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Boy, I must be getting really old - 7/2/2008 10:07:04 PM
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tfkeel
Posts: 78
Joined: 4/19/2005
From: Pennsylvania
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I got a "free credit report" - of course, they have now started charging me 12.95 per month and I can't find out how to end my service as they promised I could.
But that's another thing that is making me mad.
They told me that my credit was "excellent" and that I had a FICO score of 743. My credit report had not much on it, I haven't had credit cards in a LONG time.... no revolving store charges, nothing.... I just plain don't use credit.
They also told me that even though my credit was "excellent", the reason my FICO score was so low is that I had no use of credit..... but I thought that was "good" ?????
So, I said to myself that it's time to upgrade my computer. Now, I could just simply go get the money from my savings account and do this. We'd
never really even miss it, there is nearly a year worth of income in there,
enough money for a car, etc.
But, stupid old me, I decided that I'm not going to do that. Instead, I am going to apply for credit, and pay it off on time so I can have a better FICO score and better credit. I won't allow any interest, they were offering me 12 months interest free on it.
So I make the application, and immediately I am turned down. They say they will send a letter with the reasons.
So, today, I get the letter. It is from a bank who is telling me the following verbatim words.....
quote:
Based on information from a credit scoring system, the principle (sic) reason for adverse action includes: Too few revolving accounts never delinquent in the last 6 months OR Total number of bankruptcy trade-lines ever is low.
I am still scratching my head about this? What are they saying? I have no idea what that means.....
Then, farther down the page, I see
We still want you as a customer and are committed to offering you a (name of bank) MasterCard with a 9.9% APR on all purchases !
Then farther down the page, I see:
"Your initial credit limit will be $200. A total of $150 in fees will be billed to your first statement. Your available credit will be $50.
This is IN ADDITION to the IN-ADVANCE "processing fee" of $29 which they allow me to pay with a MasterCard or Visa. 
These people are BUFFOONS !!!! Unbelievable..... they turn me down for credit and insult me like this?
I have been debt-free for almost 9 years, including no mortgage. I owe NOTHING and have an income in 6 figures for the last 15 years. I could collateralize 400 computers at the price of the one I selected.
I have never had a bankruptcy, I had one tax lien which has been paid-in-full for nearly 10 years. And, it wasn't paid for cents-on-the-dollar, it was paid IN FULL, every last dime.
I think I must be crazy or in the "twilight zone"....which is showing my age.... 
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RE: Boy, I must be getting really old - 7/3/2008 9:08:29 AM
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creationtalk
Posts: 605
Joined: 6/9/2005
Status: offline
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quote:
I won't allow any interest, they were offering me 12 months interest free on it.
So I make the application, and immediately I am turned down. They say they will send a letter with the reasons.
So, today, I get the letter. It is from a bank who is telling me the following verbatim words.....
quote:
quote:
Based on information from a credit scoring system, the principle (sic) reason for adverse action includes: Too few revolving accounts never delinquent in the last 6 months OR Total number of bankruptcy trade-lines ever is low.
I am still scratching my head about this? What are they saying? I have no idea what that means.....
It's all very simple...they make their money on these "interest free" credit lines through people who are late paying or miss payments. You have no history of making poor credit mistakes (you don't have any high credit balances that might allow you to accidentally not be able to pay one in a month), you haven't paid late, which would allow them to raise your interest rate immediately to 229% with charges accruing from the day of the purchase....
quote:
I got a "free credit report" - of course, they have now started charging me 12.95 per month and I can't find out how to end my service as they promised I could.
How is the company giving you these credit reports charging you? Is it direct draft from you bank? If so, then go to the bank and put a stop on the payment.
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RE: Boy, I must be getting really old - 7/3/2008 9:18:05 AM
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rainbowtvp
Posts: 1024
Joined: 4/21/2005
From: The Unted State of Confusion
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A score of 743 is not "low" (it is above average) but they always give you an analysis on those things for ways to raise it. Unless you plan on getting some kind of a major loan over the next few years, I wouldn't worry about it.
I don't know what company you applied for a card from, but if it was one you got in the mail/found on-line, they are often scams... just go to your local bank and apply for one there (if you really feel it is necessary). Or get a card from a gas station and use it for gas, paying it off monthly.
Tara P
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RE: Boy, I must be getting really old - 7/3/2008 11:57:34 AM
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GroupW
Posts: 2129
Joined: 11/16/2007
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quote:
ORIGINAL: rainbowtvp
A score of 743 is not "low" (it is above average) but they always give you an analysis on those things for ways to raise it. Unless you plan on getting some kind of a major loan over the next few years, I wouldn't worry about it.
I don't know what company you applied for a card from, but if it was one you got in the mail/found on-line, they are often scams... just go to your local bank and apply for one there (if you really feel it is necessary). Or get a card from a gas station and use it for gas, paying it off monthly.
Tara P
Good suggestions. I always recommend that people have one credit card and actually use it. Even carrying a small balance over a quarter end can help. Just keep the usage very, very low. Get a car loan once in a while, and pay it off in 3 months. It's always a good thing to maintain a credit record, even if the amounts are small.
The fundamental problem with credit scoring like this is that it's a statistical process. To use a statistical process, you have to have data. If you don't have a borrowing history, there's no data so you're a difficult to quantify credit risk (statistically speaking). Since most credit card companies use automated approval systems, the computer doesn't know what to do with you. Thus, you got declined. If you go to your local bank, you're much more likely to get an actual human being riding herd on the process.
_____________________________
“For every problem, there is a solution that is simple, elegant and wrong.” -H.L. Mencken
"Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so." -Bertrand Russell
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RE: Boy, I must be getting really old - 7/3/2008 12:13:20 PM
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tfkeel
Posts: 78
Joined: 4/19/2005
From: Pennsylvania
Status: offline
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Thanks for the replies.... I'm not really "worried" about that 743. And I don't want or need a credit card.
And, that is absolutely right. The thieves don't want me....because I will enjoy my computer for 12 months, making minumum payments while my $2200 earns interest FOR ME and then I will pay them off in full before they can charge me.
The only forseeable use I would have for credit is that I am 10 years away from my retirement age of 66. I am interested in perhaps buying a real-estate investment property with an existing tenancy.
< Message edited by tfkeel -- 7/3/2008 12:20:23 PM >
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RE: Boy, I must be getting really old - 7/3/2008 12:20:24 PM
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GroupW
Posts: 2129
Joined: 11/16/2007
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That's the way to play the game!
_____________________________
“For every problem, there is a solution that is simple, elegant and wrong.” -H.L. Mencken
"Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so." -Bertrand Russell
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RE: Boy, I must be getting really old - 7/3/2008 1:10:26 PM
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3cappuccinosmom
Posts: 2570
Joined: 4/12/2005
Status: online
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These people are BUFFOONS !!!! Unbelievable..... they turn me down for credit and insult me like this?
quote:
I have been debt-free for almost 9 years, including no mortgage. I owe NOTHING and have an income in 6 figures for the last 15 years. I could collateralize 400 computers at the price of the one I selected.
I have never had a bankruptcy, I had one tax lien which has been paid-in-full for nearly 10 years. And, it wasn't paid for cents-on-the-dollar, it was paid IN FULL, every last dime.
I think I must be crazy or in the "twilight zone"....which is showing my age....
lol. We ran into this very same thing. They don't want responsible, debt-free, on-time-paying people, because they can't run up interest rates on us and then collect the dough. 
We did finally get a low-limit credit card through a credit union because dh is moving into real estate investing, and mortgage companies were using our lack of revolving debt to hike up interest rates. Being Dave Ramsey fans, we know we *could* search around and find someone to do things manually but dh finally decided it was less time, hassle and expense to become a credit card owner.  Our limit is $1000 though, and I am glad about that. Ramsey is right--although we are frugal, responsible, and thoughtful spenders, we have found ourselves hitting that limit long before we expected to.
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Shameless Self Promotion
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RE: Boy, I must be getting really old - 7/11/2008 1:15:27 PM
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pbaribeault
Posts: 1111
Joined: 4/29/2005
Status: offline
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If you want to do credit, to build up a history for a future mortgage, or just for the sake of being able to get a loan if you want one, you should get an ordinary reputable credit card from a bank. Not a special deal, not purchase financing, not anything funny -- just plain jane from a reputable source. Then maybe once or twice a year, use it to buy something, then go home and pay it off. Voilla! Instant credit score.
Then when you get the opportunity to keep your money for 12 months earning interest, nobody will have an excuse to turn you down. Caution here, you do have to pay it on (or before) the exact day or you get charged interest for the entire 12 months. They never contact you and hope you forget... and sometimes they make the process to pay them confusing, so that if you are trying to do it on the due-day, there is some kind of hurdle that costs you the day,
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RE: Boy, I must be getting really old - 7/11/2008 1:37:06 PM
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Auben
Posts: 1594
Joined: 4/13/2005
From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
Status: offline
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It's as GroupW said, it's not that they don't want your business as much as you are an unknown quantity. A lot of the direct mail business goes straight to computer and if the computer has no data on you (good or bad) they spit you back out.
If you go to your bank and apply for a credit card an actual person will look at your salary/investments/living expenses and do a much more accurate job assessing your ability to pay. You'd be readily accepted and they'd be happy to have you.
When I got out of college I had no credit score and was on a watch list because I didn't get a social security number until I went to work as a teen. My parents just didn't think children needed one. So having a job, no credit cards, no debt, and a social security number less than 10 years old made me a credit pariah. I thought it was kind of funny really. At least it limited my junk mail.
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Boy, I must be getting really old - 7/11/2008 9:15:26 PM
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bzirk
Posts: 2920
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: Where the deer and antelope play
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Auben
It's as GroupW said, it's not that they don't want your business as much as you are an unknown quantity. A lot of the direct mail business goes straight to computer and if the computer has no data on you (good or bad) they spit you back out.
If you go to your bank and apply for a credit card an actual person will look at your salary/investments/living expenses and do a much more accurate job assessing your ability to pay. You'd be readily accepted and they'd be happy to have you.
When I got out of college I had no credit score and was on a watch list because I didn't get a social security number until I went to work as a teen. My parents just didn't think children needed one. So having a job, no credit cards, no debt, and a social security number less than 10 years old made me a credit pariah. I thought it was kind of funny really. At least it limited my junk mail.
Wow! the thing about the ssn made me feel old. I didn't get my card until right before I went to work as a kid. Back then that was the norm.
_____________________________
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)
Great quote: I just ain't God and don't know it all. -- SonInMe1
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RE: Boy, I must be getting really old - 7/12/2008 12:52:43 AM
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relady
Posts: 951
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: Greater St. Louis Metro
Status: offline
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quote:
I didn't get my card until right before I went to work as a kid. Back then that was the norm. Got mine at 16 in order to get my driver's license. Now you have to get them for kids if you wanna claim them as dependents on your income tax, lol.
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