I have to say I had a success story. Experian got a TON of bogus stuff on my account...basically melded me with one or more dirtbags with a similar name. I printed my report, called them, and went down the line telling them what judgements, accounts, and addresses weren't mine. They took them right off of there no problem.
Credit Reporting Agencies
- Thread starter Drew99GT
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"I will say that one possible benefit to having disputes handled overseas it that the agencies have a time limit in which to respond to any disputes. If that time limit is not met the information disputed MUST be removed from the report according to US law."
Yeah, well, if the federal law is not enforced by the feds, and it obviously isn't, then the law does the consumer no good. The feds don't care about the consumer. They care about big business. If the feds really cared about the consumer, we wouldn't have the widespread ripoffs referred to by an above poster in the credit and insurance industries. Or in the fields of auto repair, building contracting, and medicine (particularly pharmeceuticals, to name just a few. Nor would we have the obvious and blatant price-fixing, and the price-gouging that goes hand in hand with it, in industry after industry.
Yeah, well, if the federal law is not enforced by the feds, and it obviously isn't, then the law does the consumer no good. The feds don't care about the consumer. They care about big business. If the feds really cared about the consumer, we wouldn't have the widespread ripoffs referred to by an above poster in the credit and insurance industries. Or in the fields of auto repair, building contracting, and medicine (particularly pharmeceuticals, to name just a few. Nor would we have the obvious and blatant price-fixing, and the price-gouging that goes hand in hand with it, in industry after industry.
Excessive inquiries WILL lower your score. My suggestion is to get your report and your score, then determine about how much money you will need for your purchase, then obtain an approval amount for a loan up to the amount you want, then, finally, go to the dealership or real estate broker and find the car or house you want. Yes, this way involves more time and thought, but it will be well worth it in the end. There is typically a "Pack" or additional hidden amount you will pay for financing through a dealership. For example: if the dealership gets a 10% rate of interest on your loan through THEIR bank or finance company, they will charge you more, let's say 11%. The loan through the finance company looks like 11% and all the paperwork says 11% but in reality, the dealership pockets the extra 1%. This happens every single day, thousands of times.
Also, when you are at the dealership and have found the car you want, emotions get involved and will sway your decision. You've spent probably hours at the dealership and days, weeks or months, researching and locating the car you want. Now you're on the home stretch and you just need to sign. At this point, it is much harder to take an objective approach and say "That rate is 1.5% higher than I want to pay, I'm leaving now". It's too late. By handling the credit aspect of it earlier you know how much you can afford, what the best rate is for your credit score, and you can lock in the financing which will save you money and hopefully reduce the amount of time spent at the dealership. It also reduces the stress of waiting for a credit answer after spending hours at the dealership.
I agree. There were a lot of changes with the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) passed several years ago and improvements were made, however, there still seems to be an epidemic level of errors. When a creditor reports an error there is basically nothing that is done so there is very little incentive for them to be more diligent. A creditor put a collection on my report in complete error and then they were belligerent when I called them, even up to the branch manager. I reported them to the FTC and sued them and got nothing but a headache and a lighter wallet and they still didn't remove the item. I had to dispute it with each agency and it finally got removed.
problem is they will want to run it as well, regardless of whether or not you have your report and score in hand.... same as an apartment, they want $20 to $40 to run a credit check on you, you hand them your report and they say "I have toilet paper, thanks, will that be cash or check?"
so you are saying that your bank/credit union will be able to give you the best rate and therefore you won't have to rate shop.
Usually, but not always. Sometimes the manufacturer has low interest specials (i.e 2.9/5.9 or 0 percent). Barring that sort of promotion, most of the time, the dealership is higher. Also, most credit unions and banks will let you know what their rates are prior to running your credit. For example, my credit union told me exactly what their rates were IF my score was XXX. As long as the scores came up the same when they ran it as I already knew they would be because I had the score, I would get the X.X rate (which I did get). Dealerships commonly say they will get you X.X rate after you test drive the vehicle in order to get you to fill out the finance contract and spend more time at the dealership. They will ask you what payment you want. They will come back and say that got you the payment but instead of the 48 month loan you wanted, its now 60 months (or 36 to 48 or 60 to 72, etc.) because the rate is NOT what they told you it would be. When you ask about the rate they'll say, "well, we got you the payment you wanted".
Its a very good idea to rate shop-if you aren't running your credit report. Banks and CUs will tell you what their rate is if you give them your credit score. This way, you get your score once (pulling your own report and score does not affect your credit report) and can get several rates without having the financial institution pull your report. When you find the one you like, they will pull the report and you're done.
One other thing, when you go to a dealership and fill out a credit application, many dealers will go to several banks to get the loan, especially if your credit is not that great. Some will have 5-7 banks run your credit. This is BAD. Often the dealership will not ASK YOU if they can do this and the damage is done. I've worked at a dealership before, as has my wife and we've seen a lot of questionable practices. Most people, since they don't buy a car that often, are not aware of some of these tactics. Like I said earlier, knowledge is power. Buying from a dealership can be fair for both parties, but it sure helps when you know how to avoid their tricks.
Its a very good idea to rate shop-if you aren't running your credit report. Banks and CUs will tell you what their rate is if you give them your credit score. This way, you get your score once (pulling your own report and score does not affect your credit report) and can get several rates without having the financial institution pull your report. When you find the one you like, they will pull the report and you're done.
One other thing, when you go to a dealership and fill out a credit application, many dealers will go to several banks to get the loan, especially if your credit is not that great. Some will have 5-7 banks run your credit. This is BAD. Often the dealership will not ASK YOU if they can do this and the damage is done. I've worked at a dealership before, as has my wife and we've seen a lot of questionable practices. Most people, since they don't buy a car that often, are not aware of some of these tactics. Like I said earlier, knowledge is power. Buying from a dealership can be fair for both parties, but it sure helps when you know how to avoid their tricks.
Exactly, pay cash or have your financing pre-arranged before you arrive.
Let the dealer try to beat your banks offer, instead of just taking what the dealer presents.
Let the dealer try to beat your banks offer, instead of just taking what the dealer presents.
don't they ever say "well a credit score is only one factor, we also look at other things as well" so by saying that they have an excuse to run your credit again.... I get the feeling banks and such don't like it when you know your score, know what it means, and have all info in hand.... an informed consumer is a dangerous consumer.
Just to clarify-who ever actually gives you credit will run your report 99.99% of the time. The goal should be that only one company runs your credit. If you run it first, your inquiry will have no impact on your score. If you shop around for the rate knowing your score already, once you find the rate you want, you lock in and apply at that institution. Going through any mid-to-large sized bank or financial instituation, and most small ones too, the score is the be-all-end-all decision maker for the loan. The only time I've seen someone consider other factors was when I was trying to get a lease from a private individual, not a bank.
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