair to good rating. I understand, however, that there are other folks out there with a far better rating. There is nothing I can do about that but try to fix the situation.
Thanks for reminding me and putting the link right there so I had no excuses to not do what needed to be done.
Administrator:
Not so. All you need is a credit card to qualify for the free 30 days of credit report, credit score, and credit monitoring.Yeah, right, free
If you click on the link provided on Page 1, it will take you to their main page. Then click on FREE REPORT. Then before you start filling in your name, click on the small link titled DETAILS.
Here's a copy:
When the 30 days is finished, cancel. And no charges will be biiled to your card.Sign up today for a 30-day FREE trial of the CreditCheck® Monitoring Service, and you'll receive an instant, FREE copy of your credit report just for trying the service! As a member, you'll have easy access to your instant credit report anytime, plus the peace of mind that comes from knowing we're monitoring your credit file for you.
That's why this offer is so good, to obtain all three credit scores from across the country . . . instantly.
Not so.
This program is new and is different than simply going through the old method of inquiring (which did hurt the report). This new program is a new authorized program to allow the citizen to look (not inquire) of their most recent reports. No points are deducted whatsoever.
Yes, that is the wrong approach. And that person was shopping for a "best deal" with whatever merchants that were actually running his/her report, which hurt it. Again, this new program does not hurt the report.I saw someone go from a 670 to a 440 within 6 months or less from all the hits, searching for "the best deal"
That's true. But what you see today through the link is what every new potential creditor sees today.
Administrator:
You may be surprised.
One investigator with bad credit in North Dakotah actually had bad credit in his state.
But when he went to the link we offered and purchased the scores, he found that one out of three credit reporting companies gave him excellent credit and a high score.
Why? Because the USA is divided into 3 areas by the 3 major credit reporting companies. And they do not share all of the good and bad credit with the others.
Answer: Once you know which company is giving you good crdedit, simply apply for credit in their area or through the local stores and banks there.
As for the bad credit you think you have, you may be surprised to see how time flies and how older files have been deleted automatically.
In the end, you should know what you actually have.
Administrator:
Another investigator shared this:We had excellent credit scores about 2 yrs. ago but because I was trying to refinance home/business, it hurt us. I truly believe this is unfair.
Print off the original three-scores and complete credit report online (as we have in the first post).
Then drive to the creditors or banks and show them the report for their casual opinion. Or, leave a copy.
Either way, they do not have to pull your report until you and the bank are serious to proceed.
Sr. Member:
Robert,
Thanks for the resource. I went to the site and got my free report and found it to be pretty comprehensive. As someone that actively works on keeping my credit in good standing I found no surprises, except one little detail about the service: although you get a good summary of your credit for free for the first 30 days, you have to pay extra ($2 or $5, depending on choice) if you want to get your credit score, which is an indication of how good your credit really is.
My two cents.
Ivan Delgado, Ph.D.
Texas
Yes I would like to know how you recieve your free credit report also if you can direct me in the right path It would be very helpful to me
Hi Cecilia,
I'm glad someone answered re trying to link onto the free credit report website. Go to page (1) in this forum and it's repeated a couple of times. You'll see it in bold print. Now, I've tried it and it says "server cannot be found". So, I just don't know what to think.
Beverly Thank you for replying I thought it was just me that couldn't get there
You're welcome, Cecilia. Were you able to link onto the website?
As of last night I was having trouble with this silly computer. It was having a mind of it's own and I was losing the battle so No I didn't and I gave up but I will try again later when I have more time to fight and win.
Keep trying Cecilia, and let me know if you need any help.
Administrator
Here's a copy of the links to click on:
Astounding new service never before offered!
Now you can see your complete credit report online from ALL of the major national credit bureaus in one report, PLUS your individual CREDIT SCORE that (up to now) has never before been made available to the public!
Why your Credit Score?
Because although you may have good credit, you may be turned down because your Credit Score is too low. This new service also explains in a Custom Description what you can do to RAISE your Credit Score.
Or, if you think you have bad credit, you may see that your Credit Score is HIGH! Why? Because bad credit, or no credit, or little credit, may get you a higher Credit Score.
What is a Credit Score?
Simply this: When you apply for credit, they see your credit report and they see your Credit Score. Granting approval is done ONLY with the Credit Score 99% of the time, because it is automated.
Another factor: Why would a higher Credit Score get you a lower interest rate? Answer: Lower Credit Scores pay higher interest!
Read MORE free details, or get your report NOW by clicking on the following special discounted link:
CLICK HERE to Read FREE Details
INSIDE TIP:
When going to the above discount link, click on the item titled 3 Bureau Instant Online Credit Report which allows you the option to get your Credit Score for ONLY $5 more!
FREE BONUS!
News Flash:
Today we just learned that you can ALSO get the following:
*FREE INSTANT ONLINE CREDIT REPORT!
*FREE 30 DAY TRIAL FOR DAILY CREDIT REPORTS!
(The Daily Credit Report is neat! This means they will notify you THE SAME DAY whenever your credit is looked at or has bad information posted to it or has other important items posted to your crddit report. The old method was to mail you a monthly report.)
CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING PICTURE:
For some reason, I still can't click onto this website above.
Administrative Forum Trainer
Beverly, please, try the links again. I tried all the links in every post in this thread. I did not find one link that did not work. Give them another try. If they don't work, it may be your setting on your computer. Good luck in all you do.
Have a wonderful week. Take care.
Just a quick reminder for all of you concerned about identity theft. I'm sure the links given here are OK, but there are a lot of e-mails offering similar services.
Moderator Note:CONSUMERINFO does not send unsolicited emails offering this service.
(Otherwise . . . go here for Frederick's Post)
Temporary Guest
This is to acknowledge that the information that was placed here were very informative, and that it will assist a lot of members in clearing up their credit.
Thank you.
thank you for the great tip I have gone to the web page and got my score WOW
Joyce;
I hope that's a "good" WOW
Robert,
Having good credit is very important. Thanks for information.
________________
Celeste Bryant
Thanks for the info, great reading.
Simple Solutions Seldom Are.
Hello Robert,
Thanks for your excellent information on credit report/points.I will check out the web link you have provided. Thanks again for the information.
Administrator
Now more important are credit scores worth knowing more than credit reports!
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