In November 2011 I discussed CoreLogic’s new consumer report, the CoreScore Credit Report.  CoreLogic made this report available to lenders on December 7, 2011.  CoreLogic is another consumer credit reporting agency. They collect credit reports from the three major credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – clean up the reports, merge them and sell them to the mortgage industry.  Now they have added proprietary and other data to the reports.

CoreLogic Credit Report

Approximately 100 million U.S. consumers will have a credit report at CoreLogic compared to 200 million at the three major credit bureaus. The CoreLogic credit report combines the traditional credit report data from the three major credit reporting agencies, along with CoreLogic’s proprietary data which includes: read more »

CredAbility, one of the largest nonprofit credit counseling and education agencies in the U.S., issues a quarterly index called CredAbility Consumer Distress Index.  This index tracks five categories to determine the financial condition of the average U.S. household – employment, housing, credit, how families manage household budgets, and net worth. Proprietary data collected from more than 630,000 individuals that CredAbility serves annually is also used to determine this Index. The index looks at each category nationally and by state.  The latest index is from third quarter 2011.

The Consumer Distress Index for U.S. households in third quarter 2011 was 66.7, which was a decrease for 69.2 in second quarter 2011. This was the largest drop since third quarter 2008 and the first time the index didn’t increase in the past six quarters. U.S consumers have been in financial distress for 12 consecutive quarters. The Consumer Distress Index is based on a scale of 1 to 100, with a score below 70 indicates financial distress.  Overall the housing and budget categories were below 70, indicating financial distress.  The credit category is not in financial distress and the Consumer Distress Index increased to 84.95, which is the highest in 15 years. read more »

On January 15, 2012, the online shoe seller, Zappos.com, announced that a hacker may have accessed personal information on up to 24 million customers.  Access was gained through its internal network server in Kentucky.  The personal information possibly includes names, phone numbers, email addresses, billing and shipping addresses, encrypted passwords, and the last four digits of credit cards.

Only responsible for $50 of fraudulent purchases on credit cards

Since the complete credit card number was not in the server, they cannot use your credit card for other purchases.  Even if they did, you are only responsible for the first $50 that is fraudulently charged on your card, when it is due to identity theft. The card issuer usually waives this fee.  We can thank the Fair Credit Billing Act for that one. read more »

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released the results of their annual identity theft survey – Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS).  They surveyed approximately 46,000 heads of households nationwide, asking about their households’ experience with identity theft. Identity theft has increased substantially between 2010 and 2005.

Number impacted

Approximately 8.6 million U.S. households had some type of identity theft in 2010 compared to 6.4 million households in 2005, which was a 34 percent increase.  According to the Department of Justice, “identity theft is the unauthorized use or attempted use of an existing credit card or another type of existing account, the unauthorized use of personal information to open a new account or for another fraudulent purpose, or a combination of these.” read more »

I have discussed payday lenders in previous blogs and how much of a rip-off they are. Did you know that some banks and credit unions offer short-term loans to compete with payday loans?   These loans have many different names such as short-term, emergency, direct deposit advance and account advance loans.  They are usually for a short period of time and let you borrow up to $500.

Banks and credit unions don’t usually lend money to customers for emergency purposes.  Now there are more consumers without credit cards or savings accounts, who don’t have the funds to pay for an emergency. Banks and credit unions are offering these loans more than in the past. read more »

It is already that time of year to shop for the holidays. I don’t want to ruin the experience, but don’t let your guard down and forget about protecting yourself from identity theft.  Thieves are still out there and they hope that you aren’t careful.  It is easy to get into the spirit of the season, rush to get things done or just be a little careless.  Whether you are shopping in the store or online, here are some tips this season:

Store shopping

Keep your wallet and/or purse secure.  Don’t make it easy for the thieves to steal from you.  Women should make sure their purse is closed, hang on to it and don’t put it down.  Men should put their wallet inside their coat jacket or in the front pocket of their slacks instead of the back. read more »

I get on my soap box this time of year to remind you to get free copies of your credit reports from all three credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You are entitled to receive a free credit report from each company every twelve months, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).  Have you ordered any this year? If not, go to www.annualcreditreport.com to get your free report.   Did I say free?  Unfortunately free scores are not included.

Free from certain states

In addition, seven states have laws that give you one free credit report annually from all three companies.  The states are Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey,  and Vermont. If you are a resident of one of these states, you get one for the federal law and one for the state law, which is two a year per company, or six free a year.  Georgia is two per year. read more »

Experian, one of the three major credit reporting agencies, conducted their second- annual State of Credit list of cities with the highest and lowest credit scores.  The data from this report was based upon data from January through June 2011 and used the VantageScore.  The VantageScore was developed jointly by the three major credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The scores range from 501 to 990, a score in the 700 range is considered average or a “C”; a score is the 600’s is considered a “D”.   The average VantageScore before the recession was 754, was 748 in 2010 and was 749 in 2011.  There was a one-point gain in 2011. read more »

How do you know if you have a credit report?  If you pay by cash or debt card and don’t own a credit card; or never had an installment loan, such as mortgage, auto or student loan; you probably don’t have a credit report.  If you haven’t used credit, there won’t be any credit information on you.   You could also contact www.annualcreditreport,com to get your credit report free from the three credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

It is great to have no debt and pay as you go, but is it?  When you need credit for a purchase for which you can’t pay in cash, such as a mortgage or card loan, you won’t be able to qualify for the loan.  Lenders base your ability to pay on your payment history in the both the present and the past.  If you don’t have any credit history there is no basis to make a decision on the loan.  You would probably have to get someone to co-sign for the loan and they would be responsible, if you can’t make the payments.  In addition without credit, you won’t be able to get the lower interest rates, which will cost you more for the loan. read more »

If you have filed for bankruptcy, you may be the target of a credit repair scam called “file segregation.” In this scam you are promised a chance to hide unfavorable credit information by establishing a new credit identity. That may sound perfect, especially if you’re afraid that you won’t get any credit as long as bankruptcy appears on your credit record.  The problem: “File segregation” is illegal. If you use it, you could face fines or even a prison sentence.

The Pitch: A New Credit Identity

If you have filed for bankruptcy, you may receive a letter from a credit repair company that warns you about your inability to get credit cards, personal loans, or any other types of credit for 10 years. For a fee, the company promises to help you hide your bankruptcy and establish a new credit identity to use when you apply for credit. These companies also make pitches in classified ads, on radio and TV, and even over the Internet. read more »