| Comment Number: | OL-100219 |
| Received: | 12/26/2004 12:48:55 AM |
| Organization: | Kennedy Contractors Inc |
| Commenter: | Sandra Yeomans |
| State: | FL |
| Agency: | Federal Trade Commission |
| Rule: | Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| Docket ID: | RIN 3084-AA94 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
The credit score (and credit report) that credit reporting agencies charge for should be free. They are used primarily to adversely affect credit decisions by lenders. Consumers don't want them because they are grossly inaccurate, and unfortunately, even if they can prove to a creditor that negative information on one's credit report is false, and the creditor agrees to lend them money, the interest rate charged is still based on the bogus credit score. In most cases the consumer doesn't even realize that it has happened and the creditor certainly does not care because he now has justification for charging the higher rate. The consumer pays the price for a bogus credit score for years. One brief example; I was erroneously reported 30 days late on a payment, my credit score went from 699 to 627 immediately. I was applying for a new loan, and was able to prove to the lender that the late payment was false. I was still charged a substantially higher interest rate than I was assured I could get with a score of 699. About 6 weeks later I was able to get the false information off of my credit report, however my score didn't go right back up to 699. Now I had 3 more inquires and a new loan at less than the most favorable rate, all of which adversely affected my score. Eventually I refinanced at a better rate. I constantly monitor my credit report through Privacy Guard. The average consumer would not have had any idea what had hit him, and would have had to pay the price for years. Since the information ,including the score, from the credit reporting agencies is usually slanderous and bogus, a person should have constant, immediate, and unfettered access to both his credit report and score, and have a clear and definitive explanation of how the score is arrived at, (with all my effort and research I still haven’t figured that one out yet. I don't think the people who work there even know). Simply put, if charges that can adversely affect, even devastate, a persons life can so whimsically be brought against them, they should be able to readily defend themselves. The argument that it is cost prohibitive is hogwash. They provide information to creditors to help them to make credit decisions at less expense (that is there sales pitch). So their obligation should be to provide totally accurate information no matter what the cost, and charge their clients accordingly. Consumers who are being reported on should not have to foot any of this cost, since they are not the ones intended to benefit from the information. In addition, creditors should not be allowed to charge consumers a credit report fee. A lender's use of a credit report is supposed to save them the expense of doing their own research into a person’s credit worthiness by relying on the credit reporting agency, period.