Readers react: Credit reporting system stinks!
Page | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

My US Bank Visa interest rate jumped from 8.5 percent to 20.99 percent on a card balance of approximately $5,000 with a credit limit of $17,300. I went online and tried to contact the bank for an explanation without success. I walked to the nearest branch office and asked for an explanation regarding what prompted the change. They suggested that my debt burden might be too high or that I had made a recent large purchase or perhaps there was an identity theft issue. Several weeks later, I received a form letter (no name or point of contact to follow up with) from US Bank. It was "... a statement of specific reasons for the recent rate change" on my account. The reasons stated were:

The letter adds that the consumer reporting agency providing the information played no part in the decision and " ...is unable to provide you with specific reasons why your request was denied."

I retrieved credit reports from Experian and Equifax. My Experian "Plus" Score was 737. I could not get a score from Equifax, but the statement did not show any negative entries.

What stunned me most was the abruptness of it all. I am a 54-year-old father of four. I have been in the same house for 25 years. I have worked for the same company for 30 years. I have held the same credit card for 27 years. I am a constant person. Perhaps foolishly, I believe in customer loyalty and the reciprocal benefits of maintaining a long-term working relationship with my bank. The credit scoring system does not appear to make any concession for being consistent or constant and the credit card companies have discovered a way to jack-up the interest rates without a thought to customer loyalty. I will pay off the card balance and I will leave US Bank and I will spend the rest of my days discouraging my children and anyone who will listen from ever doing business with US Bank. Banking ads with pastoral scenes promising care and concern for customers are nothing more than false advertising. -- S.A.

....................

We are a mid-40's couple with absolutely perfect credit. We have never paid a bill late in our entire lives. We have been married for 23 years. We recently started to invest in property in a beach resort. Our first investment was June 2004. The second came in April 2005. The third in October 2005. All this activity on our report has lowered our credit rating.

I still continue to pay every bill on time and have actually started to pay as soon as the bill hits my doorstep. Activity, in and of itself, should not lower a credit rating by 100 points. It is not excessive credit -- basically just mortgage and home equity debt, plus the credit used to furnish the condos, which I pay off very quickly. I think it is unfair that my rating still isn't at the top of the charts like it used to be. Mortgage/home equity activity should not result in a decrease in ratings. -- D.H.

....................

I have had impeccable credit for the last 20 years -- never missed a payment, very low debt. My wife forgot to return $73 worth of library books and it was sent to a credit agency for collection. We get tons of junk mail everyday and she throws away anything that looks like an offer for a new credit card. The correspondence probably got tossed in error. Anyway, upon trying to prequalifying for a mortgage on our new home recently, the mortgage lender said my credit score was ranked as poor. Of course, I was shocked and asked why. He then laughed about it because he knew my income level and current assets. He said that it was a $73 item that went into collection, but other than that my credit was impeccable. Needless to say, we prequalified without a hitch. It seems completely inappropriate that a $73 item would trash over 20 years of perfect credit for someone who makes over $250,000 per year and has virtually no debt. To top matters off, this will probably stay on my record for the next seven years or so. Some may say I deserve it for not being more diligent about this one item. However, to me it seems ridiculous that something so immaterial would have this big of an impact on my credit score given my income level, current assets and low level of debt. -- T.V.