Originally Posted By: javacontour
Originally Posted By: CivicFan
OK, so how does a cedit reporting company know whether you bought Supertech oil or Mobil1 oil? Also, how do they know if you bought it for yourself or not.
I don't know if the CRA's know this, but I do know credit card companies track this information.
One of my former customers is one of the major credit card brands (not to be confused with the banks that actually issue the cards, set the rates etc.) They provide the brand and the network that allows the member banks to exchange information.
They collect data on where you are shopping and I imagine what you are buying as well. They can mine that data and sell it to folks who want to target their marketing. I don't know if it goes to an individual, but suspect it can, so when you use your card, I imagine the brand (I.E. Discover, MasterCard, Visa, Amex) have information about your purchasing habits and will sell that info to whomever is willing to pay.
You probably agree to those terms when you accept your card and begin using it.
So if you don't want folks to know what you are doing, use cash.
Yes, that's normal and makes a lot of sense. But the credit reporting agencies do not get that data so it does not affect your credit rating as measured by your credit score as the title of this thread implied.
If I were a lender, I would want to know more about my customers than just one number.