Fitch Becomes First Rating Agency to Accept Mortgage Loans Based on VantageScore
Last update: 10:08 a.m. EDT Sept. 22, 2008
NEW YORK, Sep 22, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Fitch Ratings announced today that it is the first rating agency with the capability to evaluate and assign ratings to mortgage loans based on VantageScore, the generic credit scoring model jointly developed by the three national credit reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion).
According to testing done by Fitch, VantageScore provides highly predictive evaluations of consumer creditworthiness. The three national credit reporting companies apply an identical algorithm to data, creating a more consistent score. The model can also score consumers with limited credit histories.
'The mortgage crisis has not only shown that a multitude of factors influence the performance of high risk loans, but has also underscored the need for an improved generic consumer scoring model against which mortgage lenders can more reliably make their loans,' said Group Managing Director and U.S. RMBS group head Huxley Somerville. 'Built using data that includes the dramatic rise in consumer indebtedness in recent years and regularly revalidated to ensure the model's continued predictiveness, VantageScore has shown to be more accurate than FICO because it excludes the use of authorized trade lines.'
Fitch has fully incorporated VantageScore into ResiLogic 2.1, its flagship quantitative model that provides credit risk analysis at the individual loan and pool level for residential mortgage loans. ResiLogic was recently updated to include national economic and regional performance factors, loan seasoning, and adjustments for high risk loan underwriting and mortgage insurance.
About Fitch Ratings:
Fitch Ratings is a global rating agency dedicated to providing the world's markets with independent, timely and prospective credit opinions. Fitch Ratings is headquartered in New York and London and is part of the Fitch Group, a majority-owned subsidiary of Fimalac, S.A., headquartered in Paris, France. For additional information, visit www.fitchratings.com or www.fimalac.com.
About VantageScore Solutions:
Stamford,CT-based VantageScore Solutions, LLC ( www.vantagescore.com) is an independently managed company that holds the intellectual property rights to VantageScore--a new generic scoring model introduced in March 2006. Created by America's three major credit reporting companies (CRCs) - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion--VantageScore's highly predictive model uses an innovative, patent-pending scoring methodology to provide lenders with a consistent interpretation of consumer credit files across all three major credit reporting companies (CRCs) and the ability to score more people.
Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site.
SOURCE: Fitch Ratings
Fitch Ratings, New York
Huxley Somerville, 212-908-0381
or
Media Relations:
Sandro Scenga, 212-908-0278
Copyright Business Wire 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Insurers' use of credit scoring is here to stay, Posted by Robert Paisola
Q I just received my FICO score and VantageScore ranking. My FICO score was 5 points less than my VantageScore ranking, yet FICO gave me a "good" rating and Vantage gave a "nonprime" grade D scoring. My vehicle insurance went up because of this score. Is there any way to dispute this?
A Don't I wish you could dispute your insurer's decision!
My insurer did the same thing to me while insisting I was still saving more money on my insurance than if the company didn't use scoring. Go figure.
What's really interesting about your situation is the big difference in how FICO and VantageScore rated your scores.
First, let me talk about my actuarial friends.
Insurers have the right in most states to view your credit history and include what is found there in their calculations of your personal risk.
Why? Well, insurers say — and our fearless state representatives agree — there is a correlation between how a person handles credit and the likelihood of filing an insurance claim.
So to help everyone manage the difficult situation of who gets charged what rates, or gets coverage at all, insurers rely on a scientific model.
The bottom line of the situation is that insurance credit scoring is here to stay.
You can ask the insurer's customer service why your rates went up, but you'd probably have more luck asking my cat Stinky for answers. Each company has its own scoring models and considers them to be trade secrets.
However, you can get a version of your generic insurance score from TrueCredit. You will receive an auto and homeowner's coverage score along with advice for improving your score. Insurers may not look at the information contained in your credit reports and scores in the same way that a potential lender would. For example, an insurer may be more interested in your payment history than in how much you owe.
Your FICO and VantageScore credit scores are based on the information contained in your credit reports at each of the three major credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
Because each bureau has different data in its files about you, you will have a different score depending on which type of data they use.
Although you cannot dispute your scores, you can check your credit reports to assure that the information used to calculate those scores is correct. If you find inaccurate or out-of-date information, you should file a dispute with the bureau that reported it.
VantageScore is a relative newcomer to the credit-scoring industry. It was developed by the bureaus, and they claim the VantageScore ranking is more up-to-date than a FICO score. Different math and weightings are used to figure your score, and each has its own range of scores.
FICO scores go from 350 to 850, while VantageScores range from 501 to 990 and also include a letter grade.
Once you have your credit reports in the best shape possible, your only other alternative for saving money on your insurance premiums is to shop around for different insurance carriers.
Because insurers each use their own scoring systems, you could have a much better score with carrier A than you do with carrier B, and your premium will reflect that.
Friday, March 07, 2008
FICO 08: The New FICO Credit Score Model, posted by Robert Paisola
FICO 08: The New FICO Credit Score Model
Fair Isaac Tweaks the FICO Formula
Published on: Friday, March 07, 2008
Written by: Brad Zimmerman
It’s been almost a decade since the Fair Isaac Corporation changed the formula to their popular and widely used FICO credit score model, and apparently a decade is quite long enough. Fair Isaac is preparing to roll out its new credit scoring formula—aptly titled FICO 08—this spring, an accelerated date, in order to help lenders improve their risk management in the wake of rising loan defaults.
Fair Isaac predicts the new formula will reduce default rates on consumer credit between 5 percent and 15 percent, according to the Wall Street Journal. Lenders have been increasingly needy of a more accurate measurement of credit risk as defaults continue to build up because of subprime mortgages and falling housing prices.
“Higher-risk borrowers may find it tougher to get credit, while those with less-risky profiles—though they may have gotten approved for credit accounts in the past—will start to get better deals from lenders,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
The FICO scoring system, which is used by 90 percent of the country’s 100 largest banks, won’t be tampering with the scoring range of 350 to 800, or with things such as timely payments, length of credit history and amount of debt, among other things. There are some changes investors should be aware of, however.
Most notably, FICO 08 will eliminate authorized users; see our previous article Credit Boom Turned Credit Bust for more information. While the old system would allow spouses and children of primary card-holders to become authorized users and build their own credit histories, lenders felt the practice undermined their attempts to contain credit risk, according to Mortgage News Daily.
The move was largely in response to the creation of credit-repair websites that would allow consumers with bad credit to become authorized users on the account of a stranger with a good credit history. It will, however, hurt those spouses and children of card-holders who legitimately used the practice to build their own credit.
Additionally, FICO 08 will give more credit points to consumers who maintain multiple lines of credit, such as a credit card, auto loan and home loan, while penalizing more heavily those people who use a lot of their available credit, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The new system will also go easier on consumers with an occasional slip-up in payment and come down much harder on those with multiple credit infractions. The new system is intended to be more precise in determining good and bad risk borrowers, especially among subprime borrowers and those seeking or just establishing credit.
Although it seems like the FICO 08 scoring system will be much tougher, the average credit-holder may be pleasantly surprised.
“Overall, more consumers will see their FICO scores go up slightly than will see their scores drop,” Tom Quinn, vice president of global scoring solutions for Fair Isaac, said in a press release.
Investors should take note of Fair Isaac’s changes in the scoring system and expect to see it go into effect in the coming months as the major credit reporting agencies adopt it. Fair Isaac has already given FICO 08 to Experian and TransUnion plans to implement the new system sometime in the second quarter of this year.
The third major credit reporting agency, Equifax, is in the midst of a lawsuit with Fair Isaac about competition from a new system, VantageScore, and plans not to move forward with FICO 08 at this point in time, according to the Wall Street Journal. Fair Isaac maintains that it will distribute the formula to all three agencies.
Fair Isaac Tweaks the FICO Formula
Published on: Friday, March 07, 2008
Written by: Brad Zimmerman
It’s been almost a decade since the Fair Isaac Corporation changed the formula to their popular and widely used FICO credit score model, and apparently a decade is quite long enough. Fair Isaac is preparing to roll out its new credit scoring formula—aptly titled FICO 08—this spring, an accelerated date, in order to help lenders improve their risk management in the wake of rising loan defaults.
Fair Isaac predicts the new formula will reduce default rates on consumer credit between 5 percent and 15 percent, according to the Wall Street Journal. Lenders have been increasingly needy of a more accurate measurement of credit risk as defaults continue to build up because of subprime mortgages and falling housing prices.
“Higher-risk borrowers may find it tougher to get credit, while those with less-risky profiles—though they may have gotten approved for credit accounts in the past—will start to get better deals from lenders,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
The FICO scoring system, which is used by 90 percent of the country’s 100 largest banks, won’t be tampering with the scoring range of 350 to 800, or with things such as timely payments, length of credit history and amount of debt, among other things. There are some changes investors should be aware of, however.
Most notably, FICO 08 will eliminate authorized users; see our previous article Credit Boom Turned Credit Bust for more information. While the old system would allow spouses and children of primary card-holders to become authorized users and build their own credit histories, lenders felt the practice undermined their attempts to contain credit risk, according to Mortgage News Daily.
The move was largely in response to the creation of credit-repair websites that would allow consumers with bad credit to become authorized users on the account of a stranger with a good credit history. It will, however, hurt those spouses and children of card-holders who legitimately used the practice to build their own credit.
Additionally, FICO 08 will give more credit points to consumers who maintain multiple lines of credit, such as a credit card, auto loan and home loan, while penalizing more heavily those people who use a lot of their available credit, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The new system will also go easier on consumers with an occasional slip-up in payment and come down much harder on those with multiple credit infractions. The new system is intended to be more precise in determining good and bad risk borrowers, especially among subprime borrowers and those seeking or just establishing credit.
Although it seems like the FICO 08 scoring system will be much tougher, the average credit-holder may be pleasantly surprised.
“Overall, more consumers will see their FICO scores go up slightly than will see their scores drop,” Tom Quinn, vice president of global scoring solutions for Fair Isaac, said in a press release.
Investors should take note of Fair Isaac’s changes in the scoring system and expect to see it go into effect in the coming months as the major credit reporting agencies adopt it. Fair Isaac has already given FICO 08 to Experian and TransUnion plans to implement the new system sometime in the second quarter of this year.
The third major credit reporting agency, Equifax, is in the midst of a lawsuit with Fair Isaac about competition from a new system, VantageScore, and plans not to move forward with FICO 08 at this point in time, according to the Wall Street Journal. Fair Isaac maintains that it will distribute the formula to all three agencies.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Friday, August 03, 2007
Knowing the score can reduce finance charges
Knowing the score can reduce finance charges
By TERESA McUSIC
Special to the Star-Telegram
Take this quick true/false quiz.
Your credit score is influenced by:
A. Your income
B. Your age
C. Your state
D. Your ethnicity
E. Your education
If you answered true to any of these, you don't know what a credit score really is.
Low scores mean higher interest rates on everything from car loans to mortgages to credit cards. Low scores can also mean higher insurance rates, an inability to get services like cellphones, and difficulty getting a job or a place to live.
Your credit score has enormous influence on your daily life, yet a recent survey by the Consumer Federation of America and Washington Mutual reveals that most Americans still don't understand it.
"I'm surprised so many people know so little about their credit score," said Stephen Brobeck, executive director of CFA. "I expected to see an improvement of knowledge over the last couple of years."
Yet an amazing 74 percent of people surveyed thought income influenced their score. More than one-third said age, education and state of residence had some effect. Nearly 20 percent thought that ethnicity had an impact.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
Let's all go back to Credit Scores 101.
Credit scores serve one purpose: They indicate your risk of not paying back what you owe.
FICO scores -- named for their creator, Fair Isaac & Co. -- range from 300 to 850. The higher your score, the better off you are with lenders, insurers, employers and landlords. Most scores fall between 600 and 700, according to Consumers Union, with higher-cost lending, called subprime lending, starting with a score of 620.
How much can that difference in cost be? FICO estimates that someone with a credit score between 760 and 850 will pay $466 less a month in interest on a 30-year, $200,000 mortgage in Texas than someone with a score of 500 to 579.
Washington Mutual estimates that $20 billion would be saved in lower credit-card charges if Americans raised their credit scores an average of 30 points.
The scores are generally made up of five different criteria. Fair Isaac breaks it down like this:
Payment history, 35 percent. This means just what it says. A long history of making payments on time leads to a better score. One or two late payments won't usually hurt, but missed payments, bankruptcies, foreclosures and liens can have a serious effect on your score.
Amounts owed, 30 percent. Owing money in itself does not trigger a low score. Your score is hurt if you are close to maxing out a credit card or if the amount you owe has jumped recently.
Length of credit history, 15 percent. It's possible to have a short history and a high score, but longer is better.
Type of credit in use, 10 percent. This portion looks at the mix of your credit, from mortgages and installment loans to credit cards and retail accounts. It's not a key factor unless there's not much other information about you.
New credit, 10 percent. Timing again plays into this part of the score, in that opening up several lines of credit in a short period can lower your score. Multiple card requests can also lower your score.
This year, the three credit bureaus introduced a new scoring system called VantageScore. Its range is 501 to 990 with accompanying letter grades from A to F.
Adding another score and range to the market complicates things for consumers, Brobeck said. But as long as you know the range, either score will give you an idea where you stand with lenders, insurers and others you want to do business with.
"If you don't know what a good score is, you can't understand if you have a good score," Brobeck said.
Getting your score generally costs about $14, although the new VantageScore is selling on Experian's Web site for $5.95.
For three years, Washington Mutual has given its customers free access to their credit scores online, said Alan Elias, senior vice president at the S&L.
"We have to pull the scores every month anyway to monitor them," he said. "And our customers can use it as a way to monitor identity theft."
Remember, credit scores can't generally be repaired overnight. But for most of us, working on some of our credit habits for six months can make a big difference.
Bottom line: if you're planning next year to buy a house or car, sign up for a credit card, cellphone or electric plan, rent an apartment or go to a job interview -- check out your score.
What's in your report?
Check your three credit reports at no cost at www.annualcreditreport.com, call 877-322-8228 or request a form at the Web site and mail it to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. You will need to give your Social Security number. The report does not include a credit score.
Source: Consumer Federation of America
HOW YOUR CREDIT SCORE AFFECTS YOU
A good credit score can save you thousands of dollars, particularly when you're borrowing money to buy a house. Here are several ranges of scores and the monthly payment on a $150,000, 30-year mortgage associated with them:
700-759: Rate: 6.52% Cost: $950
680-699: Rate: 6.7% Cost:$968
660-679: Rate: 6.91% Cost: $989
640-659: Rate: 7.34% Cost: $1,033
620-639: Rate: 7.89% Cost: $1,089
Average U.S. credit score: 678
Source: Bankrate.com
Boosting your score
There's no magic to raising your credit score. Here are the basics:
Pay bills consistently and on time.
Don't max out credit cards or other revolving credit.
Pay off debt rather than moving it around.
Don't open new accounts often.
Source: Consumer Federation of America
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
For Rent: Your Credit Score
For Rent: Your Credit Score
Loophole in FICO Enrages Lenders
By Martin H. BosworthConsumerAffairs.Com
June 5, 2007
Plastic Prison • Credit Tips And Tricks• Get Control of What You Owe• No Easy Way Out Of Credit Card Debt• Penalty Fees, Interest Rate Hikes, and Misleading Contracts Await Credit Card Shoppers• "Convenience Checks" Carry a Heavy Price Tag• New Forms of Credit Scoring• Understanding Credit• Credit Bureaus: Who You're Dealing With• Reading Your Credit Report• Credit Scoring: The Fickleness of FICO• Credit Knowledge: A Long, Hard, Struggle---News• For Rent: Your Credit Score• Fed Proposes Tighter Controls On Credit Card Rates• Senate Bill Would Curb Abusive Credit Card Practices• Senate Panel Slams Abusive Credit Card Practices• Congress Targets Credit Card Companies For Reform• Report Finds High Debit Card Overdraft Fees• Bank, ATM Fees Continue To Rise• Credit Card Fees Rise, Disclosure Statements Inadequate• Free Credit Reports Mark First Anniversary• Credit Card Debt Sinking Many Older Consumers• Experian Launches New Credit Score; Critics Unimpressed• Credit Cards Target Students• Credit Card Companies Fear "Perfect Storm"• Credit Bureaus Introduce New Scoring System• More Banks Using Universal Default to Hike Interest Rates
The all-important three-digit number known as your credit score has become the central pivot on which the financial industry moves.
Borrowers are repeatedly told to demonstrate good financial behavior not just for its own sake, but to ensure that their credit score stays high enough to receive approval from lenders. And a score that doesn't meet with lenders' approval can keep otherwise responsible borrowers from getting a home or car loan for years.
So it should come as no surprise that companies like InstantCreditBuilders.com (ICB) and Addatradeline.com have devised a way to game the system -- in this case, by paying people with high credit scores to let low scorers "piggyback" on their ratings and receive boosts to their own scores as a result.
The new trick takes advantage of a loophole in the credit system. People who have little or no credit histories, such as college students, can be added as an "authorized user" to credit cards that are ultimately paid for by Mom and Dad.
In this case, the "authorized user" with good credit is paid several hundred dollars to "rent" their credit score out to someone else, with the agency taking their cut from the potential piggybacker.
Lenders Object
Although the Federal Trade Commission has been taking a wait-and-see approach to the issue, the financial and mortgage industries are already on the warpath.
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) is planning to release a statement opposing the practice. Mortgage lenders say the practice undermines the trust lenders place in the FICO score, which is by far the most widely-used scoring system for new loan approvals.
"We have become so dependent on FICO scoring that we rely on it almost to the point that FICO is the decisionmaking process," Bremer Mortgage president Jim Miley told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "If we can't get assurances that FICO scores are accurate, then we will definitely go back to manual underwriting of loans, a time-consuming and expensive process."
Unforeseen Consequences
Fair Isaac, creators of the FICO score, has said that it will close the "authorized user" loophole in its credit scoring model to protect against "piggybacking." John Ulzheimer of Credit.com says that the move is going to "screw consumers royally."
"A lot of people are going to get penalized for something a few bad apples did," Ulzheimer said in an interview with ConsumerAffairs.Com. "The value of any authorized user on a credit card is now totally lost."
Ulzheimer said that anyone who has built a credit history as an additional user on a card, ranging from college students to married couples and divorcees, will have to "rush out" and open up new credit accounts to rebuild or maintain their scores and credit histories.
"It won't be as big a rush as people filing bankruptcy before the new laws took effect,"
Ulzheimer said, "But you'll see it happen."
Ulzheimer, who formerly worked at both Fair Isaac and Equifax, said companies like ICB are liable for enforcement under the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA), which mandates the rules that so-called "credit repair organizations" work under. "The minute they take money in advance, they're liable under CROA," he said. "This is a case of merchants ripping off businesses, and some consumers ripping off lenders."
Bad Data
FICO became dominant largely because it streamlined the formerly cumbersome and detailed process of lending down to a simple number.
Whereas local credit bureaus and mortgage lenders would previously look at a person's entire financial history and make calls based on individual judgment, the modern system relies almost totally on the proprietary algorithm developed by Fair Isaac, and based on information in credit reports that is very often inaccurate.
The ease with which credit could be approved led to an explosion of availability of lending to people who would not ordinarily have qualified, but the mania to approve credit and sell reports and scores to lenders also led to constant errors and mistakes in reports that are very difficult to correct.
Now the housing market is in the doldrums, thanks to subprime loans going into default and foreclosure accross the country. Even the Federal Reserve is reconsidering the easy access to credit that consumers have come to take for granted.
And the closing of the "authorized user" loophole won't just make building credit tougher for consumers -- it's exposed a vulnerability in the FICO score that has competitors like the credit bureau-backed VantageScore ready to pounce.
John Ulzheimer had previously criticized the new score, which is sold right from the three bureaus, as "an effort to confuse consumers and unsophisticated lenders."
Now, he said, "I wouldn't be surprised if there was an all-hands meeting at VantageScore Solutions to discuss what to do" about the loophole in the FICO score. "They're licking their chops."
Report Your Experience If you've had a bad experience with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.
Loophole in FICO Enrages Lenders
By Martin H. BosworthConsumerAffairs.Com
June 5, 2007
Plastic Prison • Credit Tips And Tricks• Get Control of What You Owe• No Easy Way Out Of Credit Card Debt• Penalty Fees, Interest Rate Hikes, and Misleading Contracts Await Credit Card Shoppers• "Convenience Checks" Carry a Heavy Price Tag• New Forms of Credit Scoring• Understanding Credit• Credit Bureaus: Who You're Dealing With• Reading Your Credit Report• Credit Scoring: The Fickleness of FICO• Credit Knowledge: A Long, Hard, Struggle---News• For Rent: Your Credit Score• Fed Proposes Tighter Controls On Credit Card Rates• Senate Bill Would Curb Abusive Credit Card Practices• Senate Panel Slams Abusive Credit Card Practices• Congress Targets Credit Card Companies For Reform• Report Finds High Debit Card Overdraft Fees• Bank, ATM Fees Continue To Rise• Credit Card Fees Rise, Disclosure Statements Inadequate• Free Credit Reports Mark First Anniversary• Credit Card Debt Sinking Many Older Consumers• Experian Launches New Credit Score; Critics Unimpressed• Credit Cards Target Students• Credit Card Companies Fear "Perfect Storm"• Credit Bureaus Introduce New Scoring System• More Banks Using Universal Default to Hike Interest Rates
The all-important three-digit number known as your credit score has become the central pivot on which the financial industry moves.
Borrowers are repeatedly told to demonstrate good financial behavior not just for its own sake, but to ensure that their credit score stays high enough to receive approval from lenders. And a score that doesn't meet with lenders' approval can keep otherwise responsible borrowers from getting a home or car loan for years.
So it should come as no surprise that companies like InstantCreditBuilders.com (ICB) and Addatradeline.com have devised a way to game the system -- in this case, by paying people with high credit scores to let low scorers "piggyback" on their ratings and receive boosts to their own scores as a result.
The new trick takes advantage of a loophole in the credit system. People who have little or no credit histories, such as college students, can be added as an "authorized user" to credit cards that are ultimately paid for by Mom and Dad.
In this case, the "authorized user" with good credit is paid several hundred dollars to "rent" their credit score out to someone else, with the agency taking their cut from the potential piggybacker.
Lenders Object
Although the Federal Trade Commission has been taking a wait-and-see approach to the issue, the financial and mortgage industries are already on the warpath.
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) is planning to release a statement opposing the practice. Mortgage lenders say the practice undermines the trust lenders place in the FICO score, which is by far the most widely-used scoring system for new loan approvals.
"We have become so dependent on FICO scoring that we rely on it almost to the point that FICO is the decisionmaking process," Bremer Mortgage president Jim Miley told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "If we can't get assurances that FICO scores are accurate, then we will definitely go back to manual underwriting of loans, a time-consuming and expensive process."
Unforeseen Consequences
Fair Isaac, creators of the FICO score, has said that it will close the "authorized user" loophole in its credit scoring model to protect against "piggybacking." John Ulzheimer of Credit.com says that the move is going to "screw consumers royally."
"A lot of people are going to get penalized for something a few bad apples did," Ulzheimer said in an interview with ConsumerAffairs.Com. "The value of any authorized user on a credit card is now totally lost."
Ulzheimer said that anyone who has built a credit history as an additional user on a card, ranging from college students to married couples and divorcees, will have to "rush out" and open up new credit accounts to rebuild or maintain their scores and credit histories.
"It won't be as big a rush as people filing bankruptcy before the new laws took effect,"
Ulzheimer said, "But you'll see it happen."
Ulzheimer, who formerly worked at both Fair Isaac and Equifax, said companies like ICB are liable for enforcement under the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA), which mandates the rules that so-called "credit repair organizations" work under. "The minute they take money in advance, they're liable under CROA," he said. "This is a case of merchants ripping off businesses, and some consumers ripping off lenders."
Bad Data
FICO became dominant largely because it streamlined the formerly cumbersome and detailed process of lending down to a simple number.
Whereas local credit bureaus and mortgage lenders would previously look at a person's entire financial history and make calls based on individual judgment, the modern system relies almost totally on the proprietary algorithm developed by Fair Isaac, and based on information in credit reports that is very often inaccurate.
The ease with which credit could be approved led to an explosion of availability of lending to people who would not ordinarily have qualified, but the mania to approve credit and sell reports and scores to lenders also led to constant errors and mistakes in reports that are very difficult to correct.
Now the housing market is in the doldrums, thanks to subprime loans going into default and foreclosure accross the country. Even the Federal Reserve is reconsidering the easy access to credit that consumers have come to take for granted.
And the closing of the "authorized user" loophole won't just make building credit tougher for consumers -- it's exposed a vulnerability in the FICO score that has competitors like the credit bureau-backed VantageScore ready to pounce.
John Ulzheimer had previously criticized the new score, which is sold right from the three bureaus, as "an effort to confuse consumers and unsophisticated lenders."
Now, he said, "I wouldn't be surprised if there was an all-hands meeting at VantageScore Solutions to discuss what to do" about the loophole in the FICO score. "They're licking their chops."
Report Your Experience If you've had a bad experience with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Highs & lows for consumer in search of his credit score
BY ASA AARONSDAILY NEWS COLUMNIST
Posted Monday, June 4th 2007, 4:00 AM
When Mel Larson requested his free annual credit report from a major credit reporting agency, he also ordered his credit score. "There was a $5 charge, but I felt it was a good idea since the number is important," he explained.
But he wasn't happy with what he got. "I received something called a VantageScore, not the FICO score I expected," he said. "My score was 898, well over the top FICO score.
Can a VantageScore be translated to a FICO score?"
Not exactly. Credit scores are the three-digit numbers that lenders use to assess the credit risk of a potential borrower.
Fair Isaac's Classic FICO score is the most often used credit score in consumer lending and mortgage lending. FICO scores range from 300 to 850.
Although FICO scores remain dominant, several alternatives have developed within the past few years.
In March last year, the nation's three leading consumer credit reporting companies - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - jointly launched their own proprietary credit scoring system, VantageScore.
When you order your credit report fromExperian or TransUnion, you receive a VantageScore. Equifax, however, still provides FICO scores.
If you want to get a FICO score based on your Experian or TransUnion credit report, you have the option ofordering it from Fair Isaac (www.myfico.com).
Otherwise, you can only roughly compare your FICO score and VantageScore.
VantageScores range from 501 to 990, and approximate the letter-grade system used in most schools. That means a score of 901 to 990 is an A, while a score of 801 to 900 is a B, 701 to 800 is a C, 601 to 700 is a D and 501 to 600 is an F.
If you have a FICO score of more than 730, then you're in the solid B range. If it's 770 or more, you get an A. FICO scores of 680 to 729 are in the C range, while scores of 620 to 679 are Ds. Anything lower than 620 is an F.
Asa Aarons is a consumer reporter whoappears at 5:30 p.m. weekdays on WNBC-TV, Channel 4. His special Daily News column appears Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Send your questions to Ask Asa, P.O. Box 3310, NewYork, N.Y. 10116 or e-mail him (AskAsa@gmail.com). Questions can be answered only through this column.End Content Columns -->
Posted Monday, June 4th 2007, 4:00 AM
When Mel Larson requested his free annual credit report from a major credit reporting agency, he also ordered his credit score. "There was a $5 charge, but I felt it was a good idea since the number is important," he explained.
But he wasn't happy with what he got. "I received something called a VantageScore, not the FICO score I expected," he said. "My score was 898, well over the top FICO score.
Can a VantageScore be translated to a FICO score?"
Not exactly. Credit scores are the three-digit numbers that lenders use to assess the credit risk of a potential borrower.
Fair Isaac's Classic FICO score is the most often used credit score in consumer lending and mortgage lending. FICO scores range from 300 to 850.
Although FICO scores remain dominant, several alternatives have developed within the past few years.
In March last year, the nation's three leading consumer credit reporting companies - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - jointly launched their own proprietary credit scoring system, VantageScore.
When you order your credit report fromExperian or TransUnion, you receive a VantageScore. Equifax, however, still provides FICO scores.
If you want to get a FICO score based on your Experian or TransUnion credit report, you have the option ofordering it from Fair Isaac (www.myfico.com).
Otherwise, you can only roughly compare your FICO score and VantageScore.
VantageScores range from 501 to 990, and approximate the letter-grade system used in most schools. That means a score of 901 to 990 is an A, while a score of 801 to 900 is a B, 701 to 800 is a C, 601 to 700 is a D and 501 to 600 is an F.
If you have a FICO score of more than 730, then you're in the solid B range. If it's 770 or more, you get an A. FICO scores of 680 to 729 are in the C range, while scores of 620 to 679 are Ds. Anything lower than 620 is an F.
Asa Aarons is a consumer reporter whoappears at 5:30 p.m. weekdays on WNBC-TV, Channel 4. His special Daily News column appears Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Send your questions to Ask Asa, P.O. Box 3310, NewYork, N.Y. 10116 or e-mail him (AskAsa@gmail.com). Questions can be answered only through this column.End Content Columns -->
Friday, May 25, 2007
VantageScore Solutions Names Michael Dunn Vice President of Strategic Planning and Communications.
STAMFORD, Conn. -- VantageScore Solutions, LLC, an intellectual property company whose VantageScore consumer scoring model has unparalleled predictiveness and can be uniformly applied to credit data from the three national credit reporting companies, announced today the appointment of Michael J. Dunn as the company's vice president of strategic planning and communications.
Mr. Dunn, 44, is responsible for leading the design, execution, and integration of myriad strategic planning and communications initiatives, such as advertising, branding, public relations, and trade association and regulatory community outreach. He reports directly to Barrett Burns, VantageScore Solutions' president and CEO.
"Mike's considerable brand management experience, general business acumen, and financial services expertise make him the ideal candidate to assume the mantle for overseeing VantageScore Solutions' strategic planning and communications function," said Mr. Burns. "We are delighted to have someone of his caliber on board as we continue to build on the positive 'buzz' in the industry for VantageScore."
Prior to his new position, Mr. Dunn most recently served as vice president of marketing at Webster Bank, a 177-branch retail bank based in Waterbury, Connecticut, where he was responsible for brand marketing strategy, execution, and performance measurement. During his tenure, Webster Bank enjoyed the strongest consumer awareness levels in its 71-year history for its brand in the bank's core Connecticut marketplace.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Dunn was a managing supervisor at Mintz & Hoke Communications Group, one of New England's largest advertising and public relations firms. He also served as vice president of marketing at Intergis, a B2B software development firm, and held several positions of escalating authority at communications firm Mason & Madison (now Mason, Inc.), where he created an independent e-business unit that helped clients formulate online strategies.
Mr. Dunn earned an undergraduate degree in communications with an emphasis in advertising from Ithaca College. He is the recipient of the marketing industry's prestigious Silver EFFIE Award for his contributions to the Vermont Lottery marketing campaign.
About VantageScore Solutions
Stamford, CT-based VantageScore Solutions, LLC was founded in March 2006 as an independently managed joint venture between the country's three national consumer credit reporting companies -- Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion -- to develop a universal, highly predictive, and consistent credit scoring system for the consumer credit markets. The resulting VantageScore service is independently marketed and sold separately through the three credit reporting companies via licensing agreements with VantageScore Solutions. For more information, please visit www.VantageScore.com.
Mr. Dunn, 44, is responsible for leading the design, execution, and integration of myriad strategic planning and communications initiatives, such as advertising, branding, public relations, and trade association and regulatory community outreach. He reports directly to Barrett Burns, VantageScore Solutions' president and CEO.
"Mike's considerable brand management experience, general business acumen, and financial services expertise make him the ideal candidate to assume the mantle for overseeing VantageScore Solutions' strategic planning and communications function," said Mr. Burns. "We are delighted to have someone of his caliber on board as we continue to build on the positive 'buzz' in the industry for VantageScore."
Prior to his new position, Mr. Dunn most recently served as vice president of marketing at Webster Bank, a 177-branch retail bank based in Waterbury, Connecticut, where he was responsible for brand marketing strategy, execution, and performance measurement. During his tenure, Webster Bank enjoyed the strongest consumer awareness levels in its 71-year history for its brand in the bank's core Connecticut marketplace.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Dunn was a managing supervisor at Mintz & Hoke Communications Group, one of New England's largest advertising and public relations firms. He also served as vice president of marketing at Intergis, a B2B software development firm, and held several positions of escalating authority at communications firm Mason & Madison (now Mason, Inc.), where he created an independent e-business unit that helped clients formulate online strategies.
Mr. Dunn earned an undergraduate degree in communications with an emphasis in advertising from Ithaca College. He is the recipient of the marketing industry's prestigious Silver EFFIE Award for his contributions to the Vermont Lottery marketing campaign.
About VantageScore Solutions
Stamford, CT-based VantageScore Solutions, LLC was founded in March 2006 as an independently managed joint venture between the country's three national consumer credit reporting companies -- Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion -- to develop a universal, highly predictive, and consistent credit scoring system for the consumer credit markets. The resulting VantageScore service is independently marketed and sold separately through the three credit reporting companies via licensing agreements with VantageScore Solutions. For more information, please visit www.VantageScore.com.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Overhaul of FICO is coming
Overhaul of FICO is coming
Kathleen Pender
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Fair Isaac said last week that it will introduce a more powerful credit-scoring system in September, but said it's not a response to criticism that the company's widely used FICO scores did a less-than-stellar job predicting defaults as the mortgage market grew more exotic.
The Minneapolis company said the new version will increase "predictive strength by 5 to 15 percent," especially for new accounts, subprime borrowers and borrowers with thin credit bureau files.
While it's promising big improvements for lenders, the company says the new system will have little impact on consumers.
"Some consumers' scores will go up slightly, some will go down slightly," says Fair Isaac spokesman Craig Watts.
The company would not explain what would cause a score to change, which is a shame considering the growing impact credit scores have on our lives. Lenders use credit scores to make or deny loans and set terms and rates. They are also being used, where allowed, by insurance companies, landlords, employers and utilities.
Credit scoring applies a formula to the information in your credit file and comes up with a number that predicts how likely you are to default on a loan.
Credit scores have performed so well that lenders have placed growing faith in them, perhaps too much. As long as borrowers had decent credit scores, many lenders were willing to lend them up to 100 percent of a home's value and let them make no principal and partial interest payments for a number of years. Many let customers state their income without documenting it.
Some critics say FICO scores did not perform as well as expected in this Wild West environment.
In a December conference call, HSBC finance chief Douglas Flint said that in 2005 and 2006, a "considerable amount of activity ... moved away from more-traditional products to affordability products" such as adjustable-rate mortgages, stated income loans and option ARMs. These products let people afford bigger mortgages with smaller monthly payments.
"What is now clear is that FICO scores are less effective or ineffective in circumstances where the ability to meet payments is beneficially enhanced by virtue of the fact that the payment obligations have been reduced because of very low interest rates. In other words, the FICO scores' predictive ability, because people weren't missing payments, were recording higher creditworthiness than might have been the case if they had had to make payments at more normalized interest rates, or without the benefit of affordability elements," he said.
Fitch Ratings, which rates mortgage-backed securities, says that as lenders added more layers of risk to a loan, the borrower's FICO score became less predictive.
For mortgages issued in 2003, before lenders abandoned common sense, borrowers who defaulted had significantly lower scores than those who didn't, says Glenn Costello, a Fitch managing director.
Borrowers who became 90 or more days delinquent had an average FICO score of 589 compared with an average score of 620 for those who never paid that late -- a difference of 31 points.
For loans made in 2006, that margin had shrunk to only 10 points. Borrowers who became seriously delinquent had an average FICO score of 615 compared with 625 for those who didn't.
"The loans that are defaulting now have higher FICO scores" than in the past, Costello says.
He adds that FICO scores still do a good job predicting risk, all else being equal. "If you have two loans with the exact same attributes, the person with the lower FICO score has a higher probability of default. If I take person with the higher FICO, give them a piggy-back second or a stated-income loan" and the default risk increases, he says.
Costello says FICO scores can still be useful as "part of a healthy balanced diet."
PMI Group, which insures mortgages with low down payments, uses FICO scores "as one of many different data elements in assessing risk," says Mark Milner, the firm's chief risk officer.
PMI looks at borrower-related data, including FICO scores; loan-related data, such as the interest rate and payment structure; and property-related data, such as whether the home is owner-occupied, a rental, single-family or condominium.
"For what it is, a FICO score is a very strong variable. But it's hardly the only one," says Milner.
Ron Totaro, Fair Isaac's vice president of global scoring solutions, says the FICO revamp has been in the works for 14 to 18 months and is not a reaction to recent criticism.
"We've talked to lenders, regulators and individuals who use FICO scores to drive their decisions. There has been no feedback that says these scores are working any differently than they have over the last 18 years," Totaro says.
The new version could be a reaction to VantageScore, a credit-scoring system developed jointly by the nation's three major credit-reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
Fair Isaac has sued the three agencies, alleging that VantageScore violates antitrust laws and confuses customers.
One of VantageScore's touted benefits was that it would do a better job with thin-file customers, meaning those without much credit history such as young people and recent immigrants.
The FICO upgrade also expands assessments of thin-file borrowers.
Fair Isaac now divides the population into 10 segments based on credit histories and applies a slightly different formula to each. Eight segments include people with no serious credit blotches and two are for people with serious problems.
The new system will divide the population into 12 segments: eight for people with good credit and four for people with bad credit. This will deliver better results for people in the lower end of the credit spectrum, Watts says. The system also incorporates changes in consumer behavior since its last upgrade.
Net Worth runs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. E-mail Kathleen Pender at
kpender@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page E - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Kathleen Pender
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Fair Isaac said last week that it will introduce a more powerful credit-scoring system in September, but said it's not a response to criticism that the company's widely used FICO scores did a less-than-stellar job predicting defaults as the mortgage market grew more exotic.
The Minneapolis company said the new version will increase "predictive strength by 5 to 15 percent," especially for new accounts, subprime borrowers and borrowers with thin credit bureau files.
While it's promising big improvements for lenders, the company says the new system will have little impact on consumers.
"Some consumers' scores will go up slightly, some will go down slightly," says Fair Isaac spokesman Craig Watts.
The company would not explain what would cause a score to change, which is a shame considering the growing impact credit scores have on our lives. Lenders use credit scores to make or deny loans and set terms and rates. They are also being used, where allowed, by insurance companies, landlords, employers and utilities.
Credit scoring applies a formula to the information in your credit file and comes up with a number that predicts how likely you are to default on a loan.
Credit scores have performed so well that lenders have placed growing faith in them, perhaps too much. As long as borrowers had decent credit scores, many lenders were willing to lend them up to 100 percent of a home's value and let them make no principal and partial interest payments for a number of years. Many let customers state their income without documenting it.
Some critics say FICO scores did not perform as well as expected in this Wild West environment.
In a December conference call, HSBC finance chief Douglas Flint said that in 2005 and 2006, a "considerable amount of activity ... moved away from more-traditional products to affordability products" such as adjustable-rate mortgages, stated income loans and option ARMs. These products let people afford bigger mortgages with smaller monthly payments.
"What is now clear is that FICO scores are less effective or ineffective in circumstances where the ability to meet payments is beneficially enhanced by virtue of the fact that the payment obligations have been reduced because of very low interest rates. In other words, the FICO scores' predictive ability, because people weren't missing payments, were recording higher creditworthiness than might have been the case if they had had to make payments at more normalized interest rates, or without the benefit of affordability elements," he said.
Fitch Ratings, which rates mortgage-backed securities, says that as lenders added more layers of risk to a loan, the borrower's FICO score became less predictive.
For mortgages issued in 2003, before lenders abandoned common sense, borrowers who defaulted had significantly lower scores than those who didn't, says Glenn Costello, a Fitch managing director.
Borrowers who became 90 or more days delinquent had an average FICO score of 589 compared with an average score of 620 for those who never paid that late -- a difference of 31 points.
For loans made in 2006, that margin had shrunk to only 10 points. Borrowers who became seriously delinquent had an average FICO score of 615 compared with 625 for those who didn't.
"The loans that are defaulting now have higher FICO scores" than in the past, Costello says.
He adds that FICO scores still do a good job predicting risk, all else being equal. "If you have two loans with the exact same attributes, the person with the lower FICO score has a higher probability of default. If I take person with the higher FICO, give them a piggy-back second or a stated-income loan" and the default risk increases, he says.
Costello says FICO scores can still be useful as "part of a healthy balanced diet."
PMI Group, which insures mortgages with low down payments, uses FICO scores "as one of many different data elements in assessing risk," says Mark Milner, the firm's chief risk officer.
PMI looks at borrower-related data, including FICO scores; loan-related data, such as the interest rate and payment structure; and property-related data, such as whether the home is owner-occupied, a rental, single-family or condominium.
"For what it is, a FICO score is a very strong variable. But it's hardly the only one," says Milner.
Ron Totaro, Fair Isaac's vice president of global scoring solutions, says the FICO revamp has been in the works for 14 to 18 months and is not a reaction to recent criticism.
"We've talked to lenders, regulators and individuals who use FICO scores to drive their decisions. There has been no feedback that says these scores are working any differently than they have over the last 18 years," Totaro says.
The new version could be a reaction to VantageScore, a credit-scoring system developed jointly by the nation's three major credit-reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
Fair Isaac has sued the three agencies, alleging that VantageScore violates antitrust laws and confuses customers.
One of VantageScore's touted benefits was that it would do a better job with thin-file customers, meaning those without much credit history such as young people and recent immigrants.
The FICO upgrade also expands assessments of thin-file borrowers.
Fair Isaac now divides the population into 10 segments based on credit histories and applies a slightly different formula to each. Eight segments include people with no serious credit blotches and two are for people with serious problems.
The new system will divide the population into 12 segments: eight for people with good credit and four for people with bad credit. This will deliver better results for people in the lower end of the credit spectrum, Watts says. The system also incorporates changes in consumer behavior since its last upgrade.
Net Worth runs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. E-mail Kathleen Pender at
kpender@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page E - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Thursday, May 10, 2007
FACTBOX - FICO credit score components, from Reuters, Posted By Robert Paisola
FACTBOX - FICO credit score components
Thu May 10, 2007 5:09PM EDT
Credit scores, dominated by the Fair Isaac Corp.'s FICO system, are relative measures of a person's creditworthiness.
The scores are used by banks and other lenders to determine if a person will get a loan and how much they will pay.
Here are components of the FICO score:
-- Payment history, 35 percent of score. Late payments on credit cards, mortgages, student loans etc. will show up here and reduce the score.
-- Amounts owed, 30 percent of score. Total amount owed on a credit card compared with the total credit line. The higher the amount owed relative to the credit line, the lower the score.
-- Length of credit history, 15 percent. A short credit history will reduce the score. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion have developed VantageScore to reach more people with "thin" credit histories.
--New credit, 10 percent. The more request one makes for new credit accounts, the riskier they are perceived.
--Types of credit used, 10 percent. FICO considers the mix of credit cards, retail accounts and mortgages.
Thu May 10, 2007 5:09PM EDT
Credit scores, dominated by the Fair Isaac Corp.'s FICO system, are relative measures of a person's creditworthiness.
The scores are used by banks and other lenders to determine if a person will get a loan and how much they will pay.
Here are components of the FICO score:
-- Payment history, 35 percent of score. Late payments on credit cards, mortgages, student loans etc. will show up here and reduce the score.
-- Amounts owed, 30 percent of score. Total amount owed on a credit card compared with the total credit line. The higher the amount owed relative to the credit line, the lower the score.
-- Length of credit history, 15 percent. A short credit history will reduce the score. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion have developed VantageScore to reach more people with "thin" credit histories.
--New credit, 10 percent. The more request one makes for new credit accounts, the riskier they are perceived.
--Types of credit used, 10 percent. FICO considers the mix of credit cards, retail accounts and mortgages.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Opinions differ on effectiveness of FICO score, Posted by Robert Paisola
Opinions differ on effectiveness of FICO score
Fair Isaac says its FICO score works just fine. But rising defaults have prompted some to question whether the system has flaws.
By Thomas Lee, Star Tribune
Don't blame the messenger.
That might not be anyone's idea of a great corporate slogan, but executives at Fair Isaac Corp. are finding themselves playing defense this year about the company's most vaunted product.
As subprime mortgage defaults continue to rise, some lenders are questioning the value of Fair Isaac's FICO score, which measures a consumer's ability to pay back a loan.
"FICO scores were one of the best predictors of early defaults," said Glenn Costello, an analyst with Fitch Ratings, a credit-rating agency based in New York. "Today, that is not true."
In December, a top executive with HSBC Finance, a major subprime lender, told investors that FICO scores were "less effective or ineffective" in predicting behavior during a period of aggressive lending and low interest rates.
Defenders of the FICO score say the product works just fine. They say overaggressive lenders, hungry for profits, are more to blame for the increasing number of defaults among homeowners, because they loosened underwriting standards to take in more marginal borrowers and also sold riskier products such as adjustable-rate mortgages.
"We're confident that FICO does what it is supposed to do," said Ron Totaro, vice president of global scoring solutions for Minneapolis-based Fair Isaac. "Lenders develop their lending strategies, and they use as little or as much information as they want."
Totaro said there is "no evidence" that FICO scores are not effective when applied to borrowers who fit in the riskier subprime portion of the market.
Any perception that FICO is faulty could have serious consequences for Fair Isaac. FICO is both the company's best-known product and the most popular credit-scoring system in the United States. Last year, FICO scores generated $177.1 million in sales, about 21 percent of Fair Isaac's total revenue.
What's worse, the company has already been struggling to boost its sales. Last week Fair Isaac said second-quarter revenue fell 3.4 percent to $201 million.
FICO also faces a challenge from VantageScore, a new credit-scoring system developed and marketed by Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, the country's three top credit-reporting agencies. Fair Isaac is suing the agencies, claiming VantageScore violates antitrust laws. By jointly offering VantageScore, the agencies are in the position to shut out FICO and other competitors from the credit-scoring market, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.
VantageScore executives see the subprime fallout as an excellent chance to promote their product.
"Absolutely, it helps us," said Barrett Burns, VantageScore's chief executive. "It offers us a great opportunity for lenders to look at VantageScore. Since our score is more accurate and predictive, there would have been improvement" in mortgage defaults had the industry used VantageScore instead of FICO, he said.
A recent Fitch Ratings report seems to lend some support to Fair Isaac in the debate. Some of the industry's riskiest subprime products -- high loan-to-value mortgages, piggyback loans and others that required little or no documentation of income -- made the FICO score "less significant relative to other attributes as an early default indicator," Fitch said.
In 2003, loans that defaulted within 12 months of issuance had FICO scores that were 30 points less than loans that did not default. Last year that difference shrank to 10 points, according to Fitch.
Others say the troubles among subprime loans simply show the limitations of credit scores. Loan officers can't look to FICO scores when trying to weigh how changes in interest rates, the type of loan or sudden events could affect a borrower's ability to pay, said John Ulzheimer, president of Credit.com Educational Services, a San Francisco-based financial services company.
"The score is the score," said Ulzheimer, a former Fair Isaac manager who helped build credit-scoring models. "It doesn't take into account external factors."
For instance, Hurricane Katrina's devastation could have turned healthy FICO scores of 750 among Gulf Coast residents into 450s in a relatively short period of time, in which case "the credit scores looked like they had failed," Ulzheimer said.
Still, credit-scoring companies must do a better job in establishing consistent scores for borrowers with patchy credit, said Craig Focardi, an analyst with TowerGroup, a research and consulting firm in Needham, Mass. Credit scores below 640 fluctuate more often than scores of 700 or better, he said. Companies such as Fair Isaac also should develop credit scores that take into account additional categories of risk instead of "lumping customers into similar brackets," he said.
Fair Isaac sells a product called NextGen FICO that Focardi says better measures the credit risks posed by subprime borrowers, but mortgage lenders have been reluctant to adopt it because it costs more than a standard score. VantageScore could inject some needed competition into the business, Focardi said.
"The mortgage industry needs to reevaluate whether one score is good for all customer segments," he said.
Totaro of Fair Isaac said the company constantly updates and refines FICO scores. Asked if some subprime lenders are unhappy with the service, Totaro replied: "We have talked to numerous clients. We will work with them to show them how the FICO scores work."
Ulzheimer said lenders never liked FICO scores, especially when a low score disqualified a potential borrower from getting a loan. Most lending operations are set up so that fees are generated by granting loans, not turning people away. But in the recent housing boom, lenders just got too greedy and sold unsuitable products to consumers, he said.
"You do your best to explain how the model is built and what it can do," Ulzheimer said. "But some lenders are going to do whatever they want to do. You never hear from lenders when things are going well. But the minute the FICO score doesn't do what they want it to do, it's amazing how loud they scream."
Thomas Lee • 612-673-7744 • tlee@startribune.com
©2007 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
Fair Isaac says its FICO score works just fine. But rising defaults have prompted some to question whether the system has flaws.
By Thomas Lee, Star Tribune
Don't blame the messenger.
That might not be anyone's idea of a great corporate slogan, but executives at Fair Isaac Corp. are finding themselves playing defense this year about the company's most vaunted product.
As subprime mortgage defaults continue to rise, some lenders are questioning the value of Fair Isaac's FICO score, which measures a consumer's ability to pay back a loan.
"FICO scores were one of the best predictors of early defaults," said Glenn Costello, an analyst with Fitch Ratings, a credit-rating agency based in New York. "Today, that is not true."
In December, a top executive with HSBC Finance, a major subprime lender, told investors that FICO scores were "less effective or ineffective" in predicting behavior during a period of aggressive lending and low interest rates.
Defenders of the FICO score say the product works just fine. They say overaggressive lenders, hungry for profits, are more to blame for the increasing number of defaults among homeowners, because they loosened underwriting standards to take in more marginal borrowers and also sold riskier products such as adjustable-rate mortgages.
"We're confident that FICO does what it is supposed to do," said Ron Totaro, vice president of global scoring solutions for Minneapolis-based Fair Isaac. "Lenders develop their lending strategies, and they use as little or as much information as they want."
Totaro said there is "no evidence" that FICO scores are not effective when applied to borrowers who fit in the riskier subprime portion of the market.
Any perception that FICO is faulty could have serious consequences for Fair Isaac. FICO is both the company's best-known product and the most popular credit-scoring system in the United States. Last year, FICO scores generated $177.1 million in sales, about 21 percent of Fair Isaac's total revenue.
What's worse, the company has already been struggling to boost its sales. Last week Fair Isaac said second-quarter revenue fell 3.4 percent to $201 million.
FICO also faces a challenge from VantageScore, a new credit-scoring system developed and marketed by Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, the country's three top credit-reporting agencies. Fair Isaac is suing the agencies, claiming VantageScore violates antitrust laws. By jointly offering VantageScore, the agencies are in the position to shut out FICO and other competitors from the credit-scoring market, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.
VantageScore executives see the subprime fallout as an excellent chance to promote their product.
"Absolutely, it helps us," said Barrett Burns, VantageScore's chief executive. "It offers us a great opportunity for lenders to look at VantageScore. Since our score is more accurate and predictive, there would have been improvement" in mortgage defaults had the industry used VantageScore instead of FICO, he said.
A recent Fitch Ratings report seems to lend some support to Fair Isaac in the debate. Some of the industry's riskiest subprime products -- high loan-to-value mortgages, piggyback loans and others that required little or no documentation of income -- made the FICO score "less significant relative to other attributes as an early default indicator," Fitch said.
In 2003, loans that defaulted within 12 months of issuance had FICO scores that were 30 points less than loans that did not default. Last year that difference shrank to 10 points, according to Fitch.
Others say the troubles among subprime loans simply show the limitations of credit scores. Loan officers can't look to FICO scores when trying to weigh how changes in interest rates, the type of loan or sudden events could affect a borrower's ability to pay, said John Ulzheimer, president of Credit.com Educational Services, a San Francisco-based financial services company.
"The score is the score," said Ulzheimer, a former Fair Isaac manager who helped build credit-scoring models. "It doesn't take into account external factors."
For instance, Hurricane Katrina's devastation could have turned healthy FICO scores of 750 among Gulf Coast residents into 450s in a relatively short period of time, in which case "the credit scores looked like they had failed," Ulzheimer said.
Still, credit-scoring companies must do a better job in establishing consistent scores for borrowers with patchy credit, said Craig Focardi, an analyst with TowerGroup, a research and consulting firm in Needham, Mass. Credit scores below 640 fluctuate more often than scores of 700 or better, he said. Companies such as Fair Isaac also should develop credit scores that take into account additional categories of risk instead of "lumping customers into similar brackets," he said.
Fair Isaac sells a product called NextGen FICO that Focardi says better measures the credit risks posed by subprime borrowers, but mortgage lenders have been reluctant to adopt it because it costs more than a standard score. VantageScore could inject some needed competition into the business, Focardi said.
"The mortgage industry needs to reevaluate whether one score is good for all customer segments," he said.
Totaro of Fair Isaac said the company constantly updates and refines FICO scores. Asked if some subprime lenders are unhappy with the service, Totaro replied: "We have talked to numerous clients. We will work with them to show them how the FICO scores work."
Ulzheimer said lenders never liked FICO scores, especially when a low score disqualified a potential borrower from getting a loan. Most lending operations are set up so that fees are generated by granting loans, not turning people away. But in the recent housing boom, lenders just got too greedy and sold unsuitable products to consumers, he said.
"You do your best to explain how the model is built and what it can do," Ulzheimer said. "But some lenders are going to do whatever they want to do. You never hear from lenders when things are going well. But the minute the FICO score doesn't do what they want it to do, it's amazing how loud they scream."
Thomas Lee • 612-673-7744 • tlee@startribune.com
©2007 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Robert Paisola, CEO of Western Capital, Announces 2007-2008 Price Schedule
Due to the Recent Media Attention, we have been receiving a large number of calls regarding how much it would cost to have Robert Paisola speak at events throughout the world. Here is a simple price sheet. Prices are subject to change based on topics covered, Profit or Non-Profit and General Attitude of the Requestor.
See www.RobertPaisola.com for an Introduction based on the Hit Movie "THE SECRET"
2007-2008 Fee Schedules
Email : bookings@mycollector.com for the next Available Date!
3 1/2 FULL DAYS ONSITE WITH ROBERT AT YOUR LOCATION ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD $15,500.00 USD
3 1/2 FULL DAYS ONSITE WITH ROBERT AT YOUR LOCATION ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON TIMESHARE SALES $12,500.00 USD
CONVENTIONS, TRADE SHOWS, CORPORATE MEETINGS & CONFERENCES
NORTH AMERICA (Includes Canada and Mexico)
Keynotes and Seminars (up to 3 hours) $6.995,000
Full Day Seminars (up to 6 hours) $8,995.00
INTERNATIONAL
Keynotes and Full Day Seminars $15,500 USD
MULTIPLE PROGRAMS
We offer a 50% discount for additional programs booked for the same day at the same conference. For example, the first program is contracted at full price and every additional program is contracted at half price. We offer a 25% discount for additional programs booked by the same client/sponsor. For example, the first program is contracted at full price and every additional program is contracted with our 25% multiple booking discount. NOTE: This discount is applicable only if the contracts are issued simultaneously.
MEDIA & PUBLICITY
In order to create excitement and awareness of Mr. Paisola’s appearance at your event, he is happy to fulfill media requests when his schedule allows. Pre-recorded interviews are preferred over live interviews.
TRAVEL EXPENSES
Travel expenses are in addition to the speaking fee. Travel expenses include first-class airfare, up to 2 night’s hotel accommodations (Before and After the event) (king, non-smoking, guaranteed late arrival), meals and ground transportation in host city. A $75 per diem is also charged to cover ground transportation in home town, tips, and meals while traveling. To reduce Mr. Paisola’s out of pocket expenses, we request that hotel room charges be billed directly to the organization’s master account. When Mr. Paisola’s schedule includes more than one program on the same tour, airfare expenses are prorated.
HOLDING & CONFIRMING DATES
If you have specific dates in mind for your meeting, we're more than happy to hold a date for you. This hold can be placed on our calendar for up to 30 days. If another client requests the dates you are holding, you will be notified by phone and given 48 hours to make your decision either to go to contract or release the dates. To secure the date, a program agreement will be issued. This agreement is to be executed and returned within two weeks and requires a 50% deposit. The remaining 50% balance is due two weeks prior to the appearance.
RECORDING THE PRESENTATION AT YOUR EVENT
If you wish to video or audio tape Mr. Paisola’s presentation, you must sign a release. There are two forms; one is if you wish to use the recording for archival purposes only. The other is for those who wish to make the recording available to attendees or later for a period of time (either video or audio.) In either case, the releases must be signed, returned and approved by Robert Paisola
What Clients Are Saying About Robert’s Presentations:
"The best four days I have spent in my life!"
Bill Howell, President, Destination San Antonio
"This was by far the best class that I have ever attended.
You covered so much valuable information; I want to get back to my queue NOW!"
Donna Walker, Associates Capital
“Wow! So well organized! Awesome Personal Touch,
Great information presented in easy to understand language.”
Sandy Anderson, ExTerra Credit Recovery
“Well presented, clear, concise. Excellent pacing and delivery. Powerfully packed with quality information. A fantastic seminar minutes that will make me thousands of dollars in commissions!
Russell Stone, American Premier Holdings
Robert is teacher that knows his stuff and, more importantly, he presents it in a way that makes even my seasoned collectors collect more cash!”
Jennifer Barnett, DSH Financial Services
"Robert Paisola is incredible, My staff increased gross collections 130% after his trainings"
Gary Lee Gammenthaler, CEO, Mountain States Financial
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CALL NOW to receive Rob’s topic outlines, fee schedule, availability or to schedule a training.
1-877-517-9555
or
801-619-4700
See www.RobertPaisola.com for more Details
*Discounts May Be Available based on Location
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Fair Isaac filed anti-trust suit against Equifax, Trans Union and VantageScore
Fair Isaac sues credit-scoring companies
Thursday October 12, 3:11 pm ET
Fair Isaac Corp. said Thursday that it has filed an antitrust lawsuit against three agencies that have partnered to launch their own credit-scoring system, VantageScore.
Fair Isaac said the three agencies—Equifax Inc., Experian Information Solutions Inc. and TransUnion—are using anti-competitive practices to market their new product.
Minneapolis-based Fair Isaac has its own credit-scoring system, FICO. All three defendants have the ability to set a price for what a lender pays for FICO scores, and can also set prices for VantageScore. This ability allows the companies to unfairly promote their product by manipulating pricing, Fair Isaac argues.
“We have competed against the credit-report agencies’ scoring products for many years, and we are happy to compete on a level playing field,” said Tom Grudnowski, CEO of Fair Isaac, in a statement. “However, the recent agreement between the three powerhouse agencies unfairly threatens our ability to compete and inhibits the ability of consumers and lenders to enjoy the benefits of continued innovation, choice and competition in the credit-information marketplace.”
Fair Isaac (NYSE: FIC - News) is a credit-scoring and software company.
Published October 12, 2006 by the Minneapolis/St Paul Business Journal
This has to be about as absurd as it gets! Hopefully they’ll waste a TON of money on suing each other and MAYBE somebody will file the lawsuit on behalf of consumers.
After all, creditors pay PENNIES for credit reports and scores and the CRAs and Fair Isaac conspire to OVERCHARGE consumers, charging literally thousands of percent more to consumers than to businesses for the same products.
CreditData Southwest paid 15 cents per FICO score
There you have it ... and what are the “consumer advocates” doing?
Thursday October 12, 3:11 pm ET
Fair Isaac Corp. said Thursday that it has filed an antitrust lawsuit against three agencies that have partnered to launch their own credit-scoring system, VantageScore.
Fair Isaac said the three agencies—Equifax Inc., Experian Information Solutions Inc. and TransUnion—are using anti-competitive practices to market their new product.
Minneapolis-based Fair Isaac has its own credit-scoring system, FICO. All three defendants have the ability to set a price for what a lender pays for FICO scores, and can also set prices for VantageScore. This ability allows the companies to unfairly promote their product by manipulating pricing, Fair Isaac argues.
“We have competed against the credit-report agencies’ scoring products for many years, and we are happy to compete on a level playing field,” said Tom Grudnowski, CEO of Fair Isaac, in a statement. “However, the recent agreement between the three powerhouse agencies unfairly threatens our ability to compete and inhibits the ability of consumers and lenders to enjoy the benefits of continued innovation, choice and competition in the credit-information marketplace.”
Fair Isaac (NYSE: FIC - News) is a credit-scoring and software company.
Published October 12, 2006 by the Minneapolis/St Paul Business Journal
This has to be about as absurd as it gets! Hopefully they’ll waste a TON of money on suing each other and MAYBE somebody will file the lawsuit on behalf of consumers.
After all, creditors pay PENNIES for credit reports and scores and the CRAs and Fair Isaac conspire to OVERCHARGE consumers, charging literally thousands of percent more to consumers than to businesses for the same products.
CreditData Southwest paid 15 cents per FICO score
There you have it ... and what are the “consumer advocates” doing?
Monday, June 26, 2006
Computer Security: ChoicePoint's Lessons Learned
Computer Security: ChoicePoint's Lessons Learned
By Todd Spangler
A year and a half after mistakenly selling consumer info to criminals, the data broker says it has put in dozens of new policies and procedures to make sure such a security breach doesn't happen again.
A rash of security breaches has hit the headlines recently, chief among them the theft of a Department of Veterans Affairs' laptop with data on 26.5 million vets. Perhaps the best advice on how to respond if your company is caught in the line of fire comes from one that has been there itself: consumer data broker ChoicePoint.
In February 2005, ChoicePoint acknowledged that it had mistakenly sold personal information on thousands of individuals—as it turned out, more than 163,000 people—to bogus companies set up by Nigerian criminals (see ChoicePoint: Blur, from Baseline's June 2005 issue).
The Federal Trade Commission this January fined the Alpharetta, Ga.-based company $15 million for the disclosures.
Carol DiBattiste, ChoicePoint's chief credentialing, compliance and privacy officer, says the company has taken numerous steps in the past year to make sure such a breach never happens again.
"There's not a company around today that takes security more seriously than we do," claims DiBattiste, who joined ChoicePoint in March 2005 after serving as deputy administrator of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration. She says ChoicePoint has passed 43 security and privacy audits in the past year.
Gartner analyst Avivah Litan says ChoicePoint's security practices are now extremely strict—and appear to be among the best in any industry. "When you're fined and caught after a data breach," she says, "you really shape up."
Some of ChoicePoint's changes involved business practices. The company says it has improved customer-screening procedures, verifying their authenticity via multiple sources and by physically visiting their premises. It also now provides personally identifying information like Social Security numbers only as part of consumer-initiated transactions (as when someone applies for a home loan), as part of fraud-prevention programs or when requested by law enforcement officials.
But ChoicePoint has also tightened the screws on its information-technology infrastructure, with what DiBattiste says are more than 30 new policies and procedures.
It's enhanced user ID and password protections—if employees forget their passwords, they must take a five-question quiz (example: "What year was your Social Security number issued?") to reset it; if they fail that, they must pass a 15-question quiz with a systems administrator.
ChoicePoint has blocked access to its network from all non-U.S. Internet addresses, with a few exceptions that DiBattiste declined to detail. It has put employees at each of its 60 U.S. locations in charge of verifying the destruction of outdated consumer information, which the company is required by law to dispose of.
And the company now encrypts all data feeds to the three major credit bureaus as well as certain information stored in its databases, such as credit card numbers. DiBattiste adds that a project to move to laptop encryption "across the board" is still in the works.
Another new measure: ChoicePoint this month created a security advisory committee comprised of DiBattiste, the company's CIO, head of internal audit, the chief business officer, chief marketing officer, chief administrative officer and general counsel. The group meets regularly "to ensure we're hitting every aspect of security and privacy," says DiBattiste.
"One of the lessons we learned is that security is a moving target," she says. "The bad guys move too. So we have to constantly be in touch with the things we need to be doing to respond."
By Todd Spangler
A year and a half after mistakenly selling consumer info to criminals, the data broker says it has put in dozens of new policies and procedures to make sure such a security breach doesn't happen again.
A rash of security breaches has hit the headlines recently, chief among them the theft of a Department of Veterans Affairs' laptop with data on 26.5 million vets. Perhaps the best advice on how to respond if your company is caught in the line of fire comes from one that has been there itself: consumer data broker ChoicePoint.
In February 2005, ChoicePoint acknowledged that it had mistakenly sold personal information on thousands of individuals—as it turned out, more than 163,000 people—to bogus companies set up by Nigerian criminals (see ChoicePoint: Blur, from Baseline's June 2005 issue).
The Federal Trade Commission this January fined the Alpharetta, Ga.-based company $15 million for the disclosures.
Carol DiBattiste, ChoicePoint's chief credentialing, compliance and privacy officer, says the company has taken numerous steps in the past year to make sure such a breach never happens again.
"There's not a company around today that takes security more seriously than we do," claims DiBattiste, who joined ChoicePoint in March 2005 after serving as deputy administrator of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration. She says ChoicePoint has passed 43 security and privacy audits in the past year.
Gartner analyst Avivah Litan says ChoicePoint's security practices are now extremely strict—and appear to be among the best in any industry. "When you're fined and caught after a data breach," she says, "you really shape up."
Some of ChoicePoint's changes involved business practices. The company says it has improved customer-screening procedures, verifying their authenticity via multiple sources and by physically visiting their premises. It also now provides personally identifying information like Social Security numbers only as part of consumer-initiated transactions (as when someone applies for a home loan), as part of fraud-prevention programs or when requested by law enforcement officials.
But ChoicePoint has also tightened the screws on its information-technology infrastructure, with what DiBattiste says are more than 30 new policies and procedures.
It's enhanced user ID and password protections—if employees forget their passwords, they must take a five-question quiz (example: "What year was your Social Security number issued?") to reset it; if they fail that, they must pass a 15-question quiz with a systems administrator.
ChoicePoint has blocked access to its network from all non-U.S. Internet addresses, with a few exceptions that DiBattiste declined to detail. It has put employees at each of its 60 U.S. locations in charge of verifying the destruction of outdated consumer information, which the company is required by law to dispose of.
And the company now encrypts all data feeds to the three major credit bureaus as well as certain information stored in its databases, such as credit card numbers. DiBattiste adds that a project to move to laptop encryption "across the board" is still in the works.
Another new measure: ChoicePoint this month created a security advisory committee comprised of DiBattiste, the company's CIO, head of internal audit, the chief business officer, chief marketing officer, chief administrative officer and general counsel. The group meets regularly "to ensure we're hitting every aspect of security and privacy," says DiBattiste.
"One of the lessons we learned is that security is a moving target," she says. "The bad guys move too. So we have to constantly be in touch with the things we need to be doing to respond."
Friday, June 23, 2006
Credit Bureaus Hope to Displace FICO Score as Industry Standard
June 22, 2006
The Experian credit agency became the first to start selling its new "VantageScore" credit scoring system this week. Critics aren't impressed.
John Ulzheimer of the credit information Web site CreditBloggers said that the hype over the VantageScore was "nothing more than an effort to confuse consumers and unsophisticated lenders."
"I'm not angry at the bureaus for trying to muscle out FICO," Ulzheimer said. "[M]y question is could they have spent their collaborative time together more constructively for consumers?"
The three credit bureaus jointly developed VantageScore as an alternative to the lending score created by the Fair Isaac Company (FICO), which is the standard score used by lenders to judge a borrower's creditworthiness.
For $5.95 a pop, users can buy the Experian VantageScore and see where the new credit system ranks them in terms of attractiveness to lenders. The new VantageScore system grades consumers on a number scale from 501 to 990, with a corresponding letter grade of "F" to "A."
Experian information solutions group president Kerry Williams says the new score "responded to the clear need for an objective scoring model that works across all three reporting companies' data."
Currently, Experian and fellow credit bureau TransUnion offer their own "proprietary" credit scores with the reports borrowers can purchase, but these scores are often wildly divergent from a consumer's real FICO score.
Although the bureaus claim these scores are "educational," they're heavily advertised as being legitimate credit scores that borrowers can use to judge their credit stability. Lenders, however, largely prefer the traditional FICO score, due to its longevity and prominence in the industry.
Equifax, the third of the "Big Three" credit bureaus, has been offering its true FICO scores with its reports. The scoring formula FICO uses has been closely guarded by the company as a trade secret, and the major credit bureaus have to pay Fair Isaac a licensing fee to use it in their credit scoring and reports.
CreditBloggers founder Emily Davidson purchased her VantageScore on June 20th and compared it to her Experian FICO score. According to Davidson, the ordering process was clumsy and counterintuitive, and the score ranking did not include information from her Experian credit report.
"Experian's VantageScore was difficult to interpret and their ordering system was poorly designed," she said. "If the bureaus are serious about competing with FICO, they need to work on making this score the best in the industry for both consumers and businesses."
The new credit score system has been criticized for making the same mistake as the current credit scoring system -- relying on inadequate or inaccurate data reported to the bureaus.
Sloppy record-keeping, mixing of different consumer records, and complex dispute resolution processes mean that even if the three bureaus are sharing the same score, they're still relying on bad data to make their scoring decisions.
The Experian credit agency became the first to start selling its new "VantageScore" credit scoring system this week. Critics aren't impressed.
John Ulzheimer of the credit information Web site CreditBloggers said that the hype over the VantageScore was "nothing more than an effort to confuse consumers and unsophisticated lenders."
"I'm not angry at the bureaus for trying to muscle out FICO," Ulzheimer said. "[M]y question is could they have spent their collaborative time together more constructively for consumers?"
The three credit bureaus jointly developed VantageScore as an alternative to the lending score created by the Fair Isaac Company (FICO), which is the standard score used by lenders to judge a borrower's creditworthiness.
For $5.95 a pop, users can buy the Experian VantageScore and see where the new credit system ranks them in terms of attractiveness to lenders. The new VantageScore system grades consumers on a number scale from 501 to 990, with a corresponding letter grade of "F" to "A."
Experian information solutions group president Kerry Williams says the new score "responded to the clear need for an objective scoring model that works across all three reporting companies' data."
Currently, Experian and fellow credit bureau TransUnion offer their own "proprietary" credit scores with the reports borrowers can purchase, but these scores are often wildly divergent from a consumer's real FICO score.
Although the bureaus claim these scores are "educational," they're heavily advertised as being legitimate credit scores that borrowers can use to judge their credit stability. Lenders, however, largely prefer the traditional FICO score, due to its longevity and prominence in the industry.
Equifax, the third of the "Big Three" credit bureaus, has been offering its true FICO scores with its reports. The scoring formula FICO uses has been closely guarded by the company as a trade secret, and the major credit bureaus have to pay Fair Isaac a licensing fee to use it in their credit scoring and reports.
CreditBloggers founder Emily Davidson purchased her VantageScore on June 20th and compared it to her Experian FICO score. According to Davidson, the ordering process was clumsy and counterintuitive, and the score ranking did not include information from her Experian credit report.
"Experian's VantageScore was difficult to interpret and their ordering system was poorly designed," she said. "If the bureaus are serious about competing with FICO, they need to work on making this score the best in the industry for both consumers and businesses."
The new credit score system has been criticized for making the same mistake as the current credit scoring system -- relying on inadequate or inaccurate data reported to the bureaus.
Sloppy record-keeping, mixing of different consumer records, and complex dispute resolution processes mean that even if the three bureaus are sharing the same score, they're still relying on bad data to make their scoring decisions.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Mortgage rate can't go up if lending bank is bought!
DAVID MYERS: Mortgage rate can't go up if lending bank is bought
June 4, 2006
Dear David: I was lucky enough to refinance when mortgage rates bottomed out at about 5.5% last year. Now, the bank that gave me the mortgage is being purchased by another lender. Can the new lender raise my rate?
Dear Reader: The terms of your mortgage cannot be changed simply because your current lender is being purchased by another bank. About the only thing the new lender can do is require that your monthly payments be sent to a different address.
Dear David: We are interested in creating a basic living trust, so we purchased two books about estate planning to learn more. One of the books recommends that in addition to creating a trust, people should also sign a "durable power of attorney for finances" form. Is this really necessary?
Dear Reader: You're not required to sign a durable power document to create a money-saving trust, but many homeowners choose to do so for personal reasons.
Forming a simple living trust is an inexpensive way to help ensure that your home and other assets will pass quickly to your heirs instead of going through the long and costly probate proceedings that are mandated by a typical will. When you die, the successor trustee you selected can distribute your home according to your wishes.
If you also sign a durable power of attorney form, you'll give the successor trustee the additional ability to take care of any assets that you left outside the trust. The forms are available for about $5 at most business-supply stores.
Dear David: I recently applied to refinance my mortgage. Instead of giving me a FICO credit score like I have received in the past, the lender used something called a "VantageScore." What is that?
Dear Reader: A California-based company called Fair Isaac revolutionized the credit-reporting industry several years ago when it developed the FICO score, which many lenders use today when setting the interest rate to charge on everything from mortgages to credit cards.
VantageScore was developed by the nation's three largest credit bureaus. The system assigns a letter grade to each applicant's rating -- an "A" for borrowers who are in the top 901 to 990 bracket, a "B" for those in the 801 to 900 range, and so on down to "F." The higher your VantageScore, the lower your loan rate.
VantageScore was unveiled earlier this year. Though its scoring system should be easier for most consumers to understand, only time will tell whether it can replace the FICO system.
Contact DAVID MYERS at P.O. Box 2960, Culver City, CA 90231-2960.
Copyright © 2006 Detroit Free Press Inc.
June 4, 2006
Dear David: I was lucky enough to refinance when mortgage rates bottomed out at about 5.5% last year. Now, the bank that gave me the mortgage is being purchased by another lender. Can the new lender raise my rate?
Dear Reader: The terms of your mortgage cannot be changed simply because your current lender is being purchased by another bank. About the only thing the new lender can do is require that your monthly payments be sent to a different address.
Dear David: We are interested in creating a basic living trust, so we purchased two books about estate planning to learn more. One of the books recommends that in addition to creating a trust, people should also sign a "durable power of attorney for finances" form. Is this really necessary?
Dear Reader: You're not required to sign a durable power document to create a money-saving trust, but many homeowners choose to do so for personal reasons.
Forming a simple living trust is an inexpensive way to help ensure that your home and other assets will pass quickly to your heirs instead of going through the long and costly probate proceedings that are mandated by a typical will. When you die, the successor trustee you selected can distribute your home according to your wishes.
If you also sign a durable power of attorney form, you'll give the successor trustee the additional ability to take care of any assets that you left outside the trust. The forms are available for about $5 at most business-supply stores.
Dear David: I recently applied to refinance my mortgage. Instead of giving me a FICO credit score like I have received in the past, the lender used something called a "VantageScore." What is that?
Dear Reader: A California-based company called Fair Isaac revolutionized the credit-reporting industry several years ago when it developed the FICO score, which many lenders use today when setting the interest rate to charge on everything from mortgages to credit cards.
VantageScore was developed by the nation's three largest credit bureaus. The system assigns a letter grade to each applicant's rating -- an "A" for borrowers who are in the top 901 to 990 bracket, a "B" for those in the 801 to 900 range, and so on down to "F." The higher your VantageScore, the lower your loan rate.
VantageScore was unveiled earlier this year. Though its scoring system should be easier for most consumers to understand, only time will tell whether it can replace the FICO system.
Contact DAVID MYERS at P.O. Box 2960, Culver City, CA 90231-2960.
Copyright © 2006 Detroit Free Press Inc.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Submit Your Complaints to the FTC Online
Federal Trade Commission Title: Advance Notice of Proposed RulemakingSubject Category: Procedures to Enhance the Accuracy and Integrity of Information Furnished to Consumer Reporting
16 CFR Parts 660 and 661Published: March 22, 2006 View Notice (PDF) (Download Adobe Reader)Comments Due: Monday, May 22, 2006
How To Comment: The Commission in
vites interested parties to comment and submit information useful for developing guidelines and regulations required by Section 312 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. This is part of a joint rulemaking initiative where several agencies must:
establish guidelines for use by persons that furnish information to consumer reporting agencies regarding the accuracy and integrity of the furnished information and establish reasonable policies and procedures for implementing those guidelines.
Section 312 also requires the "Agencies" jointly to prescribe regulations that identify the circumstances under which a furnisher shall be required to reinvestigate a dispute concerning the accuracy of information contained in a consumer report based on a direct request of the consumer Privacy & Use The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. All timely and responsive public comments, whether filed in paper or electronic form, will be considered by the Commission, and will be available to the public on the FTC Web site, to the extent practicable, at www.ftc.gov.
Any information placed in the following fields on this form -- "Title," "First Name," "Last Name," "Organization Name,' "State," "Postal Code," "Country,' "Comments," and "Attachment" -- will be publicly available on the FTC Web site. Although filling out this comment form is voluntary, the fields marked with an asterisk are required in order for the FTC to fully consider a particular comment. As a matter of discretion, the FTC makes every effort to remove home contact information for individuals from the public comments it receives before placing those comments on the FTC Web site.
More information, including other routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC’s privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm. Accessibility If you are unable to access this form, click here for an alternate method of submitting a public comment.
Friday, May 05, 2006
How to Comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act Teleseminar series
How to Comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act Teleseminar series
What: To supplement its online How to Comply with the FCRA subscription service (click here for more information), CDIA launched a series of distance learning opportunities to educate the industry on credit reporting issues.
Who: There are specific teleseminars are targeted at different groups that must comply with the FCRA:
• CDIA Members (Consumer Reporting Agencies); and• Non-Members of the CDIA (data furnishers, law professionals and more)
Where: Anywhere! You can participate in teleseminars from the comfort of your office, home or anywhere! These are distance-learning opportunities that save you travel costs and time. Materials are distributed to participants via CDIA's website or email prior to the call.
When: Teleseminars focusing on different issues will be offered throughout the year. Scroll down for a schedule of events. This schedule is updated throughout the year.
Please see the current schedule below for currently scheduled topics, dates and to download registration forms.
Upcoming Teleseminar Dates and topics:
Note: Subscribers to CDIA's How to Comply with the FCRA service receive discounts on this teleseminar series. Click here to subscribe or to learn more.
2006 CDIA How to Comply with the FCRA Teleseminars:
Click on each of the following teleseminar titles to learn more:
Legislation & State Law Updates: A CDIA Teleseminar Featuring CDIA Vice President and Counsel of State Government and Regulatory Affairs
New FTC Issued Consent Decree on Security Breach
New Identity Theft Red Flag Rule
Legislation & State Law Updates: A CDIA Teleseminar Featuring CDIA Vice President and Counsel of State Government and Regulatory Affairs.
Featured Speaker: Eric Ellman, Consumer Data Industry Association
• Thursday, May 4, 2006
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Eastern
Program Highlights:
More than half of the states in the U.S. have FCRAs in effect. They not only differ from state to state but often raise compliance issues with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act as well. Eric J. Ellman, Vice President and Counsel of State Government and Regulatory Affairs, will host a teleseminar on Thursday, April 20th & May 4th at 2:00 pm Eastern. Each teleseminar will survey state legislation in 2005 and highlight trends in new state laws that require legal and compliance attention for consumer reporting agencies, data furnishers, and data users. Included in this review will be legislation and laws that address security freezes, security breaches, the use of Social Security Numbers, and the use of credit header information.
Who Should Register: Companies who have to comply with FCRA current state laws across the United States
This call will be 60 minutes in duration and include a question and answer portion where participants can ask questions.
To register for this event, please click here.
“There was such a popular demand for this teleseminar that we are running it again on May 18th.”
FTC Issued Consent Decree on Security Breach(Speaker: Anne Fortney, Partner with the Hudson Cook, Moderator: CDIA President and CEO Stuart K. Pratt)
• Thursday, May 18, 2006
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Eastern
CDIA has brought back by popular demand the teleseminar covering the FTC Consent Decree regarding ChoicePoint. On May 18th at 2:00 p.m., Anne Fortney, partner with The Hudson Cook law firm and former compliance official with FTC, will share her thoughts on the breach issue as it relates to the FTC actions earlier this year. Gain some insight on what this means for other companies that handle consumer information.
This event is open to both members of CDIA, as well as non-members (including data users, data furnishers and other that must comply with the FCRA).
To register for this event, please click here.
Identity Theft Red Flag Rule
Speaker: Amy Friend, Assistant Chief Counsel of the OCC, Moderator: CDIA President and CEO Stuart K. Pratt)
• Thursday, May 25, 2006
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Eastern
Amy Friend, Assistant Chief Counsel of the OCC, will be available to discuss the Identity Theft Red Flag Rule at the CDIA teleseminar on May 25th at 2:00 p.m. The Rule, included in the 2003 FCRA FACTA amendments, is expected to be completed this month. You will hear not only a discussion of the just published Rule but also have your questions answered by the principal author of this Rule. You will be hearing more about this teleseminar in the coming weeks.
To register for this event, please click here.
How to Comply with the FCRA Subscription Information:
Non-Members should go to the CDIA E-Store at https://www.cdiaonline.org/store/htc.cfm to subscribe to the How to Comply Service.
Members should logon to Members Only* at https://www.cdiaonline.org/members/index.cfm, select "Member E-Store" and then select "Online How to Comply with the FCRA," to purchase a subscription to How to Comply or sign up for a free 24-hour demo (redline not included in demo).
Please contact CDIAonline at cdia@cdiaonline.org with questions.
Can't participate in a Teleseminar?
Recordings are available for these events. CDIA offers Audio CDs on all its current and previous Teleseminars.
What: To supplement its online How to Comply with the FCRA subscription service (click here for more information), CDIA launched a series of distance learning opportunities to educate the industry on credit reporting issues.
Who: There are specific teleseminars are targeted at different groups that must comply with the FCRA:
• CDIA Members (Consumer Reporting Agencies); and• Non-Members of the CDIA (data furnishers, law professionals and more)
Where: Anywhere! You can participate in teleseminars from the comfort of your office, home or anywhere! These are distance-learning opportunities that save you travel costs and time. Materials are distributed to participants via CDIA's website or email prior to the call.
When: Teleseminars focusing on different issues will be offered throughout the year. Scroll down for a schedule of events. This schedule is updated throughout the year.
Please see the current schedule below for currently scheduled topics, dates and to download registration forms.
Upcoming Teleseminar Dates and topics:
Note: Subscribers to CDIA's How to Comply with the FCRA service receive discounts on this teleseminar series. Click here to subscribe or to learn more.
2006 CDIA How to Comply with the FCRA Teleseminars:
Click on each of the following teleseminar titles to learn more:
Legislation & State Law Updates: A CDIA Teleseminar Featuring CDIA Vice President and Counsel of State Government and Regulatory Affairs
New FTC Issued Consent Decree on Security Breach
New Identity Theft Red Flag Rule
Legislation & State Law Updates: A CDIA Teleseminar Featuring CDIA Vice President and Counsel of State Government and Regulatory Affairs.
Featured Speaker: Eric Ellman, Consumer Data Industry Association
• Thursday, May 4, 2006
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Eastern
Program Highlights:
More than half of the states in the U.S. have FCRAs in effect. They not only differ from state to state but often raise compliance issues with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act as well. Eric J. Ellman, Vice President and Counsel of State Government and Regulatory Affairs, will host a teleseminar on Thursday, April 20th & May 4th at 2:00 pm Eastern. Each teleseminar will survey state legislation in 2005 and highlight trends in new state laws that require legal and compliance attention for consumer reporting agencies, data furnishers, and data users. Included in this review will be legislation and laws that address security freezes, security breaches, the use of Social Security Numbers, and the use of credit header information.
Who Should Register: Companies who have to comply with FCRA current state laws across the United States
This call will be 60 minutes in duration and include a question and answer portion where participants can ask questions.
To register for this event, please click here.
“There was such a popular demand for this teleseminar that we are running it again on May 18th.”
FTC Issued Consent Decree on Security Breach(Speaker: Anne Fortney, Partner with the Hudson Cook, Moderator: CDIA President and CEO Stuart K. Pratt)
• Thursday, May 18, 2006
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Eastern
CDIA has brought back by popular demand the teleseminar covering the FTC Consent Decree regarding ChoicePoint. On May 18th at 2:00 p.m., Anne Fortney, partner with The Hudson Cook law firm and former compliance official with FTC, will share her thoughts on the breach issue as it relates to the FTC actions earlier this year. Gain some insight on what this means for other companies that handle consumer information.
This event is open to both members of CDIA, as well as non-members (including data users, data furnishers and other that must comply with the FCRA).
To register for this event, please click here.
Identity Theft Red Flag Rule
Speaker: Amy Friend, Assistant Chief Counsel of the OCC, Moderator: CDIA President and CEO Stuart K. Pratt)
• Thursday, May 25, 2006
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Eastern
Amy Friend, Assistant Chief Counsel of the OCC, will be available to discuss the Identity Theft Red Flag Rule at the CDIA teleseminar on May 25th at 2:00 p.m. The Rule, included in the 2003 FCRA FACTA amendments, is expected to be completed this month. You will hear not only a discussion of the just published Rule but also have your questions answered by the principal author of this Rule. You will be hearing more about this teleseminar in the coming weeks.
To register for this event, please click here.
How to Comply with the FCRA Subscription Information:
Non-Members should go to the CDIA E-Store at https://www.cdiaonline.org/store/htc.cfm to subscribe to the How to Comply Service.
Members should logon to Members Only* at https://www.cdiaonline.org/members/index.cfm, select "Member E-Store" and then select "Online How to Comply with the FCRA," to purchase a subscription to How to Comply or sign up for a free 24-hour demo (redline not included in demo).
Please contact CDIAonline at cdia@cdiaonline.org with questions.
Can't participate in a Teleseminar?
Recordings are available for these events. CDIA offers Audio CDs on all its current and previous Teleseminars.
Again- Who and What is E-Oscar!
Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA), in cooperation with Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion, is proud to announce the creation of a new state-of-the-art solution for processing ACDVs and AUDs. The new network, E-OSCAR, is the Online Solution for Complete and Accurate Reporting. E-OSCAR is a browser-based, Metro 2 compliant system that is secure, intelligent and intuitive.
E-OSCAR provides multiple benefits, as detailed below. We have enhanced our technology to be a web-based system. It was created with the awareness of the need for strong security around the sensitive data that will be sent through the network. We have provided a toll free industry Help Desk and, in addition, we have significant training resources available to you.
We know that as a leader in the credit industry who is concerned about the FCRA and data quality, you will want to be involved in the initial offering of E-OSCAR. Participation in the new network will provide key customers like you with any necessary personalized attention that you need during your transition. E-OSCAR is fully compliant with the new FCRA and so easy to use that you will want to become part of this new system!
Please begin the steps necessary to move from the current network onto the new one.
Alert your senior management to the upcoming changes. View the information links below to learn more about E-OSCAR. Make Use of the Implementation Checklist to plan your conversion.
What’s happening with E-OSCAR-webTM April 23, 2003
Valued Customer,
We are pleased to inform you that the E-OSCAR-web? Solution is complete and available for use. The Credit Community Network Service (CCNS) supported by Global eXchange Services (GXS, formerly GEIS) will no longer receive new ACDV transactions after May 15, 2003. You will be able to respond to these items until June 15, 2003.
In an effort to assist you with your transition and to ensure that your company is not adversely affected, the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA), Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion have prepared these instructions for you.
If you do not register with E-OSCAR and begin to use this solution to respond to disputes and/or submit automated Universal Data Forms, the National Consumer Reporting Agencies (NCRAs) will send your disputes via paper. In order to ensure that you do not receive paper disputes, you must follow the steps below and register with E-OSCAR
Register immediately at http://www.e-oscar-web.net (If you have already registered, follow steps 3 and on).
We recommend that you print a copy of the registration you’ve completed, as well as, write down and keep in a safe place, the USER ID and password that you’ve created during the registration process.
Once you have received approval notice from one or more of the NCRAs, you should begin the on-line training. If you plan on having multiple users, now is the time to create a USER ID for each of those parties and be sure that all of the users have completed the on-line training prior to receiving ACDVs from the NCRAs.
During the next few weeks, we will begin the final phase of moving the transaction volume of customers from the GXS System to E-OSCAR. We would like to begin getting your AUDs as soon as your registration is approved. We will coordinate with you on transmitting your ACDVs, but we recommend beginning as soon as possible and no later than May 1.
During the registration approval process some of the NCRAs will provide you with a list of the reporting subscriber codes they show affiliated with your particular GXS mailbox. If a bureau does not, you may print off your existing Subscriber Code Table from your current GXS ACDV Software PC at your location. You will need to enter these codes into E-OSCAR after the NCRAs approve your registration. This will assist you in receiving all of your disputes via E-OSCAR without delay.
You must contact each of the NCRAs that you report to and coordinate a date that you would like to begin receiving your ACDVs. As soon as your subscriber codes are approved you may submit AUDs.
Submit the necessary request form to Global eXchange Services to cancel any active mailboxes. Please copy the NCRAs on your request (Addresses are listed at the bottom of this letter).
Respond to all ACDVs remaining in your GXS ACDV Mailbox.
Delete all subscriber codes associated with the mailbox using the GXS PC-based software; this will disable Mortgage Reporting Companies as well as NCRA Affiliates from utilizing the system thus allowing GEIS to effectively close the mailbox.
Call the E-OSCAR Help-Desk if you have any questions. 1-866-MY-OSCAR.
Contact Information: CCNS Administration Global eXchange Services, (GXS) 100 Edison Park Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20878 Help Desk (800) 892-1574 Fax- 301.340.4583
Equifax Credit Information Services Charles Saunders LaDeamya Mixon 1550 Peachtree St. Mail Drop 66N Atlanta, GA 30339 E-mail: Equifax.EOSCAR@equifax.com Phone: 800-925-3329
Experian Patrick Sahf 701 Experian Parkway Allen, TX 75013. E-mail - Patrick.Sahf@experian.com Phone - 972-390-3610
TransUnion 2 Baldwin Place Crum Lynne, PA 19022 Fax - 610/546-4602 Tracy DeMarco Phone 610/546-4753 Email - TDemarc@TransUnion.com Melissa Whayland Phone 610/546-4752 Email - MWhayla@TransUnion.com
Innovis Data Solutions 950 Threadneedle, Suite 200 Houston, TX 77079-2900 Jose M Cruz Phone 281/504-2629 Email: jcruz@innovis-cbc.com
E-OSCAR Help Desk Phone 1-866-696-7227 (MY-OSCAR)
So the CRAs ARE E-Oscar. Interestingly, the Experian attorney Marc Carlson told me last week that I need to get info about reporting from E-Oscar. Nice try! I guess I’ll have to file another notice of deposition to get to an Experian person with a clue about E-Oscar. Experian has been extremely difficult and I need to file a motion to compel.
Experian ensures that people with 5+ year old charge-offs OFTEN have a credit score as if they had just defaulted in recent months. Their profits increase as the credit scores are lowered by their incorrect reporting.
http://www.e-oscar-web.net/ is where creditors log in. Submitting FACTUAL disputes sure doesn’t do the trick, so maybe that’s an alternative.
The PRIVATE E-oscar.org domain registration:
E-OSCAR provides multiple benefits, as detailed below. We have enhanced our technology to be a web-based system. It was created with the awareness of the need for strong security around the sensitive data that will be sent through the network. We have provided a toll free industry Help Desk and, in addition, we have significant training resources available to you.
We know that as a leader in the credit industry who is concerned about the FCRA and data quality, you will want to be involved in the initial offering of E-OSCAR. Participation in the new network will provide key customers like you with any necessary personalized attention that you need during your transition. E-OSCAR is fully compliant with the new FCRA and so easy to use that you will want to become part of this new system!
Please begin the steps necessary to move from the current network onto the new one.
Alert your senior management to the upcoming changes. View the information links below to learn more about E-OSCAR. Make Use of the Implementation Checklist to plan your conversion.
What’s happening with E-OSCAR-webTM April 23, 2003
Valued Customer,
We are pleased to inform you that the E-OSCAR-web? Solution is complete and available for use. The Credit Community Network Service (CCNS) supported by Global eXchange Services (GXS, formerly GEIS) will no longer receive new ACDV transactions after May 15, 2003. You will be able to respond to these items until June 15, 2003.
In an effort to assist you with your transition and to ensure that your company is not adversely affected, the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA), Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion have prepared these instructions for you.
If you do not register with E-OSCAR and begin to use this solution to respond to disputes and/or submit automated Universal Data Forms, the National Consumer Reporting Agencies (NCRAs) will send your disputes via paper. In order to ensure that you do not receive paper disputes, you must follow the steps below and register with E-OSCAR
Register immediately at http://www.e-oscar-web.net (If you have already registered, follow steps 3 and on).
We recommend that you print a copy of the registration you’ve completed, as well as, write down and keep in a safe place, the USER ID and password that you’ve created during the registration process.
Once you have received approval notice from one or more of the NCRAs, you should begin the on-line training. If you plan on having multiple users, now is the time to create a USER ID for each of those parties and be sure that all of the users have completed the on-line training prior to receiving ACDVs from the NCRAs.
During the next few weeks, we will begin the final phase of moving the transaction volume of customers from the GXS System to E-OSCAR. We would like to begin getting your AUDs as soon as your registration is approved. We will coordinate with you on transmitting your ACDVs, but we recommend beginning as soon as possible and no later than May 1.
During the registration approval process some of the NCRAs will provide you with a list of the reporting subscriber codes they show affiliated with your particular GXS mailbox. If a bureau does not, you may print off your existing Subscriber Code Table from your current GXS ACDV Software PC at your location. You will need to enter these codes into E-OSCAR after the NCRAs approve your registration. This will assist you in receiving all of your disputes via E-OSCAR without delay.
You must contact each of the NCRAs that you report to and coordinate a date that you would like to begin receiving your ACDVs. As soon as your subscriber codes are approved you may submit AUDs.
Submit the necessary request form to Global eXchange Services to cancel any active mailboxes. Please copy the NCRAs on your request (Addresses are listed at the bottom of this letter).
Respond to all ACDVs remaining in your GXS ACDV Mailbox.
Delete all subscriber codes associated with the mailbox using the GXS PC-based software; this will disable Mortgage Reporting Companies as well as NCRA Affiliates from utilizing the system thus allowing GEIS to effectively close the mailbox.
Call the E-OSCAR Help-Desk if you have any questions. 1-866-MY-OSCAR.
Contact Information: CCNS Administration Global eXchange Services, (GXS) 100 Edison Park Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20878 Help Desk (800) 892-1574 Fax- 301.340.4583
Equifax Credit Information Services Charles Saunders LaDeamya Mixon 1550 Peachtree St. Mail Drop 66N Atlanta, GA 30339 E-mail: Equifax.EOSCAR@equifax.com Phone: 800-925-3329
Experian Patrick Sahf 701 Experian Parkway Allen, TX 75013. E-mail - Patrick.Sahf@experian.com Phone - 972-390-3610
TransUnion 2 Baldwin Place Crum Lynne, PA 19022 Fax - 610/546-4602 Tracy DeMarco Phone 610/546-4753 Email - TDemarc@TransUnion.com Melissa Whayland Phone 610/546-4752 Email - MWhayla@TransUnion.com
Innovis Data Solutions 950 Threadneedle, Suite 200 Houston, TX 77079-2900 Jose M Cruz Phone 281/504-2629 Email: jcruz@innovis-cbc.com
E-OSCAR Help Desk Phone 1-866-696-7227 (MY-OSCAR)
So the CRAs ARE E-Oscar. Interestingly, the Experian attorney Marc Carlson told me last week that I need to get info about reporting from E-Oscar. Nice try! I guess I’ll have to file another notice of deposition to get to an Experian person with a clue about E-Oscar. Experian has been extremely difficult and I need to file a motion to compel.
Experian ensures that people with 5+ year old charge-offs OFTEN have a credit score as if they had just defaulted in recent months. Their profits increase as the credit scores are lowered by their incorrect reporting.
http://www.e-oscar-web.net/ is where creditors log in. Submitting FACTUAL disputes sure doesn’t do the trick, so maybe that’s an alternative.
The PRIVATE E-oscar.org domain registration:
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