Ask Liz Weston

Get smart with your money

Credit Cards

Q&A: The ins and outs of credit scores

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Dear Liz: I’ve been using a free credit site to learn more about credit reports and credit scores. Recently I looked around and found reviews about how “horribly inaccurate” these free scores are. Where can I go to find my real FICO credit scores? I need the ones that matter, the ones that lenders use.

Answer: Some free scores aren’t used by any lenders. But many sites these days give out VantageScores, a FICO rival that’s being used in a growing number of credit decisions. So VantageScores are “real” scores, just not the most commonly used scores.

Here’s the thing, though: You generally can’t predict which scores a lender will use. Not only are there different name brands, but FICO offers versions customized for certain types of lending. The scores typically used by credit card issuers are different from the ones used by auto lenders, for example. These industry-specific FICO scores are on a 250-to-900 scale, rather than the 300-to-850 scale used by other FICO scores.

There are also different generations of each type of score, much like the different operating systems for your computer. Some lenders quickly upgrade to the latest version, just as some computer users upgraded to Windows 10 when it came out. Others use older versions of the scores, just as users may cling to Vista or XP. (For you Mac users, that would be something like hanging on to Mountain Lion or Snow Leopard instead of updating to El Capitan.)

Mortgage lenders, in particular, use relatively old versions of FICO. That’s because the agencies that buy most home loans, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, haven’t updated their requirements so that lenders can use newer versions.

Some credit card companies offer their customers free FICO scores, typically from one bureau. You can get a glimpse of the array of scores lenders might use by buying the most commonly used FICO, the FICO 8, for about $20 each from MyFico.com. Along with each FICO 8 you buy (you can buy three, one from each of the three major credit bureaus), you’ll get additional versions used for auto, credit card and mortgage lending.

If you’re going to be in the market for a major loan, such as a car loan or a mortgage, it makes sense to buy your FICOs so you can get a better idea of how lenders might view you. If you’re just interested in tracking your scores generally, though, the free versions can be perfectly adequate.

Q&A: Cashing out an IRA to pay off credit card debt

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Dear Liz: I owe about $49,000 on my credit cards and now have the money to pay them off in full. Should I? Or should I slowly pay them in large amounts?

Answer: There’s typically no reason to delay paying off credit card debt. Carrying balances costs you money and doesn’t help your credit scores. You’ll see the fastest improvement if you pay them off in one fell swoop.

The only excuse for delaying would be if this windfall comes from a retirement fund. Cashing out a 401(k) account or IRA to pay off debt is not wise, since you’ll trigger huge taxes and penalties. Add in the future tax-deferred compounding you lose and the total cost is far more than you’ll save in interest.

Q&A: Purchase protection

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Dear Liz: A few months ago, I purchased a large television from a nearby store. I was offered no interest for 12 months using the store’s credit card. The TV was stolen from the back of my pickup truck before I was able to bring it into my apartment. I called the police and filed a report. The next day I returned to the store and asked if anything could be done. They said they could only offer another television for a discounted price. I wrote to the credit company and they responded that it wasn’t up to them and any deals would have to be made with the store, which I did not return to. I have since made small payments on the loan, and will expect to pay if off in a few months with no problem. The remaining amount is just over $900. My question is, how bad would it affect my credit score if I simply decided not to pay the balance? Currently, I have a great score. My only other debt is for another television I purchased.

Answer: Failing to pay what you owe will trash your credit, because a single missed payment can knock more than 100 points off good scores. You’ll lose more points the longer the bill goes unpaid and suffer additional damage when the account is turned over for collections.

A better approach is to pay what you owe and resolve to stop borrowing to buy televisions. Instead, use a credit card that reimburses you for such losses and then pay off the balance in full by the due date.

As you’ve discovered, store cards often don’t offer this “purchase protection” that kicks in if an item is lost, damaged or stolen. Purchase protection is a free benefit that comes with higher-end credit cards and shouldn’t be confused with overpriced paid add-ons such as “credit protection.” Check your current cards to see if any offer this feature. If none of your cards do, use your good credit to get one that does and use it in the future for all large purchases.

Q&A: Credit card billing errors

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Dear Liz: I have a dispute with a credit card company over an online transaction that I canceled. The company charged me three times but refunded only one of those charges. The credit card company initially canceled the other two transactions but I was rebilled without my knowledge. Despite my submitting evidence and the card company agreeing that I don’t owe the money, it will not take the charge off. Who do I contact to get this settled? When I call the card company, they say they will look into this and contact me in 10 days, which they never do.

Answer: It’s convenient to dispute credit card billing errors over the phone. If you want to preserve your rights under the federal Fair Credit Billing Act, though, you need to put your complaint in writing.

Your letter should be sent to the address given for billing inquiries, rather than the address where you send your payment, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The letter needs to include your name, address and account number along with a description of the problem. You should send copies of any receipts or other documents that back up your case. The letter should be mailed in time to reach the creditor no later than 60 days after the statement with the error was generated. The letter should be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested.

That’s a cumbersome process, and often not necessary for people who monitor their statements and catch a problem early. Ideally, they first would contact the merchant and give it a chance to correct the problem. If the merchant doesn’t do so within a few days, the customer can contact the credit card company and give it time — say, 30 days — to resolve the situation. If that doesn’t work, then the customer can fire off a letter.

Even if you’re now outside the 60-day window, you should still send a letter and ask for a prompt response. If you don’t get one, you can file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which intervenes with credit card companies to resolve such disputes.

Q&A: Authorized credit card users

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Dear Liz: I have read that only the primary cardholder is responsible for the balance on a credit card, not the authorized user (such as a spouse). When that primary cardholder dies, there is no obligation for an authorized user to pay off the balance. Is this accurate? What would prevent someone whose primary cardholder is near death from racking up purchases and then, after the primary cardholder dies, refusing to pay it?

Answer: In a community property state such as California, spouses typically are both responsible for debts incurred during the marriage. In all states, the deceased spouse’s estate would have to pay all creditors before any leftover money was doled out to survivors. So a spouse who went on such a spending binge wouldn’t come out ahead, unless the primary cardholder was broke and left no estate.

Other authorized users might have no such restraints, however. Anyone who thinks an authorized user might pull such a stunt would be smart to take that person off the card before it becomes an issue.

Q&A: Credit reports for the deceased

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Dear Liz: How does one get credit reports for someone who is dead? My deceased husband is still on my mortgage and I’d like to review his report to make sure it is correct. The estate went through probate, so I have court documents showing I am the executor. I looked at credit bureau websites and attempted to contact them by phone but have not been able to determine what information they need or where it should be sent.

Answer: The only thing that needs to be correct about your husband’s credit reports is the fact that he’s dead. Any other mistakes are irrelevant at this point, but his identity can still be stolen if the bureaus don’t know he’s deceased.

This is no small issue. About 2 million dead people have their identities stolen every year, either because they’ve been deliberately targeted or because criminals filling out credit applications used made-up Social Security numbers that happen to match those of people who have died, according to a 2012 study by research firm ID Analytics.

Eventually, the credit bureaus should get word of a death. Bureaus periodically check the Social Security death master file, which is a database of all the deaths reported to the agency. Lenders also notify the bureaus when they receive information that someone has died.

Just to make sure, though, you should notify the bureaus directly. Ask that a “deceased alert” be added to his files. Send death certificates — the real thing, not photocopies — by certified mail, return receipt requested. The addresses to use include:

TransUnion LLC, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19022
Experian, P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013
Equifax, P.O. Box 740260, Atlanta, GA 30374