Messages posted by: dtempleton

Credit.com joins with federal, state and local government agencies and consumer protection organizations to announce the 12th Annual National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) , March 7-13. National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), March 7-13. This coordinated consumer education campaign encourages individuals across the country to take full advantage of their consumer rights.

This year's theme -- Dollars & Sense: Rated "A" for All Ages -- highlights the importance of using good consumer sense at every stage of life – from grade school to retirement. In recognition of NCPW 2010, Credit.com and its team of Experts are promoting tips, tools and other free resources to help people protect their privacy, manage money and debt, avoid identity theft, understand credit and mortgages, and steer clear of frauds and scams.

This year, NCPW organizations are reaching out to kids, focusing on websites, videos and games designed for a younger audience. Kids under 12 spend billions of dollars on goods and services each year, so it makes sense to provide them with these valuable tools. It's essential that kids understand key consumer and business concepts, like credit and identity theft, banking and fraud, and marketing and advertising. The resources highlighted on the NCPW website introduce these concepts and teach kids practical lessons about the role of business and government in their everyday lives.

To support this year's NCPW campaign, Credit.com will be hosting a daily series on consumer protection issues with tips, tools and expert commentary through our blog, in our learning center and community forums, as well as in the Expert Insight area of our news. We're also hosting a week-long public relations campaign where our team of experts will do their part to spread the word on key consumer protections and financial literacy topics via radio, television and print mediums.

National organizers of this year's NCPW include AARP, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Consumer Federation of America, the Council of Better Business Bureaus, the Federal Citizen's Information Center, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Trade Commission, the National Association of Attorneys General, the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators, the National Consumers League, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Postal Service. For more information about NCPW, visit www.consumer.gov/ncpw.

About Credit.com: Credit.com provides straightforward education and products to help consumers make better financial decisions. Credit.com was established in 1995 with the goal of helping consumers with any credit standing to establish, rebuild, enhance and effectively use credit. Our industry experts create clear paths for consumers looking to improve their finances. For more information, go to: www.credit.com.

I know the main reason they do not allow a retry is because you're dealing with very sensitive credit information. If they were to allow an unlimited number of tries, a potential identity thief could theoretically keep trying until they got all of the answers right. Not good at all! But perhaps a second chance with an initial lockout period of say 14-days, might be an alternative? That way if someone flubbed the security questions, they have enough time to order their full credit reports directly through the credit reporting agencies so that they know exactly what's being reported in their reports before trying for their Report Card again? This way you'd get one shot and if you blow the security questions, you're locked out for 14 days but if you fail again after the lockout, you would lose the option of ever obtaining a free report. These are just ideas and will need to be reviewed by the technical team and meet Credit.com's security requirements but I think it's still worth the suggestion. Great feedback!

In order to access your Credit Report Card you must answer the authentication questions correctly to verify your identity. The security questions are generated from the data reported in your TransUnion credit file and are used as a security precaution to guarantee that only you access your personal credit information.

Unfortunately, if you fail the authentication questions you will not be able to access your Credit Report Card. You will need to order your credit report directly from TransUnion. If you have not yet ordered your 1 free annual report, you can order your report directly from the www.annualcreditreport.com website for free.

At this time, we do not have a lockout period feature that allows you an option of retrying if you fail authentication. However, this is a great idea and the more people that suggest it, the more likely it will be included in a future update of the free service. To suggest a feature for our technical team to consider, please visit the support section of the Credit Report Card site here to post your ideas and share your thoughts: http://www.getsatisfaction.com/creditcom

Hi Shanet - transferring the balances isn't going to improve your scores because in reality, all you're doing is moving the debt from one credit card to another. The credit scoring models are still going to see and include the debt in your score calculation. The best thing to do is pay down the balances (as much as you can afford to do so). The good news is that improving your scores due to credit card debt is a quick fix - as long as you have the cash to pay down the balances. As soon as you pay down the credit card balances, and the creditors update the information at the credit bureaus, your scores will immediately reflect the change. The goal is to get your revolving utilization down as low as you possibly can so that you get the maximum number of points in this category. The lower your revolving utilization on your credit cards, the higher your scores will be.

You can read everything you'll ever need to know about revolving utilization and more, here: Credit Improvement: Your Amount of Debt

Hi everyone - Our technical team is currently working with our credit bureau partner to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. As soon as we know more, we'll provide an update within the feedback section of the Credit Report Card and let you know when you can try again.

For the quickest resolution on technical issues, we advise using the Feedback option within the report. You can link directly to the support page here for the status on specific issues or to post questions: http://getsatisfaction.com/creditcom

If you sign up for the account, you've already done the damage so it doesn't make sense to cancel it. It'll still show up in your reports and the inquiry and new balance on the card will impact your scores. And just because you close the account doesn't mean that it won't be reported in your credit reports. Even closed accounts that were in good standing remain in your reports for up to 10 years.

The decision is yours but that 10 or 20% discount isn't really worth it in the long run.

It's impossible to tell you how many points this would add to your scores because there are simply too many variables in credit scoring and it would depend on all of the other information currently being reported in your credit report. Having said that, positive account information is always GOOD for your scores - never bad.

Now in regards to the reporting. The only way that the loan will be reported is if the lender that financed the loan (the company you made the car payments to most likely) can report the loan to the credit bureaus. I know it's frustrating and you haven't been able to get a response but based on what I'm reading, it's really Heritage Bank that would have to actually report the loan (if they were the lender in the program). It's also important to point out that credit reporting is completely voluntary and the lender isn't required to report to the bureaus. This is one of the reasons we advise that consumers ask the lender if they report to the credit reporting agencies before they apply for a loan. Some lenders will report to one bureau but not all three. And some lenders won't report to any of the three. This is more common with Credit Unions but it's still a good idea to ask beforehand.

Don't give up until you get a solid answer though. I would contact Heritage Bank again and go up the chain of command to get an answer on whether or not they report to the bureaus. And if they do, request that they report the account.

Hi roggertoro - Actually, new guidelines for FICO began on November 1st that changes the negative hit to consumers going under a loan mod under the government plan. One of our experts wrote about this topic early last month. Here's an excerpt from our news section:

"November 1st, 2009, brought with it good news for consumers who want to modify their mortgages without lowering their credit scores. That was the first day that a new way of reporting a loan modification to the credit bureaus became available to mortgage lenders. From this point forward, mortgage lenders can report a loan modification as "Loan Modified Under Federal Government Plan." This new way to report a loan modification does not have any negative impact to a consumer's FICO credit scores.

Keep in mind, however, that this new credit reporting guideline only applies if the consumer seeks a loan modification under the Making Home Affordable plan. If you choose a loan modification program that is not a government plan, you run that chance of ending up with lower credit scores because of the very damaging "partial payment plan" reporting guidelines. A partial payment plan statement on your credit report is considered seriously negative and can do significant damage to your credit."

To read the entire article, go to: Loan Modification Reporting Changes

Hi Le -I think you're confusing "spam" with "scam". If you review this thread you'll see that many consumers have been scammed (not spammed) with advanced fee loan fraud which has been rampant over the last year or more due to the recession and desperate times.

Your site states that it markets to charitable organizations and private investors but gives no detailed information on who these organizations or private investors are. The person that posted to your site shared their story willingly in our forums to warn others because "scammers' (as in advanced fee loan fraud scams) were using your site and the posts to find potential victims. In fact, this person shared that she was almost scammed by TWO offers based on her post to your site.

Even though you (and your organization or website) may have the best intentions, not everyone out there has a heart of gold. Read through the threads and you'll hear the heart wrenching stories of families that have sent their last dime by wire to fraudulent investors promising them that they'll have funds wired to their accounts within 24 hours. And whether you agree or not, it's a fact that a recently registered site (usually within the last month) and a free email address instead of a legitimate business address are both red flag warnings that even the FTC warns against so that consumers do their due diligence before doing business with a lender or organization.

Hi ianmylesmom -

Not being able to see your actual credit report data, I can only guess at what could be causing the lower grade level of C-... Because it's showing a C- my guess would be that there is a record of some type of late payment(s) or negative indicator being reported somewhere in your credit report. If you've said you've never had a late payment, this could very well mean you have errors currently being reported in your credit report with TransUnion.

The Credit Report Card is only a snap shot of the data that's currently being reported in your TransUnion credit report, not the full credit report. In your case, I think it would be worth ordering your full report to see exactly 'what' is being reported and dispute errors if there are any. If you haven't already done so, you can try ordering your free annual credit report from www.annualcreditreport.com. You can order from all three bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) but as far as the Credit Report Card goes, it's using the report information on file for you at Trans Union.

Hi mpierce - I'm sorry you're having trouble accessing your report. I'm not aware of any technical issues but when you're ordering the report there is an option on the page (on the left) that says "feedback". If you post your error message in the feedback section of the Credit Report Card, our technical team will be able to look into this and answer it for you. If you're having trouble locating this section within the form, you can get to the support site by going directly to: http://www.getsatisfaction.com/creditcom

I know that you will get an error message if you fail the identity verification part of the order but it would explain this and prompt you to order your free report directly from TransUnion via the www.annualcreditreport.com website.

Hi gadixie

As far as credit scores go, there are many different scores available on the market so it's easy to confuse them. (Not all credit scores are FICO scores for example.) And even then, your scores can vary depending on which bureau you order your report from and the actual data on file at the individual bureau. Not all lenders report to all three bureaus so the information at one bureau may not be the same at another.

Credit scores can also vary greatly depending on which scoring model is used. For example, the FICO score ranges from 300-850 while the Vantage Score ranges from 501-990. Big difference in ranges and if you're comparing a FICO score from Equifax to a Vantage Score from TU, you're bound to see 100 point or more differences.

Do you know which report you ordered through Credit.com?

The skip a payment offers are a bad idea for the very reason you've just stated: if you choose to take them up on the skip a payment offer, the interest still accrues at the regular rate. That means if you're close to maxing out, that added interest can put you over the limit (which is what happened in your case). You can read more about skip a payment offers in this thread: No Minimum Payment Due

The CARD Act will put a stop to this type of practice by credit card issuers but… unfortunately, not until the bulk of the laws go into effect in February 2010. However, new legislation is pushing to move this date up to December 2010. Under the CARD Act, credit card issuers will only be able to increase your interest rate under certain circumstances and going over the limit is NOT one of them. Also under the new law, issuers will not be able to charge you an over-the-limit fee if you go over the limit solely due to interest charges or fees.

The bad news… these changes aren't yet in place so there is no way to force the issuer to reverse the interest and over limit fees…

If your credit card payments are unmanageable and you're barely able to pay the minimum's, you might consider looking into a consumer credit counseling service. CCCS of Greater Atlanta has a great reputation and even though they are based in Atlanta, they help consumers all over the country. Their counselors are also available 24/7 online or by phone. Before you consider bankruptcy, I think it would be worth it to work with CCCS and see if you qualify for a DMP (Debt Management Plan). They'll help negotiate with your credit card issuers to lower your interest rates and also lower your monthly payments into one low payment that you can afford. Just something to think about.

Herb - B or C is your option and either one will do. When it comes to an auto installment loan, it's not so much the balance as the type of account and how you manage the account. There's a big difference in the way FICO scores view revolving (credit card) and installment (auto/mortgage) loans.

Personally, I'd probably go with option C and finance the loan for 36-48 months just to show a solid history and still pay off the loan in a reasonable amount of time w/ as little interest as possible.

I'm very sorry to hear about your situation

and I wish there were some miracle advice that I could give... I don't know if it helps but have you thought of alternatives like consumer credit counseling, debt settlement or even a free consultation with a bankruptcy attorney? It's not always what you would want but when things get to the point that you just can't see a light at the end of a tunnel, bankruptcy may be the answer. If not BK, it's still might be worth it to investigate all of the options out there (CCCS, debt settlement, bankruptcy, etc.)

As far as the 25k loan, have you tried any of the non-traditional peer-to-peer lending sites like prosper.com? That's probably going to be your best bet but even then, 25k is a bit steep for peer-to-peer...

Any chance that you might be able to borrow enough from friends, relatives or family members to help keep you from being evicted from your apartment?