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Credit Bureaus

Q&A: More credit score drama over a missed payment

May 20, 2024 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: You responded to a woman who was concerned that a missed payment had hurt her credit score. My situation is also about a missed payment. In fall 2018, I received a dunning letter from a bill collector. I did a ton of research because I never received the bill that ruined my previously stellar credit rating (840). My rating sank by 200 points even after the retailer involved acknowledged that I never received the bills. Their office showed all the bills, although addressed correctly, were returned as undeliverable. The executive with whom I had lots of interaction wrote all the bureaus explaining the error was the retailer’s. The credit bureaus did nothing to restore my credit rating. It has been six years and I continue to pay in full on time as I had for the 45 years before 2018. My payment behavior has done little to improve my low score. Maybe 2025 will bring relief, as that will be seven years since the collection letter.

Answer: Your situation offers the opportunity to clarify a few things that confuse many consumers.

The first and most important: We are responsible for paying our credit card bills whether we receive those bills or not. Mail goes astray, emails wind up in junk folders, but if there’s a balance on our credit cards we’re supposed to pay at least the minimum when the due date rolls around. As mentioned in the previous column, setting up automatic payments can prevent missed payments. At a minimum, you should mark your calendar with your cards’ due dates and submit your payments, preferably electronically, in time to avoid late fees. Having online access to your credit accounts can help you track balances, and you can set up email or text alerts to remind you to pay.

Next, the executive you talked to either didn’t understand the credit reporting system or wasn’t entirely frank with you. The credit bureaus’ files reflect what creditors tell them. It’s a dynamic system, with information constantly being updated. If the retailer agreed that the late payments shouldn’t be reported, then it should have stopped reporting the erroneous information. Instead of corresponding with the bureaus, the executive should have been talking to the retailer’s finance arm.

If the executive provided you with a copy of the letter sent to the bureaus, however, you can use that to correct the record. Dispute the late payments with the bureaus and use the letter to back up your claim.

By now, your scores should have regained most of the ground lost to this unfortunate incident. If that’s not the case, something else is wrong with your credit reports. You should request free copies of your reports from AnnualCreditReport.com and scrutinize them closely. (If you’re asked for a credit card, you’re on the wrong site.)

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Credit Scoring, Q&A Tagged With: Credit Bureaus, Credit Cards, credit report, Credit Score, Credit Scores, credit scoring, late payment, Late Payments

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

July 2, 2019 By Liz Weston

Today’s top story: Dodge dealership dread with online used car sellers. Also in the news: What first-time home buyers should know about fixer-uppers, how to save for the future when it’s uncertain, and how long it takes for paid debt to be reported to credit bureaus.

Dodge Dealership Dread With Online Used Car Sellers
Car shop from your couch.

What First-Time Home Buyers Should Know About Fixer-Uppers
Don’t get trapped in a money pit.

How to save for the future when it’s uncertain
An emergency fund is crucial.

Here’s How Long It Takes for Paid Debt to Be Reported to Credit Bureaus
Be patient.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: Credit Bureaus, debt, emergency funds, first-time home buyers, fixer-uppers, paid debt, Savings, used car shopping

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

March 14, 2018 By Liz Weston

Today’s top story: 7 places to get a slice of savings on Pi Day. Also in the news: Choosing between a Roth 401(k) and a Roth IRA, guarding your cash from debit card fraud, and credit bureaus may get a boost from Congress.

7 Places to Get a Slice of Savings on Pi Day
Happy 3.14!

Roth 401(k) vs. Roth IRA: Which Is Better for You?
Making the right choice.

Debit Card Fraud Still Rising; Here’s How to Guard Your Cash
Protecting your money.

Despite Equifax breach, Congress may boost credit bureaus
Rewarding bad behavior.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: Credit Bureaus, debit card fraud, Equifax, Pi Day, Roth 401(k), Roth IRA, Savings

Outrage after outrage

September 8, 2017 By Liz Weston

Yesterday Equifax broke the news hackers gained access to the Social Security numbers and other sensitive personal information for 143 million Americans (a group that apparently includes me, my husband, our daughter and probably you).

Because that wasn’t enough, today the outrages just continued:

  • The breach was discovered at the end of July. What was Equifax doing in the meantime? Well, its executives sold about $2 million worth of company shares,  The Washington Post reports.
  • The same day the breach was announced, Congress scheduled a hearing on a bill to shield the bureaus from full accountability from their actions.
  • Equifax offered free credit monitoring for a year, but didn’t make clear whether its usual binding arbitration language applied. So were people waiving their right to sue over the breach? Equifax wouldn’t say, until the New York Attorney General demanded and got an answer: the binding arbitration clause applies to the monitoring product, not the breach. Just in case, after signing up I sent this letter using Equifax’s opt out clause to (hopefully) preserve our right to sue.
  • Credit monitoring doesn’t prevent anything; it just notifies you after you’ve been victimized. Equifax is also offering free credit freezes, which prevent others from opening accounts in your name. Well, it was supposed to be free; some journalists reported they were charged $3.
  • Experian and TransUnion aren’t offering free anything. To shut down your credit, you need freezes at all three bureaus. The others are charging $3 to $10 each, plus additional fees if you need to temporarily lift the freeze to apply for credit, a job, insurance, cell phone service, utilities, an apartment, etc. Oh, and freezes won’t help with other types of crime, such as medical and criminal ID theft or blackmail. (The hack is a potential national security threat, according to experts quoted by the New York Times.)
  • Oh, and when victims try to enroll in credit monitoring, Equifax tells them to come back in a few days. Because, apparently, they’re kind of busy.
  • In fact, all three bureaus’ Web sites were having trouble under the deluge of requests. Sites were freezing and offering error messages; people were getting busy signals or being kicked off calls.

There was no way to make this breach better, but clearly there were plenty of ways to make it worse.

 

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: Credit, Credit Bureaus, Equifax, Equifax breach

Credit bureaus ease medical debt pain for a few

September 5, 2017 By Liz Weston

Too many Americans have bad credit because of unpaid medical bills. That’s not likely to change anytime soon, despite two reforms in how those bills will be reported to the credit bureaus.

Starting Sept. 15:

—There will be a 180-day waiting period before unpaid medical debts can show up on people’s credit reports.

—Medical collections will be deleted from credit reports if they’re paid by health insurers.

Credit bureaus Equifax, Experian and TransUnion agreed to the new standards as part of two settlements with state attorneys general in 2015. The changes in medical debt reporting were designed to help people whose bills fell through the cracks between their health care providers and their insurance companies, says Chi Chi Wu, a staff attorney for the National Consumer Law Center.

In my latest for the Associated Press, find out who these changes are expected to help.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: Credit Bureaus, Credit Score, medical debt

Friday’s need-to-know money news

October 9, 2015 By Liz Weston

Hand with money and toy car isolated on white background
Hand with money and toy car isolated on white background
Today’s top story: Tricks to help you build good credit. Also in the news: How rising interest rates will affect your investments, understanding the credit bureau differences, and what you should know before buying a new car.

3 Simple Tricks That Can Help You Build Good Credit
Improving your score a little bit at a time.

4 Ways Rising Interest Rates Will Affect Your Investments
Your savings accounts will benefit.

Why Your Credit Scores at the Three Bureaus Are All Different
Understanding the differences.

How Do Dealers Set Car Prices?
What you should know before heading into the dealership.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: car buying, car dealerships, Credit Bureaus, Credit Score, interest rates, tips

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