CardRatings.com Monthly Newsletter April 2005
April 1, 2005
How to Dispute and Correct Errors on Your Credit Report: A Step-by-Step Guide
The bad news is that errors on credit reports are very common. The good news is that you can easily correct mistakes on your credit report by following these simple steps. (3/18/05)
Student Credit Card Debt: A Survival Guide for Students
Student credit card debt is a epidemic on college campuses throughout the country. This guide offers simple and staightforward advice from leading experts to help students deal with this complex problem. (3/7/05)
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ilsanilsne asks, How long does it take for credit card companies to start showing up on credit report files? I'm trying to repair my bad credit. I have a handfull of collection accounts that are 5 years old and I know will expire in about 2 more years. So I've been trying to re-establish credit by getting a secured card with Orchard bank and also a unsecured credit card which I got and am paying on time. I got them both in February. I know it's only been probably about 6 -7 weeks, but I'm anticipating the score going up. Also my mom just added me on to her amex blue yesterday to help my score and credit, since she has very good credit. My scores are: 570 Equifax score from their website (which monitors every day) 575 Experion score (Approx. FACO score) 565 TransUnion (Approx. FACO score) Thanks for any advice!
Senior Member, Ira, responds, Other than for instant gratification, why are you checking your scores so often? Concentrate on establishing good personal credit usage habits, such as never spending more than you can pay off during a given month, and your score will continue to rise. Unless you're going for a major loan, such as a mortgage or car loan, your score is very much like your pulse. Live a healthy life and your pulse will be fine. It will go up a bit during excercise and down a bit when you're at rest. Of and by itself it doesn't mean very much, and few people check their pulse very often. The same is true about your credit score. It will fluctuate all by itself whether you check it or not.
LisaMarisa asks, I have a question. I have noticed many board memebers praise the benefits of Privacyguard in terms of getting inquiries removed from you credit reports. I have a decent credit score experian - 749, Equifax - 741, and TU - 717. But my score could be better if could get some the inquiries removed. The inquires were a result of shopping for a mortgage refinance. And the brokers shopped my info around with consequence of too many inquiries on my credit reports. How exactly does work Privacyguard work to get the inquiries removed? How do I get started? And finally, how much does it cost? I appreciate any thoughts/advice you might have. Thanks!
bandy answers, Privacyguard does not let you change info., they give the info. as listed on your credit reports... and the contacts to the tradelines...the scores given by PG are sometimes referred to as FAKO, they are not always accuarate, but are based on info. from your credit report. When I want to dispute info. on my credit report I pull my reports from the myfico site and dispute the incorrect info. with each cra (i.e. experian, equifax and transunion)...I believe equi. & transunion have online dispute forms...? I am a newbie too, so I am sure additional replies to your post will explain info. better. There is a smart group of people on here I have heard there are ways to get inquiries deleted, but I am not that far along w/credit knowledge yet....
mtgman1 replies, Privacyguard does not, in fact ,always have the correct info. The scores are estimated and can be close but are not always exactly as a regular credit report. I had the same issue and went to privacyguard.com to see what my scores would be. They were off by about 5 points here or there on TU, but the Equifax was off by only 2 or 3 points. The "what-if" simulator was what I really liked. It told me what my scores would look like depending upon if I opened up new credit or paid debt off. Very interesting. I also feel that it is very worthwhile if you are trying to maintain your good credit scores. Bottom line is this: check with your lenders to see what the guidelines are before you give anyone the right to pull your credit. It's not a cut and dried case of FICO scores, but other factors as well. I have been working with a company that has very good information on how the credit system works and would be more than willing to share that info with you or anyone else. Hope it helps. Take care.
Visit our active Message Board. Ask a question, give your opinions. Select questions answered by our board monitor. Our board currently has over 25,000 posts (since May 2000) and new posts are added daily. We are seeking new consumers like you to become involved in our board community.
| Recent Credit Card Reviews by Consumers Like You |
Following is a sampling of the latest consumer reviews that can be found by clicking the "Cardholder Reviews" link above. We take pride in the quantity (our site offers approximately 16,000 reviews of 833 different credit cards) and quality of the consumer reviews that can be find on our site. New reviews are added on a daily basis. The cards are rated on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest recommended. Credit Card: ExxonMobil Gas Card Review: I came on this web site to contact another credit card company about a problem and when I read the reviews for Exxon/Mobil felt that I had to put in my review. Personally this is the only gas card I use. The people in customer service are beyond helpful and friendly. When my daughters car was stolen it was Exxon/Mobil Credit Card Service who called me to tell me about unusual activity on my card which led to recovery of our car. When I made a trip with mutiple vechicles and a gas station told me I could not get anymore gas on the card because I'd gone over my daily limit, ONE call to customer service fixed the problem. I just thought they deserve someone to say something nice on their behalf. Thank for listening to me. Credit Card: JC Penney Card Review: I would like to know Why ?? I haven't gotten my card I applied for it back in 01-13-05 they did let me charge 2 things that i have to pay for but No Card Yet!! Credit Card: First Financial Bank Student Card Review: They continually raised my credit limit without my consent! Then they charge for online payments (which is just stupid) and they never inform me of APR rates, credit increases or anything. Only get this if you are going to use the $250 without interest. Trust me there are much better starter cards out there. Credit Card: Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Credit Card Review: I have this card -- loved it -- and so I 'added' a second card under my account for my husband, and a third under my account for my business expenses. All have different account numbers on their face, but they are all under MY ACCOUNT. This means that we accumulate skymiles INCREDIBLY fast. Furthermore, the renewal fee, although $135 covers all three cards. We don't have to pay three fees. I have NEVER had a problem getting flights on Delta. And many of our "Award Ticket" flights are at Christmas and Thanksgiving! Last Christmas, I flew my family of FIVE from SW United States to East Coast for only the $10 processing fee. We have made a pact in our family to ALWAYS buy EVERYTHING on this card, so as to take advantage of it's amazing benefits. At the end of the year, the financial booklet listing and categorizing every purchase is nifty for preparing taxes. Also, I literally wear out the numbers on the card occasionally, and AMEX OVERNIGHTS me a new one! OVERNIGHTS it!!! I think the customer service is exceptional. Not having to ever buy insurance on rental cars adds up to quite a bit of savings, as well. As far as I'm concerned, the only drawback to this card is that not everyone takes American Express. You know what? I tell 'em in their face that I won't shop there anymore! Credit Card: Blue Cash(sm) from American Express® Review: I cancelled my two AE cards this week even though I have been a loyal and paying customer for 10 years. Apparently I had been late on my Gold card ("your bill is due the 25th of every month mame") really, that is news to me. They never notified me to the fact that I was paying late... So they raised my APR from 10.47% on my BLUE card, not my Gold card, to over 27%...unbelievable. Of course I had a balance on that card of over $5,000. Isn't that convienent for them, they would be racking in $150 a month in interest alone with this new scenario. Even though I had NEVER been late on this card!!!!! In fact I had paid three times in the month of March to this card. Didn't matter. I said to the CS rep (in India) that they must be doing this to 75% of their customers because I pay my bill every month and consider myself very responsible. He said no the percentage is much lower than that, far below 50%. So apparently, a person who pays their bill at least once a month, for typically 4x the min payment is one of their worst customers. Unbelievable. I cancelled my cards on the spot and payed off the balance on both cards. I couldn't stomach paying them another cent. Credit Card: Macy's Credit Card Review: I've been a macy's card holder since I was about 18 since then I've pretty much learned macy's system through the years. Macy's has so many things to offer. Fantastic benefits with your charge card including free alterations, gift wrap, and shipping with your platinum/elite card. Not to mention you earn points for all the lingerie and hosiery you buy, and when your statement comes there is a coupon redeeming you of a $4-15 dollar amount towards your next purchase. On The other hand, if you suddenly recieve a problem in purchasing items you are led to a corner near the elevator with a telephone and a chair. Their idea of customer service! I think of it as "you cant have everything"! Macy's also reminds me of when the next sale is by sending me catalogs, coupons,and always wishing me a happy birthday with a 10 dollar postcard to redeem towards my next purchase. Here's a new thing. All new sale's, coupons are geared towards macy's charge card holders. Fraud is a thing that's happening around the world. I had many problems with it and was always thankful that I registered for credit protection with macy's. When you sign up for a new account there was an option about purchasing credit protection. Some people glance at it, thinking it was macy's way of trying to collect more of their money. Most didn't even know it was there. So in the end, Macy's is one of my favorite stores and I'm glad it's part of Federated. Credit Card: Express Card Review: I opened my card in 1998 when I was in high school. I was approved right away and was enticed by the initial discount and purchasing power. I had always paid my bills on time, but it wasn't until I was in college that I realized how ridiculous their finance charges were. I had attained visas since then and just wanted to get rid of the headache. My last purchase was a sweater I bought my aunt for christmas in 2001. It didn't fit and I brought it back. I had a zero balance before this purchase. I called to cancel the card in January and had no problems...so I figured I was done with WFNNB. Since I have moved several times. In late 2002 my credit was pulled and they were on there saying I owed some $190. I could not reach them...I went to Express and they gave me a number that only led me to a computer saying that I needed my account number. Well I didn't have it! I finally received a letter months later stating that I owed over 100 dollars in finance charges and the sweater purchase was still on there. I called that number and they said it was my responsibility to inform them of my new addresses. Why would I feel the need to do that when my account was closed and so I thought- paid off? Anyway, I have been disputing this with them for years...it is a serious scar on my credit report for now they put it as a charge off. I'm so frustrated...I might just pay them to simply get rid of the problem...even though it shouldn't be my problem. They have ruined my credit so terribly that I can't even get a cell phone in my name...and I'm now 25! I DO NOT SUGGEST ANYONE GET THIS CARD>>THE BANK IS THE WORST!!! Credit Card: Orchard Bank MasterCard® Classic Review: I havent had any problems with this card or customer service. If you dont want to call them on the phone then email them they get back to you the very next day. I mean i can see if you run into problems if you dont pay the bill or give them excuses as to why,,like any other credit card company they may not believe you..lol..And when your even one day late on payments, hey! thats STILL LATE. you will get charged a late fee. But this card helped my credit score tremendously!! i had 4 charge off accounts and 1 judgement(all are paid off now), those wild care free not paying college days..lol..but they gave me an unsecured card, so they give u a chance. Credit Card: Action Visa®/MasterCard® Review: As a former Bankfirst employee, I thought I would provide some insight for Bankfirst cardholders. Bankfirst was sold to Marshall Bank in late 2004. Marshall Bank then sold the credit card portfolio to CompuCredit. All Bankfirst employees who serviced the credit card portfolio were laid off, effective February 28, 2005. This is why you are unable to contact anyone for service on your account. Credit Card: Citi® Diamond Preferred® Rewards MasterCard® Review: I've had the diamond preferred for a little while now and just recently upgraded to the citi Premier pass so I could receive airline miles. They have some great benefits including lots of travel insurance, identity theft protection, $0 liability so if you are charged incorrectly you are not responsible, as well as extended warranties on any purchase and virtual numbers for better online protection. There benefits have gotten progressively better over the years. The only complaint I have is that at times you may have to call customer service several times to get the answer you need and that there are often better benefits with your card and lower APRs but you have to ask in order to receive them. The Cardholder Review section is a unique feature of our site and, to the best of our knowledge, there is no other organization or company that offers more consumer reviews of credit cards. It's all about consumers helping other consumers. As your might expect, this section of our site has been one of the most popular sections of our site since it was introduced in the summer of 2000. New reviews are posted on a daily basis. We hope that you will find this section of our site useful and that you will visit it on a regular basis. |
Important Note! The information in this article is believed to be accurate as of the date it was written. Please keep in mind that credit card offers change frequently. Therefore, we can not guarantee the accuracy of the information in this article. Please verify all terms and conditions of any credit card prior to applying.
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