philly_mscl

Sign up for Discover, and Discover how many items you purchase which don't qualify for the 5% and you get the paltry 1% instead.

Actually my sub-title should say "doesn't".

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mad-as-he...ards-2009-10-07

I don't want to diss anyone's hobbies! I understand, I check my score too(using CreditKarma so it is free). I think some people obsess a little to much and although it is important at certain times, many times it isn't. Sometimes I like to point this out. After having a few cards and a loan or two for a few years, paying them on time and not running them up, you can get almost any type of credit you want-or at least should have. There are a few basic things you can do to nudge it a little when you need to, but after that have a beer- or check your scores- but it won't improve your life. The improvement comes when you don't have to look. You look like you are there, you don't have to, but look away if you want, at least you know. Some don't. Disclaimer: Rambling of some guy on the internets. Not meant for anyone starting out,having had a recent financial set back or planning on buying a home in the near future. May not apply to your personal situation. Please consult a trusted knowledgeable adviser for further advice. In a strange way banks/creditors love people who obsess over their FICO scores because they know these OCD people will not only pay on time, but they pay early. Except for AMEX... they don't like people who "micro-pay"... that is send in several payments a month or once-weekly. Sending in micropayments to AMEX will get you flagged as a risky borrower.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/business...tml?_r=1&hp Better hurry and get that FHA loan, the defaulters are now bringing down FHA too.

They are also going after people who are OPT-IN. I have applied for nothing in quite a while and I got their glossy catalog. It's a pretty catalog, but you can get almost 50% off some of the exact same items in that catalog just by going to Froogle and doing a search, and then charging it on a low-interest credit card or a rewards card and lower the total cost even more. If you look at the Schumer's Box in that little white insert after Page 1, you'll notice that they still use Double Cycle Billing. WTF?

Debt collectors love to report your collection as an open-account tradeline in hopes the debt balance tanks your utilization and lowers your score even more, plus the constant reporting of late payments on this "fake loan" they are reporting help tank your scores even more. FICO has never really said what they do with these illegitimate tradelines that don't report like they are supposed to (as a collections tradeline), but the obvious result is that your score gets damaged pretty good if the balance is large enough. Here is how to tell if your baddie is reporting wrong: 1. The company reporting is someone other than the original creditor. 2. Look for account type: Installment loan, Installment plan/agreement, Unsecured loan, Credit Card, with a status of "Open" "Open-In Collections" or any other variety of "Open" 3. There is a credit limit being reported that's some oddball number 4. If it's an installment agreement, look for silly terms like "1 mos" 5. #1 sign.... you see "Factoring Company Account" showing on the TL All of that crap is the debt collector misrepresenting the account accurately. The way it should report is as a collections account, and if you look at TrueCredit or MyFICO, the account will list separately on the report in the "Collections Accounts" section on your credit reports, it is not bunched together with your other active tradelines. Getting this fixed though can push your FICO score even lower. If this account is really old, I would not go near it and just let it age off. If you write the CRAs and request it report accurately, the presence of a new collection on the file if they delete the old TL and add a new one and copy over the DOFD can push your scores lower, there's been plenty of moaning on CB about that. If you have a legitimate FCRA beef with the collector, then I would just save the way it's reporting now and cite it as a violation.

Nope... evidence has shown that they make two passes at your utilization and somehow calculate a risk score based on how the balances are weighted. This is bad which we know for obvious reasons: Bal Avail 5000 1000 3590 4500 6110 1575 But this is ALSO bad: Bal Avail 600 700 0 10000 0 5500 0 200 0 700 0 1500 But FICO thinks this is great, even though the picture is just the same as the previous example: Bal Avail 0 700 600 10000 0 5500 0 200 0 700 0 1500 You see, I just moved the $600 to an account with a big CL instead of the other account with a small CL. FICO looks at util % on each card in addition to total util %.

YOU ARE AT THE MERCY OF THE CA TO DO WHAT THEY AGREED TO DO IN WRITING GEORGE is basically saying this: If you set up a deal with a creditor or collector to cure a default in exchange for a deletion, if the creditor fails to live up to their end of the bargain, written or not, you have an uphill battle. The reason is because the debt collector is attempting to cure a problem you created for yourself by defaulting in the first place, and second--if they are reporting accurate information (that you paid a default), that is within the boundaries of discloseable information in the FCRA. You would need to convince a basket of judges (your case if won, will definitely be appealed) that if you got a written promise from someone to not report something they are allowed to report under Federal law, that you created a bindable covenant with the collector which would mean they would have to fulfill their end of the bargain. Then on top of that you would also need to show that because the bill collector failed to agree to the PFD, you suffered provable tangible damages as a result. That's probably not going to work out very well, and who knows how many billable hours you are going to be charged trying to push that argument through the court system. The better option is to just not ever pay junk debt collectors any money whatsoever and convince more to do the same so that end of the debt collection industry which has the most bad-apples in it becomes unprofitable and dies.

Even First Premier?

The more likely scenario is that a large swath of consumers will have amassed enough of a warchest by save, save, save that they slowly creep back towards previous spending habits, but nowhere near on the order of what was going on during the housing orgy. Hopefully it grows back to a level per person that's at or below their income capability and using borrowing only as bridge financing instead of using credit to eat and survive.

The cheap air-transfer electric heaters are very inefficient and do waste money. What that person was suggesting is an oil-fin electric radiator. Instead of steam going through a boiler system like a regular radiator, these are portable radiators that circulate diathermic oil. They do a better job of transferring heat around because they use convection so the room is more evenly heated than a cheap and DANGEROUS tungsten filament sitting in front of a blowfan. The heating element that heats the oil is contained inside the unit, and the radiator when it's running at full power is still safe to touch, so it can't set anything on fire should paper or something somewhat combustible comes into contact with it. Radiators are also a great way in the winter to re-humidify your rooms by using them to dry your clothes instead of using the electric clothes dryer. All my radiators came with clothes drying brackets like you see in old houses so I can lay shirts and pants over them to dry them on the radiator. If you have an oil boiler and radiator system it saves some money with the only drawback is that your house has a strong smell of fabric softener.

I don't know what climate you live in (FL is way different than ME or CO), but if I were in the OP's shoes I would economize on electric since getting the gas back on looks like might not happen. First thing is first. Those CHEAP AND DANGEROUS space heaters have got to go. You need space heaters that are efficient and are safe to leave plugged-in so carelessness does not result in a burnt-down home. I would strongly suggest you get rid of any radiant or fan-type electric space heaters and get a durable oil-fin electric radiator which has a thermostat control. The radiant space heaters look like desktop oscillating fans and glow a deep red and are dangerous when used indoors in small spaces. DeLonghi makes great oil-filled space heaters. I use them to cut down my gas bill in the winter so when we are in deep freeze up here I plug them in and put them underneath windows in my house to cut out cold drafts and they don't dry the air out. Electric heat really dries out the air and gas heat does so to a lesser degree. Old fashioned radiators are a lot more cozy than electric which dries out the air, increases static cling on your clothes, and makes your skin all itchy. You can find oil-fin electric radiators on Froogle. While you're depending on electric heat you should be chipping away at that $2,000 bill with the gas company so you don't have to go through this again next winter.

Interesting.

Because centex is giving you sage advice and you're choosing to wantonly disregard it and set yourself up for a display of huberis? San Antonio is a big busy city. By last estimate the 6th largest city in the US. SA's crime rate doubled after the Katrina refugees moved into town, and they are also overwhelmed with the drug trafficking. San Antonio is not Mayberry. I grew up down there and remember what it was like when the San Antonio Police Department actually WAS corrupt back in the 1980s. The really bad corruption in the department was cleaned up a long time ago. Judges are SUPPOSED to be impartial, but I can tell you right now any JP and muni judge in the State of Texas will read the top of the docket and the charge of "Jaywalking" and furrow their brow at you. Your previous history with PI does not help matters at all. Anyway, looks like you're not looking for advice and just affirmation on what you've already decided to do. Let us know how it turns out.