TransUnion, one of the three major credit bureaus, released their latest quarterly Auto Insurance Risk Index (IRI).  This Index is a barometer for the auto insurance industry and is related to expected insurance loss from auto claims. TransUnion’s Auto Insurance Risk Index decreased for the past four quarters and increased .03 percent in third quarter 2011 to an Index of 98.85, compared to an index of 98.82 in second quarter 2011.  It was .31 percent lower than a year earlier with an index of 99.46.   At the peak of the recession (second quarter 2009), the index was 99.58. read more »

First, what is auto loan yo-yoing?  You purchase a car and drive away with the car thinking that the loan has been approved. The dealer calls you to inform you that the financing has fallen through and you need to renegotiate. This scam is called yo-yoing because it seems as though the car is tied to a yo-yo string and the dealer can get it back. Individuals with poor credit are subject to this scam; they aware they have poor credit and can’t get the best interest rates.

How it works read more »

Wells Fargo hired Harris Interactive Inc. (HPOL) to conduct a nationwide phone survey about retirement. During August and September 2011, they surveyed 1,500 consumers between 25 and 74 years old.  The responders’ household income or assets ranged from $25,000 to $100,000. They planned to work longer to have enough money in retirement.

Highlights

76 percent of responders said it is more important to reach a specific dollar amount before retiring, while 20 percent said it is more important to retire at a certain age regardless of savings. read more »

Equifax, one of the three recognized national credit reporting agencies, conducts a monthly report called the “Equifax National Credit Trends Report.” It uses Equifax data from more than 585 million consumers and 81 million businesses worldwide.  The latest report released in November 2011 was based on July 2011 data. The largest increase in new auto loans in the past two years was from auto finance companies, than from banks and credit unions.  This increase included both prime and subprime borrowers; subprime borrowers are those below an Equifax score of 640.

Report Highlights

In July 2011, 1.7 million auto loans were originated totaling $32 billion.  The breakdown was 51 percent from auto finance companies and 49 percent from banks and credit unions. read more »

If you’re looking for a loan or credit card but don’t think you’ll qualify or if you’ve been turned down by a bank because of your credit history, you may be tempted by ads and websites that guarantee loans or credit cards, regardless of your credit history. Should you apply, you’ll likely find out that you have to pay a fee just for the promise of the loan. It is best to ignore these ads or sites.

If you have to pay a fee for the promise of a loan or credit card, you’re probably dealing with a scam artist. More than likely, you’ll get just an application for a credit card, a stored value or debit card, or a card that has so many strings attached, it’s practically worthless.

Advance fee loan examples read more »

The latest data from the Federal Reserve G-19 Statistical Release indicated that consumer credit dropped in August 2011, which was the most in one year. Total consumer credit was $2.4449 trillion in August 2011; compared to $2.4544 trillion in July. The decrease was $9.5 billion or -4.6% from July 2011, compared to an $11.9 billion increase in July 2011.

Non-revolving debt (credit cards)

Most of the decrease was attributed to non-revolving credit, which decreased by 5.2 percent or $7.23 billion from July 2011; compared to a rise of $15.48 billion in July 2011.  This was the largest decline since August 2008. Non-revolving debt included student loans, auto loans and mobile home loans.  Loans secured by real estate, such as home mortgages and home equity lines of credit, are not tracked for this report. read more »

PriceGrabber, a division of Experian (one of the three credit reporting agencies), conducted their first winter holiday shopping survey.  It was conducted from September 7 to 15, 2011 on 3,070 U.S. online shoppers.  Almost all plan to spend the same or less than last year and are looking for bargains. Approximately 49 percent of those surveyed plan to spend the same amount in 2011 as they did in 2010, 45 percent plan to spend less and 7 percent plan to spend more.  Most (68 percent) attributed the economic climate to their spending. read more »

Equifax, one of three consumer credit reporting agencies that houses over 200 million consumer credit reports and markets and sells consumer credit scores, released their latest National Trends Report the end of September. Equifax used data from their consumer and business databases to provide consumer credit information on the following markets: auto, banking, credit cards, mortgage and student loans. The study showed growth in auto and bankcard. There was more new credit available in the first half of 2011 (January thru June 2011) compared to the last two years.  There was $370 billion in new credit available from January to June 2011, compared to $327 billion in the same period in 2010, and $338 billion in the same period in 2009. read more »

Your credit report does not contain accident information. It contains information on how you pay your credit cards, auto and mortgage loans; public record information including civil suits, judgments, bankruptcies, and tax liens; and collection accounts.  There are two companies that compile insurance claims information – Insurance Service Office (ISO) and LexisNexis.  Most insurance companies report their auto claims information to both companies, but LexisNexis is more widely used.

Even though the accident is not on your credit report, your credit can be impacted by the accident depending upon the circumstances. You could be sued by the court to pay damages, the insurance company may not cover all the costs of the accident and you can’t pay the difference.  Any of these can have a major impact on your credit. read more »

Equifax, one of the three national consumer credit reporting agencies, conducts a monthly study on consumer credit trends.  The latest was conducted in April 2011 and released in June 2011.  According to Equifax, credit is becoming more stable and growing; write-offs have peaked; and more new accounts are being opened.  This is great news.

New credit has increased nearly 15% from April 2010 which represented $209 billion compared to $240 billion in April 2011. This is below the levels of over $400 billion in 2006 and 2007.  Lending has increased from a year ago in auto, bank, student loans and home equity revolving loans.  Delinquencies have peaked in most areas except home loans and student loans.  There are fewer delinquencies from loans issued since 2008 because of the tighter credit policies of financial institutions. More loans are being offered to consumers with scores below 600, which are classified as subprime. read more »