The Long Shadow of Bad Credit in Job Search Over the last several decades, credit reporting bureaus have been selling their services to a much wider range of buyers than just banks. Nearly half of employers use credit checks when … Continue reading
Many people experienced a decline in their credit scores after the economy crashed in 2008. The loss of a job or skyrocketing expenses can easily send your credit score from the 700s into the 600s. Credit scores can go down … Continue reading
Credit reporting agencies TransUnion and Equifax have confirmed that hackers have gained unauthorized access to users' personal information, including some of the leading political and entertainment figures in America. The hackers obtained the Social Security numbers, credit scores and birthdates … Continue reading
Since credit reports contain sensitive personal information, access to them is limited. The three main credit report bureaus--TransUnion, Equifax and Experian--can only provide your credit reports to people you seek to do business with. But the number of different people … Continue reading
Did you make a New Year's Resolution to get your financial house in order in 2013? A good place to start is by doing a personal checkup of your credit. And there are free options out there. Don't fall for … Continue reading
A report released today by the Federal Trade Commission underscores the need for Americans to check their credit reports on a regular basis. The FTC study found that 26 percent of consumers had a material error on at least one of … Continue reading
California Supreme Court Makes it Easier for Apple, Online Businesses to Collect Personal Data A divided California Supreme Court ruled that online merchants such as Apple and Ticketmaster can require consumers to furnish personal information to make credit card purchases. … Continue reading
Credit card companies are fighting hard for the best customers and now they are competing in a somewhat unusual way: not charging late fees. A handful of cards are differentiating themselves from other issuers by foregoing the collection of a … Continue reading
Credit card bills will soon arrive and show how much households spent during the holidays. Chances are good that many consumers added a few hundred dollars of debt to their credit card accounts which already averaged nearly $5,000 per cardholder. … Continue reading
Consumer Group Warns of Card Surcharges Credit cardholders must be on the watch for new check-out fees that merchants will be able to impose starting in January under a class-action settlement with Visa and MasterCard. But merchant trade groups say … Continue reading
Today, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing to investigate the accuracy and regulation of credit reports. The hearing is called "Making Sense of Consumer Credit Reports" and credit analysts from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and consumer data … Continue reading
A new year is just around the corner. Undoubtedly, millions of people will be making resolutions to lower their credit card debt in 2013. Here are five tips to help lower and manage your credit card debt in the New Year: Know Your … Continue reading
A study released today by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shows that credit reports are dominated by a consumer's credit card history. The report also showed that debt collection items generate the highest rate of disputes. The CFPB analyzed 2011 information … Continue reading
Credit reporting agencies know much more about you than your number of credit cards or how much you owe on your mortgage. You may be surprised at the personal information collected by credit agencies and how many agencies are tracking … Continue reading
As our children grow, they are exposed to many different learning experiences. However, many children are never taught anything about financial literacy or the use of a credit card. Teachers rarely talk about credit cards or credit card debt, so it is critical for parents … Continue reading
FICO recently released a study that gives details about the financial habits of the 50 million consumers with the highest credit scores. FICO scores range from 300 to 850 and any score above 785 is considered very high. Approximately 25 … Continue reading
The credit score you purchase from a credit reporting agency may be very different from the score your lender sees. Lender's scoring models place nearly one in five consumers in different credit categories, according to a new report by the Consumer … Continue reading
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may soon make another move that could help consumers: bringing transparency and public accountability to credit reporting agencies. Beginning September 30th, the CFPB will monitor over 30 of the country's biggest credit bureaus and investigate … Continue reading