Loved to pick up an LA Times today (can't find the link though-- it was a Bloomberg News story) and read the headline: Lenders Faulted for Giving Incomplete Credit Picture Withholding how close borrowers are to their limits is misleading, senators say at a hearing. The article goes on to describe how Cap 1 and "other lenders" came under criticism for failing to show the true credit limit. "Some senators and consumer advocates said not disclosing the remaining credit may give the false impression that consumers have borrowed their full amount of credit and hurt their chances of getting additional credit from other companies" FINALLY!!! This is one of my pet peeves (my culprit is Citi Aadvantage) Let's hear it for Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala) who had the guts to tell Cap 1 that they are "gaming the system to prevent its customers from appearing like worthwhile marketing targets to your competitors" People are catching on!!! The article says that the Senate Banking Committee is reviewing policy as it is considering renewal of the FCRA. 'SENATORS SUGGESTED THAT LENDERS SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO REPORT ALL RELEVANT INFORMATION TO COMPANIES THAT PREPARE CREDIT REPORTS" We are being heard, people! I am going to post this under another header with hopes that more people will read it. Let's do everything we can to support this effort!!
If anyone is planning to write letters of support, the other entity involved in this (aside from the Senate Banking Committee) is the Consumer Federation of America. "The withholding of information by Capital One is 'an unethical practice' said Travis Plunkett, legistlative director of the CFA." 'We need an explicit standard for completeness,' he said." Yes!! That is what we have been asking for.
Thanks Catnap-- I did a google search and couldn't find the article-- great work. I feel as if we have come so far. People thought I was crazy a few years back when I insisted that these tactics were intentionally designed to lower scores. But now the world is catching on, and it looks as if something may be done about it. I'm really happy about that. Cheers-- Calypso
Hi George-- Glad you checked in. It irks me so much that to obtain really high scores I have to "game the system" to counteract the companies that "game the system." I should simply have to religiously pay my bills on time, the way I did when my scores were in the 600s. But it took this site opening my eyes to discover that I had to tweak things to maintain the scores that would get me the best rates. Now I pay my cards BEFORE the cycle closes in most cases and NEVER leave a balance on a card like Citi AA where no limit is reported. It shouldn't be this way. But think of the millions (gazillions?) of dollars in extra interest that are collected because consumers aren't aware of the way things are played. Knowledge is power and people are learning more every day!
Knowledge is power and people are learning more every day! Calypso ============= True, but not enough people are learning enough fast enough when it comes to the CRA and Fico Con job. THE END ** *** ** LB 59 """""""""```~~~```'""""""""" PS Victims of Credit Reporting - Credit Scores http://members.aol.com/victcrdrpt/Score.html http://members.aol.com/victcrdrpt/Score.html
Capital One EXPOSED Hi George-- Glad you checked in. It irks me so much that to obtain really high scores I have to "game the system" to counteract the companies that "game the system." I should simply have to religiously pay my bills on time, the way I did when my scores were in the 600s. But it took this site opening my eyes to discover that I had to tweak things to maintain the scores that would get me the best rates. Now I pay my cards BEFORE the cycle closes in most cases and NEVER leave a balance on a card like Citi AA where no limit is reported. It shouldn't be this way. But think of the millions (gazillions?) of dollars in extra interest that are collected because consumers aren't aware of the way things are played. Knowledge is power and people are learning more every day! Capital One EXPOSED Calypso ================================= The whole thing is little more than legalized racketeering http://members.aol.com/victcrdrpt/Score.html THE END ** *** ** LB 59 """""""""```~~~```'"""""""""
Maybe this senator has an email address and we can hit him with multiple emails supporting his stance on this issue. J Just think, if every poster and lurker here send an email..it will be overwhelming. Any thoughts?
Re: Re: Capital One EXPOSED One of the main reasons that the CC companies do this is because other CC companies can steal you away. Why would a CC company want to give you up as their gold mine by showing that you have a high limit, and a low balance to other companies? These companies are cut-throat, and they cruise consumer files looking for their next customer/victims (I work in the Direct Mail business, and I know how many CC companies we have as clients).
Re: Re: Capital One EXPOSED It doesn't matter if they can steal you away. Accurate is accurate. I agree with writing letters or e-mails to: Senator Shelby All Senators on the Senate Banking Committee All Representatives on the House Banking Committee YOUR OWN Senator and Congressman. Other organizations can be copied, but Congress is where it will eventually happen. If we bombard them, they can't help but get the message. When the response, especially from THEIR OWN CONSTITUENTS is overwhelming, even the lobbyists lose some of their power. I advocated the same thing on another thread. Figure if we have almost 8,000 members here, there are a lot more people lurking. And then we spread the word to other boards. A grass roots effort is hard to beat. I personally prefer mail to e-mail. There's something to be said for the stacks and stacks of letters that come in. If you don't print e-mail you may not realize how many there are. Remember what happened in "Miracle on 34th Street" when the post office brought in all of those bags of letters and dumped them? Made a huge impact!!
Re: Re: Re: Capital One EXPOSED I am only going to get an "OFFER" from another credit card company "IF" my CREDIT LIMIT IS SHOWED??? CAPITAL ONE CREDIT LIMIT $ N/A HIGH BALANCE $5,000 (NO OFFER) CAPITAL ONE CREDIT LIMIT $7,500 HIGH BALANCE $5,000 (OFFER)
Re: Re: Re: Re: Capital One EXPOSED YES!!! The thought here is that if you 1) have a high limit card and 2) your credit scores meet the minimum requirements then you would be a good candidate to defect to another company. The CC companies know what their competitor's offers are, and the percentage rates are usually based upon the credit limit. So, cap1, high balance $5000, credit limit unknown, MAYBE cap1, high balance $5000, credit limit $7500, credit score in the 700's, Platinum card (inferred), interest rate 16.99% (inferred), OFFER BofA with 13.99% interest BTW: This was reported on NPR 3 or 4 weeks ago, so I can't claim responsibility for this one ;-)
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Capital One EXPOSED It does NOT MATTER MUCH...I have not got any offers anyway...I HAVE NOT OPTED-OUT!!! The above numbers are NOT my real numbers...(MUCH HIGHER LIMITS...and MUCH LOWER INTEREST RATES) BUT IF CAPITAL ONE LOST BECAUSE OF A BETTER OFFER...THAT IS THEIR PROBLEM!!!
Re: Re: Capital One EXPOSED When the response, especially from THEIR OWN CONSTITUENTS is overwhelming, even the lobbyists lose some of their power. Hedwig =================== If we vote then out they won't be there to benefit from the lobby money. THE END ** *** ** LB 59 """""""""```~~~```'"""""""""
Re: Re: Capital One EXPOSED But they'll be replaced by someone else who can be influenced by the lobbyists.
I think it's encouraging that Shelby, a Republican, is on top of this issue. Republicans have generally been a bit backwards, not to say retrogressive, on credit issues. If you can persuade your Republican Senator or Representative that faulty reporting actually interferes with the free market for credit, then he or she may be more receptive to this type of reform. Efficient markets require accurate and complete information...
