Archive for Rants and Raves
FICO Credit Score Disclosure Law Saves Guesswork
Posted by: | CommentsOn July 21, 2011, a new federal regulation changed lender requirements for disclosing use of your credit information – and for once, change is good.
Now, if a lender accepts your credit application, but doesn’t give you the best terms or interest rates available, it has to give you your FICO score in writing.
Likewise, a lender that denies your credit application must give you your FICO score in a written credit disclosure.
The lender also has to give you other information, such as the (semi)specific reasons why it shitcanned your credit application or gave you less favorable terms and rates than it has available. It also has to tell you how to get your credit report for free. But the FICO score part of the regulation is the biggest point, as far as I’m concerned.
Why?
Because you could already get your credit report free once a year at AnnualCreditReport.com and if a lender denied a credit application. So not much new there. And unless your identity has been stolen, you probably already have a fair idea of what’s causing your credit damage.
What wasn’t available for free before was your FICO score. That all-important three-digit number that means the difference between enviable credit-based purchase power and financial doom. You had to pay for that little tidbit of information.
So I’m glad to see this regulation in place, simply because it gives you access to your FICO score without forcing you to pay for it. Now, I don’t suggest that you go out and apply for a credit card just to get your FICO score (you know me, I don’t recommend you go within a thousand feet of a credit card application!) but if you do apply for credit and get denied or stuck with subprime rates, at least now you’ll know exactly where you stand.
If you want more info on the regulation or the forms your lender has to give you, head over to ScoreInfo.
A Wrinkle in Chexsystems
Posted by: | CommentsWARNING: This post is a rant. There is no higher purpose for this post. I’m pi$$ed, and I’m letting it rip. Feel free to move on.
I’ve written several posts about dealing with life after being reported to Chexsystems. This evening, we discovered a wrinkle that can be a HUGE problem.
A couple of years ago, we were in Las Vegas, having a grand time. At the Luxor, we found that our debit card was too worn to work at the casino’s ATMs. So we (hesitantly) wrote a check for cash at the cashier’s window. Instant cash, no problem, right?
Today, we discovered that someone had fraudulently opened an account in my wife’s name… which put her in the dreaded Chexsystems abyss.
F&!$ing douchebags.
The idea of a person with a “good” credit score (above 700) not being able to open a checking account with a traditional bank is completely absurd. It’s too much of a stretch for these people to ponder, “Wow, this person keeps their finances in order. Yet, we have an obvious anomaly. Maybe, just maybe, something is afoul here.” Remember when banks were run by breathing, thinking human beings? Not anymore. They’re run by Chexsystems, a faceless, omnipotent, unreachable entity.
The problem is that Chexsystems is virtually untouchable. Sure, you can snail-mail or fax a letter of explanation, but the likelihood of it doing any good is negligible at best. If an explanation letter has saved any of you, speak up and prove me wrong. I’ve never heard of anyone who has gotten anywhere that way.
Thankfully, we have a joint account with ING Direct, a bank that doesn’t appear to participate in the Chexsystems douchebaggery. Mailing checks is a bit of an annoyance, but insiders have told me that they will instantly accept scanned checks for deposit soon. F$%!, I’ll invest in a $100 scanner for that sort of convenience. Either way, if it means we never have to deal with a brick-and-mortar bank again, I’m a happy guy.
Montel Williams Promotes Money Mutual?
Posted by: | CommentsWow. It took me almost two months to need the “Rants and Raves” category. That’s impressive.
But today, I just can’t take it.
I’m not a big fan of television, but this morning, I caught a commercial for Money Mutual, which is one of those payday loan places. Now, it’s not uncommon for these joints to advertise on television, but what surprised me is that this outfit is endorsed by Montel Williams.
It’s no secret how I feel about using a cash advance lender. In case you’re new here, you can read the following two posts to get an idea of where I stand on the matter:
Are Payday Loans a Bad Idea? – Part I
Are Payday Loans a Bad Idea? – Part II
Like it or not, celebrity endorsements lend an air of credibility. That’s why big businesses hire celebrity spokespeople from Hayden Panetierre to Marcia Cross to hawk their products. Celebrity endorsements yield higher sales volumes, and that’s just how the marketing world works in America.
But why, Montel, why?
Montel Williams promotes Money Mutual, a sleazy payday loan joint.
I have an enormous amount of respect for the guy. He served in the United States Navy and kept on chugging despite a nearly lifelong struggle with multiple sclerosis (use of “medical marijuana” notwithstanding). He’s also a spokesman for Partnership for Prescription Assistance, an organization that helps low-income families afford prescription medications.
That’s why it really cheeses me that he would endorse a product that can be so financially damaging to people’s lives. I mean, don’t get me wrong – we all have to make a buck. But I won’t place ads on this (or any other) website for products I don’t believe in, even though I could increase my income by doing so. (You damned sure will never see an ad for a payday loan company on this website.)
You can’t tell me that, as intelligent as Montel is, he doesn’t know how utterly destructive payday loans are. So why would he make the public believe that getting a cash advance loan is a good idea?
I expected better than that from you, Montel.