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| Readers react: Credit reporting system stinks!
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In December of 2003 we purchased a new computer with
90 days of free Internet service. At that time AOL was deducting
monthly Internet service from our only credit card and we were told
that the store would take care of the free 90-day free Internet.
Foolishly we believed and did not check. Then my wife loses her
credit card so we get a new credit card account number. Four months
later AOL sends us notification of stopping our service for nonpayment
plus a penalty. The store where we bought the computer finally contacts
AOL and takes care of the first 90 days and we had to pay the fourth
month (which seemed fair), and AOL dropped the penalty fees. Everything
now seemed to be taken care of.
Wrong. We purchase a new home six months later and
our mortgage representative tells us we have some bad marks on our
credit rating and we could get a better loan if they were cleared
up (4 basis points). Try as hard as we could, we could not get those
late payments off our credit. They came off automatically after
one year but until then, it was always, "That's our policy."
Because we were getting a 15-year loan and planning to pay off in
five years it didn't amount to too much but the system is what irked
us. Moral: Reporting a lost credit card is just the beginning of
taking care of your problems. -- W.F.
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My credit problems began when I returned to
college to finish a degree and then fell behind on bills and a Citibank
student loan that doubled in interest because of late payments and
deferments. Although my total debt was relatively low by most standards
(about $12,000), I still struggled after college to pay down the
debt. I have to admit, I didn't pay bills on time; it was like having
a handicap. I began to feel like a hamster on a wheel, never able
to really get anywhere on the mess I created -- again, it was relatively
small potatoes, a $100 here, a few hundred there, but the credit
companies were now controlling my life. It was hard to get into
an apartment that ran a credit report. I was concerned about applications
for employment. Yet, I continued to get credit card applications
that said I'd been approved for a credit card. I'd respond like
a man looking for water in the desert, and then I'd be denied after
the credit card company ran a check on my credit report -- at my
credit score expense. Only time and making payments on time is the
healer of credit damage. Even if you pay a debt down, the bad credit
stays on your record for at least seven years. I now have a better
understanding of the mysterious three credit companies. They should
be better regulated. A person should be able to access his credit
report history freely, because they charge you for correcting mistakes
online. I've had items paid in full pop back up on credit reports
and have had to shell out $14.95 to monitor the report and score
for a month. The credit agencies make a lot of money on cleaning
up so-called errors. -- W.K.S.
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