Could this be a light at the end of the credit crisis tunnel? According to new research from Fair Isaac Corporation, the company responsible for FICO scores, the percentage of Americans with top-notch credit scores is the best it’s been since 2008. In addition, the number of people in the bottom tier of the credit spectrum has fallen to pre-recession levels.
A yearlong investigation by the Columbus Dispatch has uncovered systemic flaws in the data collection and dispute resolution processes used by the credit bureaus. For Americans who find errors in their credit files, this can mean months of frustration trying to get the mistakes corrected. And during that painful process, many people are denied credit cards, [...]
As if it wasn’t disturbing enough that identity thieves are working around the clock to get their grubby paws on your credit card numbers, a recent investigation found that some brazen hackers are now angling to make off with consumers’ entire credit files. The methods they use show how poorly protected our data is — [...]
According to a new report and consumer survey from the Federal Trade Commission, many Americans don’t know what they’re entitled to if someone steals their identity. FTC data shows that, for more than a decade, the top category of complaints it handles is identity theft. So it’s disturbing that many of us don’t know what [...]
What’s in a number? When that number is your credit score, it’s the key that gives you access to credit cards, mortgages and other loans. Anything below 720 can make it tougher or more expensive to get a loan now, which means a number like 622 is bad news. Unfortunately, that’s the average credit score in [...]
A big part of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s potential to help consumers is its ability to supervise nonbank participants in the financial industry. This far-ranging swath of companies includes some that have been the subject of consumer complaints in the past, such as debt collectors and credit reporting agencies. Today, the CFPB proposed a [...]
While your finances might not be the first thing that springs to mind as Valentine’s Day approaches, your credit can be affected by your partner’s history and spending habits. Credit counselors advise couples to sit down together and disclose their respective debts before they get serious. That might not sound like the most romantic date [...]
Oprah pal Suze Orman never had much in common with reality TV’s Kardashian sisters — until now. The personal finance personality debuted a prepaid debit card, the Approved Card. Prepaid cards are notorious for high fees — and for, in effect, relegating people with little or poor credit to a kind of second-tier financial status. [...]
Now that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a director (albeit one whose appointment could be challenged in court), it has quite the to-do list. At the top, according to newly installed bureau head Richard Cordray, is federal supervision of non-bank entities that include debt collectors, payday loan operations, and mortgage lenders.
What if your credit score included things like rent payments, utility bills and tax obligations? What if it also told lenders if you’d ever borrowed using risky or subprime products? A new type of credit evaluation being rolled out by a company called CoreLogic could include all of these details and more. The company says [...]
A new study disputes the idea that people with low credit scores are more likely to steal, cheat, falsify or otherwise engage in what researchers call harmful workplace behaviors.
