I hear you all talk about not being able to get a bank account or utilities because of credit. I have never heard of this. Do they really do this? I have 4 bank accounts, none of which ever checked my credit before opening. Also, I never have had a utility compnay check my report or report any lates. Is this common? Just wonderif, because if my house sells, I wonder if they do it in some places, just not others.
I think all banks check credit now. You probably opened yours a while back. My CU even checked my Mom's credit when I added her as joint accountholder. My reason for adding her was that she could get the money in my savings account immediately if something happened to me (since I take care of her). Utilities - it depends on which utility it is, I think, and where you live. Virginia Power does not pull credit, does not report. I inherited Verizon when Bell Atlantic merged with them. They have never reported or checked my credit, but I believe they do in some areas. I have paid them both late on occasion - it has never been reported. If you're moving to another area, folks on here will probably be able to tell you what to expect. IMO the credit bureaus are trying to sell their services to more and more industries. But as they become more and more of an influence in our lives, they wil draw more and more fire. A lot of the wrath directed at them now is because people have to pay more for essential services because of incorrect entries on credit reports. There are a lot of folks who don't care about getting tons of credit cards, but are angry because they have to pay more for auto insurance when their driving and claims record is clean, or who have had their homeowner's insurance cancelled due to credit report errors.
One thing I do know is Verizon ONLY reports if you don't pay and your phone gets shut off completely. This is for the New England area. A friend of mine works for Verizon and I had just recently asked her about cause I paid my phone bill late by mistake. kellie
Now I ask Ya. hain't F I C O the most wonerfull Thang since sliced bread? IE Fico being used as a pricing method.
Wait till grocers, car dealers,and other business jump in on the band wagon and start pricing their products based on what your FICO score is. Oh Boy Don't We Got Fun Then?
The more firms CRAs can get to use their services the more likely increased negatives will end up on more reports.This works well with the Rigged FICO Pricing System. to expand more companies bottom line!
In a way, some car dealers do use your credit to price their vehicles. The buy here - pay here, we tote the note dealers do it already. This part of the industry is built on selling cars to people who cannot get a car elsewhere. The prices are inflated to make up for the risk. When I was looking for a cheap car for my son, I went to one of these places. It was $4,000 if you financed it (no interest charges) and $2,000 cash. How did we get this far off topic?
lbrown59 went off on his favorite topic. i.e. what does my credit score have to do with my checking account as long as I don't bounce checks? Who the heck knows....... I want to change long distance companies but I am not going to, because they'll put an inquiry on my Equifax report. I recently became an agent for a large national insurer - they said why didn't I change my insurance over to them? I said only if you agree not to check my credit report (they use Choicepoint - that's Equifax). They said they had to check it. I said, well then I have to stay where I am. They did a background and checked my credit for that, now they want to do it again??? I don't think so.
Really? I switched like 4 times this year (they started offering more then just one company for local calling and long distance) and I haven't got pulled. That was with Sprint, MCI, and AT&T. No, I am not a weirdo, each had the first month free (or something similar) with no strings attached. So I took advantage of it. I am planning on moving to NC. I think that I read somewhere that TU is big down there, and if they do pull a lot down there, I am in trouble. That report is REALLY ugly! The other ones are looking MUCH nicer. Thanks guys
DISPUTE IT OFF (INQUIRY)... Don't give them SS# SIGN UP FOR DIRECT BILL TO YOUR CREDIT CARD, OR TELL THEM THAT YOU WILL BE PAYING BY CREDIT CARD SO YOU DO NOT NEED TO "APPLY" FOR NEW CREDIT...SO DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT "PULLING"!!! You can also say..."MY OLD COMPANY SAID THEY WOULD TAKE ME BACK, NO QUESTIONS ASKED...SO IF YOU "PULL", YOUR GONE!!! You can also direct bill to your "LOCAL" company in MOST cases...
Yeah, nothing is the same down there I guess. I am kinda bummed. From what I hear, they require deposits for everything. This question is off topic, I know, but anyone have electric heat? It seems everyone has it there. I think that it is a whole lot more expersive.
It's electric, ohno, but it's heatpump. Less expensive. It's reverse airconditioning The only time you use real electric heat is "emergency heat" - if the heat pump isn't working, you can make it switch over to electric. You'll love it. It doesn't dry out the air, no static electricity, and if you keep it clean, no allergies. I'm in Virginia - winters in this area are mostly mild. Real winter lasts about two months (January and February). I have had my AC on in December.
Way off topic....but my 2 cents... My place has 100% electric...incl. heat, stove, dryer.. It obviously depends on your climate, but, me personally, I've never been in a 100% elec. place...and according to my "roomate" the bills we're getting are "normal"....ugh
I was denied from about six banks for a SAVINGS account, not even checking, because I had four old derogs on EQ and a score around 530. I finally got Wachovia to give me savings, checking, and overdraft protection as the report was, and American Express also gave me the same when I had three derogs on EX and a score of 576.
Where are you located. Just about anything built in the midatlantic or south after 1980 has a heat pump.
I'm in Southern New Jersey (collective "ewww") Yea, my closest neighbor, no lie, is a sheep. I don't mind the bills...but never seen a 100% elec. place before...used to the 40-50/mo bills...now, it's like 80-100..and apparently, it's normal.. no biggie...at least I'm warm. Bahhhhhhh DB
My bills are about that now and I have gas heat! But I also have a electric drier and stove. I just heard a horror story about a 400.00 electric bill.