In message <telecom23.569.8@telecom-digest.org> Andrew <andrew@nats.edu>
wrote:
>> Secret History of the Credit Card
>> http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/
> Very interesting. Both Discover and Citbank seem to be using two
> different techniques desribed in the article to try to screw me. One
> way the issuers screw cardholders is by not reporting the cardholders'
> credit limit to the reporting agencies. This is an intentional attempt
> to keep your FICO score low to prevent other card issuers from
> poaching you. A big part of your fico score is your debt to credit
> limit ratio. Equifax/Experian/Transunion substitute your historical
> higest balance for purposes of calculating your debt/credit limit
> ratio when the card issuers withhold your credit limit. Discover does
> not report my $11k credit limit --my credit report just shows my high
> balance of $2400 instead.
Interesting. This can work to your advantage too -- I have a couple
line of credits, one at 8.5% (with my bank) and one at 29% (with a
legal loan shark ...)
I went in to talk to the bank about increasing my credit limit on the
line of credit and reducing my Visa's credit limit, and they said no
on the grounds that even though the 29% line of credit is currently at
$0, if I were to run it up to the maximum the next day it would make
me an unacceptable credit risk (because my overall debt load would be
too high.)
It would have worked significantly to my benefit of the 29% line of
credit only reported the balance ($0) instead of the credit limit.
> A review of my credit report also show that Citibank is pulling my
> credit report each and every month. This is no doubt an attempt to
> take advantage of 'universal fault', i.e. use a late car payment or
> utility payment as an excuse to raise your credit card rate even if
> your credit card payment history is spotless. I have never ever
> carried a balance on any of my credit cards, so in my case, it's
> rather pointless of them to try to dig up a late payment to one of my
> other creditors. A punitive credit card rate would not affect me.
Interesting, I thought that "universal fault" schemes had been
outlawed due to the risk of one creditor fucking up their records.
I had a department store credit card when I was younger. Some months
after it was paid and the account was closed, they added a note to my
credit file that the account was 1 month overdue on a $29 payment.
The notes say that they're reporting for the September monthly period,
my last payment was in February, but somehow I'm only a month late AND
have a $0 balance. This would trip a "universal fault" clause and
hurt my other interest bearing accounts, if I had any that tried the
universal fault crap.
As it is, any time I'm at the bank discussing interest, I have them
read the notes, they laugh and remove it from their internal copy of
the credit report (so it doesn't affect me, since it's clearly
impossible), so it hasn't actually impacted me, although if I changed
to another bank it might.
Do not taunt zombie badgers
DevilsPGD (devilspgd@crazyhat.net)