Comments on: 7 Common Misconceptions About Credit Reporting and Your Credit Score http://www.debtfreeleague.com/blog/2012/01/04/7-common-misconceptions-about-credit-reporting-and-your-credit-score/ Valuable consumer and small business owner tips on debt settlement, debt consolidation, debt collection, bankruptcy, and credit repair. Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:49:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: admin http://www.debtfreeleague.com/blog/2012/01/04/7-common-misconceptions-about-credit-reporting-and-your-credit-score/#comment-413 admin Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:35:47 +0000 http://www.debtfreeleague.com/blog/?p=136#comment-413 A Conspiracy theorist, eh? Well, you're certainly hitting the nail in the head about "BIG CORPORATIONS." Oftentimes, society condemns BIG GOVERNMENT but we easily forget to keep a constitutional system of Checks and Balances on BIG CORPORATIONS, which are the driving force influencing the absurdity of lawmakers and bills like SOPA/PIPA. Hopefully you are wrong about your theory because if passed, SOPA/IPA would have a crippling effect on our economy. Not only would SOPA/PIPA impact the likes of Facebook and Youtube, but it would lambaste government, inundating courts at a local, state, and federal level, and finally, it would impoverish banks, which would be the likely insurers of many plaintiffs that would be defending against SOPA/PIPA lawsuits. You can definitely say that banks have a lot to do with the present state of credit bureaus, unfair credit reporting, and the consumer credit score. A Conspiracy theorist, eh? Well, you’re certainly hitting the nail in the head about “BIG CORPORATIONS.” Oftentimes, society condemns BIG GOVERNMENT but we easily forget to keep a constitutional system of Checks and Balances on BIG CORPORATIONS, which are the driving force influencing the absurdity of lawmakers and bills like SOPA/PIPA.

Hopefully you are wrong about your theory because if passed, SOPA/IPA would have a crippling effect on our economy. Not only would SOPA/PIPA impact the likes of Facebook and Youtube, but it would lambaste government, inundating courts at a local, state, and federal level, and finally, it would impoverish banks, which would be the likely insurers of many plaintiffs that would be defending against SOPA/PIPA lawsuits.

You can definitely say that banks have a lot to do with the present state of credit bureaus, unfair credit reporting, and the consumer credit score.

]]> By: George http://www.debtfreeleague.com/blog/2012/01/04/7-common-misconceptions-about-credit-reporting-and-your-credit-score/#comment-404 George Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:37:01 +0000 http://www.debtfreeleague.com/blog/?p=136#comment-404 Really interesting to think about the books at Barnes and Noble on this topic. Honestly, I recall seeing a money/finance section there; but I typically view those books as sort of "scammy" in some way. Financial books and self-help psychology books both come across in the same way to me, and maybe I am right to a good degree; but I am realizing that there actually may be some good content in those books. Oh, and I agree fully with you on the importance of websites like Wikipedia. I am actually starting to wonder if the recent SOPA/PIPA bills that were working their ways through the House of Representatives (in the USA) had anything to do with credit card companies or banks wanting to minimize access to information like this. Maybe that is just my conspiracy theory or something, but it doesn't seem to far fetched to me! Really interesting to think about the books at Barnes and Noble on this topic. Honestly, I recall seeing a money/finance section there; but I typically view those books as sort of “scammy” in some way. Financial books and self-help psychology books both come across in the same way to me, and maybe I am right to a good degree; but I am realizing that there actually may be some good content in those books.

Oh, and I agree fully with you on the importance of websites like Wikipedia. I am actually starting to wonder if the recent SOPA/PIPA bills that were working their ways through the House of Representatives (in the USA) had anything to do with credit card companies or banks wanting to minimize access to information like this. Maybe that is just my conspiracy theory or something, but it doesn’t seem to far fetched to me!

]]> By: admin http://www.debtfreeleague.com/blog/2012/01/04/7-common-misconceptions-about-credit-reporting-and-your-credit-score/#comment-381 admin Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:17:00 +0000 http://www.debtfreeleague.com/blog/?p=136#comment-381 George, thank God for the Internet and sources like Wikipedia because whether willfully or legally, ZERO information is given to the public via credit card agreements. The same applies to the purveyors of credit data, the credit bureaus, which purposely intend to keep people in the dark about the true mechanics of credit scoring. But, aside from the web - and run while you can these brick and mortar bookstores are open - you can read some great credit repair and credit score literature in the likes of Barnes & Noble. George, thank God for the Internet and sources like Wikipedia because whether willfully or legally, ZERO information is given to the public via credit card agreements. The same applies to the purveyors of credit data, the credit bureaus, which purposely intend to keep people in the dark about the true mechanics of credit scoring. But, aside from the web – and run while you can these brick and mortar bookstores are open – you can read some great credit repair and credit score literature in the likes of Barnes & Noble.

]]> By: George http://www.debtfreeleague.com/blog/2012/01/04/7-common-misconceptions-about-credit-reporting-and-your-credit-score/#comment-378 George Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:04:03 +0000 http://www.debtfreeleague.com/blog/?p=136#comment-378 I seriously don't think people really get what credit scores are, even though we hear about them all the time on tv! I still have one of the songs from FreeCreditReport.com's tv ad's jingle, but having a fun song stuck in my head does nothing to teach me about credit scores. I find it to be really cool that you have put together these 7 misconceptions about credit reports, because they are often not spoken about too much between credit companies and people who use credit cards. That point brings me to the real focus of my comment, do the terms of service (for say a credit card) tend to include information on credit reporting? It's been so long since I enrolled for a credit card, as I've been using the same one for the past several years. It would be interesting to see where people are expected to get this information (aside from on the internet). I seriously don’t think people really get what credit scores are, even though we hear about them all the time on tv! I still have one of the songs from FreeCreditReport.com’s tv ad’s jingle, but having a fun song stuck in my head does nothing to teach me about credit scores. I find it to be really cool that you have put together these 7 misconceptions about credit reports, because they are often not spoken about too much between credit companies and people who use credit cards. That point brings me to the real focus of my comment, do the terms of service (for say a credit card) tend to include information on credit reporting? It’s been so long since I enrolled for a credit card, as I’ve been using the same one for the past several years. It would be interesting to see where people are expected to get this information (aside from on the internet).

]]> By: admin http://www.debtfreeleague.com/blog/2012/01/04/7-common-misconceptions-about-credit-reporting-and-your-credit-score/#comment-301 admin Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:59:11 +0000 http://www.debtfreeleague.com/blog/?p=136#comment-301 Good you're doing your research. You're right, the FCRA affords you many consumer rights. Answering your question, quoting the FCRA, if the Verizon account isn't 100% accurate, complete, and verifiable, Equifax is reporting "erroneous" data that should be deleted from your credit file. You should dispute this by calling in or mailing a dispute to Equifax. A dispute will open a case requiring Equifax to do a re investigation with the credit furnisher (Verizon). If the disputed data cannot be verified, is incorrect, or Equifax fails to complete the investigation within 30 days of your dispute, they are legally compelled to permanently delete the data from your credit file. You also stated that the Verizon account is very old. If the date of non-payment on the account was over 7 years old, Equifax has no business reporting the derogatory. After 7-years, the collection account should have been deleted from your credit report. You can advise Equifax of this fact because they are illegally reporting negative data past the 7-year limit. <strong>Note: </strong>Derogatory information remains on your credit report for 7 years, bankruptcy for up to 10 years, and positive information remains indefinitely. Good Luck. Good you’re doing your research. You’re right, the FCRA affords you many consumer rights.

Answering your question, quoting the FCRA, if the Verizon account isn’t 100% accurate, complete, and verifiable, Equifax is reporting “erroneous” data that should be deleted from your credit file. You should dispute this by calling in or mailing a dispute to Equifax.

A dispute will open a case requiring Equifax to do a re investigation with the credit furnisher (Verizon). If the disputed data cannot be verified, is incorrect, or Equifax fails to complete the investigation within 30 days of your dispute, they are legally compelled to permanently delete the data from your credit file.

You also stated that the Verizon account is very old. If the date of non-payment on the account was over 7 years old, Equifax has no business reporting the derogatory. After 7-years, the collection account should have been deleted from your credit report. You can advise Equifax of this fact because they are illegally reporting negative data past the 7-year limit.

Note: Derogatory information remains on your credit report for 7 years, bankruptcy for up to 10 years, and positive information remains indefinitely.

Good Luck.

]]> By: Esdras http://www.debtfreeleague.com/blog/2012/01/04/7-common-misconceptions-about-credit-reporting-and-your-credit-score/#comment-299 Esdras Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:51:03 +0000 http://www.debtfreeleague.com/blog/?p=136#comment-299 I have heard numerous claims about credit repair and the truth is I was somewhat of a skeptic. I thought it was some kind of scam. But, thanks to informative articles like the one at DebtFreeLeague Blog, I'm gradually finding that most of the information out there attacking credit repair is pure propaganda. It seems the system wants you to think there's nothing you can do to fix your credit. I read somewhere that erroneous data appears in about 80% of all credit reports. But I also read the Fair Credit Reporting Act lets you challenge a lot of the false junk the credit bureaus report. Just because you owe a debt doesn't mean it is being factually reported and if it's not 100% accurate, they are violating the law. Equifax reports that I owe about $3,000 on an old Verizon account. Many years ago I challenged this debt with Verizon, which was only several hundred at the time. I'm wondering if you can give me any tip to get this inaccurate item off my credit report. Any help would be great. Thanks. E. I have heard numerous claims about credit repair and the truth is I was somewhat of a skeptic. I thought it was some kind of scam. But, thanks to informative articles like the one at DebtFreeLeague Blog, I’m gradually finding that most of the information out there attacking credit repair is pure propaganda. It seems the system wants you to think there’s nothing you can do to fix your credit. I read somewhere that erroneous data appears in about 80% of all credit reports. But I also read the Fair Credit Reporting Act lets you challenge a lot of the false junk the credit bureaus report. Just because you owe a debt doesn’t mean it is being factually reported and if it’s not 100% accurate, they are violating the law. Equifax reports that I owe about $3,000 on an old Verizon account. Many years ago I challenged this debt with Verizon, which was only several hundred at the time. I’m wondering if you can give me any tip to get this inaccurate item off my credit report. Any help would be great. Thanks. E.

]]> By: Chris Romans http://www.debtfreeleague.com/blog/2012/01/04/7-common-misconceptions-about-credit-reporting-and-your-credit-score/#comment-287 Chris Romans Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:46:47 +0000 http://www.debtfreeleague.com/blog/?p=136#comment-287 This article has truly been enlightening. I tend to have the belief that human beings have made things (like credit scoring) unnecessarily complicated. The fact that most people (the "hoi polloi") do not understand credit scores is part ignorance, and part sheer complexity of the system that has been created. It should also be pointed out that many people, including myself, maintain ignorance about our credit scores simply because they do not effect us on a day to day basis. I've been trying to get out of this rut, though, and learn at least some basics about them as I am preparing to make some large purchases (a house specifically) within the next few years; so I would imagine having a nice credit score would make securing a home much easier on my part. Anyways, getting off of "myself" here; I'd say these are some solid misconceptions about credit scores. Though, I would have to admit that some of them seem rather unfair like the effects of closing an account and reopening another one. That just seems like a rather arbitrary reason to judge someones ability to successfully pay back credit debts, but I'm going to guess there is good reason for it. I look forward to seeing what you more you have to say with regards to credit on this blog! Thanks for the information! This article has truly been enlightening. I tend to have the belief that human beings have made things (like credit scoring) unnecessarily complicated. The fact that most people (the “hoi polloi”) do not understand credit scores is part ignorance, and part sheer complexity of the system that has been created. It should also be pointed out that many people, including myself, maintain ignorance about our credit scores simply because they do not effect us on a day to day basis. I’ve been trying to get out of this rut, though, and learn at least some basics about them as I am preparing to make some large purchases (a house specifically) within the next few years; so I would imagine having a nice credit score would make securing a home much easier on my part.

Anyways, getting off of “myself” here; I’d say these are some solid misconceptions about credit scores. Though, I would have to admit that some of them seem rather unfair like the effects of closing an account and reopening another one. That just seems like a rather arbitrary reason to judge someones ability to successfully pay back credit debts, but I’m going to guess there is good reason for it. I look forward to seeing what you more you have to say with regards to credit on this blog! Thanks for the information!

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