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Personal Growth Blog for Philip Tirone – Credit Scoring Expert and Champion for the Underdog

Posts Tagged ‘Credit Cards’

Who else is as WRONG as an Educated Attorney?

This weekend I had a conversation with well educated attorney, probably around 65 years old, she asked me, “How are you doing in this economy? What do you do?” I responded, “I’m in education and finance; we sell products on saving money and specifically, how to raise your credit score to reduce your monthly payments.” She said, “Oh yeah, I understand all about credit. That is one problem I don’t have to deal with.” She continued by saying, “I only have one American Express card and that’s all I use.” I said, “Well statistically speaking, if you have one credit card it’s going to hurt your credit score.” She said, “I do know that, in fact, I had 11 cards, and I closed them all down.” My response, “Well, statistically speaking when you close down your accounts it will hurt your credit score.” She said, “I did know that, but it’s not a problem for me because I don’t need credit.” From there, I let the conversation die. The bottom line, I hear this every single day. Every day, I hear that, “I’m different.” In reality, if you are living in America, we are all the same when it comes to your credit score. Even though this woman thinks she “doesn’t need credit,” she does and let me explain. Does she have car insurance? Yes, and that could be impacted because of your credit score. Does she have a mortgage? Most likely, and that WILL be impacted by her credit score. Does she have kids? Yes, she had three of them. Most likely, her kids don’t have her resources and if she is teaching her kids this information; they are starting down the wrong path. This woman thinks that she doesn’t have problems, just like the 100M Americans who don’t think they have a problem.

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Transparency Needed for Credit Card Companies

In today’s tight market, everyone needs to do his part to restore the economy. As founder of 7 Steps to 720, my commitment has always been on helping consumers take control of their financial futures and credit scores. I think credit card companies should join the cause and start being more transparent about the trickle-down effects of their practices. For instance, credit card companies send glossy advertisements letting you know that you can transfer your balance to their credit card and enjoy a 0 percent interest rate for a year. Sounds like a great deal, right? Here’s what they don’t tell you: most credit card companies will determine your balance on the new card by the amount you are transferring. If you are transferring $3,000, they give you a $3,000 limit. This means your utilization rate (your balance as a percentage of your limit) is 100 percent! And remember, the higher your utilization rate is, the lower your credit score. You might think you are helping your pocketbook by taking advantage of these offers, but you aren’t. Your credit score drops, as does your ability to secure loans at low interest rates. The more you pay in interest, the fewer dollars you have, and the less impact you will have on the economy. I think credit card companies have a right to charge fees and earn money. However, I also believe that a company that does things that indirectly affects the rights of its clients should be punished. Thus, why I believe we should all participate collaboratively in the fight to restore our economy, and that means full disclosure on the part of credit card companies.

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FICO 08, Is it Fair?

Any day now, the new FICO scoring system (called FICO 08 because it was supposed to be released last year) will be fully implemented into the world of credit scoring. From what I can tell, this new formula—which represents the biggest change to the scoring model since the 1980s—is a change for the better. Consumers who have one or two slipups will be judged less harshly than they were under the old model. Legitimate authorized user accounts will be reported to the bureaus, another change in favor of the consumer. But one thing stands out as a big, big problem: credit card companies still have the power to damage a person’s score artificially by reporting a lower-than-actual limit. As I explain in 7 Steps to a 720® Credit Score, a large portion of a person’s credit score is judged by his balance-to-limit ratio. The smaller balance he has as a percentage of his limit, the better his score. But credit card companies regularly fail to report a person’s accurate limit, making his balance-to-limit ratio artificially high, therefore lowering his score. We cannot be certain why credit card companies do this—some theorize that it makes their customers appear less attractive to competitors, who therefore don’t send credit card offers to these customers. One thing is certain: this is a big problem in the world of credit scoring. Remember that the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Until the credit-scoring world adopts a model that truthfully reflects a person’s limit, it’s up to us to stay vigilant. Consumers whose credit reports show improper credit limits should get on the phone immediately with their credit card companies and start arguing to have the proper limit reported.

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