Bankruptcy And Debts

Sheffey said that authoritative research²⁰⁸ showed there are two basic explanations as to why insurers are able to find information in your credit report that is predictive of future losses. consolidation debt mortgage

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Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Washington, and Wisconsin. See the Web site of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Commissioners, http://www.namic.org/state/credithistory.asp, for an overview and, http://www.namic.org/state/creditlaws.asp, for a brief description of each State s law. consolidation debt help

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Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. Some states have more than one kind of insurance-credit scoring law, hence the overlap. (See Footnote 1) consolidation credit debt

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Letter from Steven R. Sheffey to Evan Hendricks (undated), received in February 2004. ²⁰⁸ Sheffey said there were over 30 articles or studies supporting the stress and risk taker theories. One of them was The Use of Credit History for Personal Lines of Insurance; Report to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, American Academy of Actuaries Risk Classification Subcommittee of the Property/Casualty Products, Pricing, and Market Committee., November 15, 2002 bill consolidation debt

The first explanation relates to stress. People under stress are more likely to have auto accidents. They may be more easily distracted or not react as well to certain situations (the difference between an accident and a near-miss is often just a fraction of a second). Financial problems are a known cause of stress. Therefore, some people with poor scores are more likely to experience stress and thus more likely to incur losses, Sheffey wrote.²⁰⁹ consolidation debt quote

The second explanation relates to risk-taking behavior, he continued. Different people have different aversions to risk. Some people like to skydive. Some people are afraid of the amusement park roller coaster. Some people will run a yellow light if it was yellow when they first saw it. Some people will stay under 55 on the highway. People who are more likely to take risks are more likely to get into serious financial difficulties (bankruptcies, liens, foreclosures, etc.) than those who are more risk averse. As the studies show, people who are more likely to take risks are also more likely to get into auto accidents. Therefore, some people with poor scores are more likely to engage in risky behavior and thus more likely to incur losses. Similar reasoning probably applies to homeowners insurance as well. consolidation debt lead

Neither, either, or both of these theories may be true for a particular individual. In some instances, financial difficulties might not be caused by risk-taking behavior, but will still produce stress. In other instances, however, it is the risk-taking behavior rather than stress that leads to a greater likelihood of loss, he wrote. consolidation debt non profit

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Sheffey letter, op. cit. Sheffey said another theory is that credit history reflects personal responsibility and that one who prudently manages one s finances is prudent and responsible in the realms of homes and cars as well.²¹⁰ A derivation would be that financially stable people would be more likely to pay for a minimal loss themselves because they have the financial wherewithal, rather than file a claim. ²¹¹ Similarly, some insurers believe that financially stable individuals are likely to exhibit stability in many other aspects of their lives.²¹² consolidation debt loan online

Sheffey said Allstate was not aware of any research that supported these theories, but was emphatic that the risk-taking and stress theories were well supported by research. Key Factors For Insurers According to the American Insurance Association, here are some of the kinds of data from credit reports that are of most interest to insurance scoring models: consolidation debt home loan

• Payment History christian consolidation debt

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• Types Of Credit In Use consolidation debt equity home

The debate over the link between credit reports and insurability promises to continue, as few consumer advocates have been persuaded by Sheffey s arguments. ²¹⁰ Insurance Information Institute, The Use of Credit Information as an Underwriting Tool in Personal Lines Insurance, Brookings Institution Presentation, February 27, 2003. consolidation debt government

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From an April 11, 2003 presentation by NAIC President and Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Mike Pickens, reported by AM Best on April 14, 2003. ²¹² Insurance Information Institute, The Use of Credit Information as an Underwriting Tool in Personal Lines Insurance, Brookings Institution Presentation, February 27, 2003. A Contrary View Birny Birnbaum executive director of the Council for Economic Justice in Austin, Texas has led the fight against insurance credit scoring. He continually has challenged industry assertions that it is fair, that there is a correlation between credit history and insurance, or that the studies supporting it were credible. consolidation debt firm

The evidence supporting the correlation claim comes almost exclusively from insurers, insurer trade associations, and credit scoring vendors who refuse to divulge the methodology of their studies, details of the study results, and/or the underlying data for independent verification, Birnbaum wrote in a January 2003 report for the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.²¹³ For those studies about which some information is known, the industry claims become more suspicious. For example, Fair, Isaac and Company continues to bring out the Tillinghast study as support for the correlation-even though the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Credit Reports subgroup dismissed the study as counterproductive and misleading. consolidation debt financing

Birnbaum said there is plenty of evidence to raise questions about the industry s correlation theory. For instance, while economic conditions vary greatly by geographic region, credit scoring models are developed on a national basis. One survey showed that in the fourth quarter of 2000, mortgage delinquencies in the South were almost 60% higher than in the West. Consumers with high credit scores in a region with weak economic conditions were more likely to encounter problems than consumers with lower scores in a region with stronger economic conditions, Birnbaum wrote.²¹⁴ consolidation consumer credit

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Birnbaum, Birny, Insurers Use of Credit Scoring for Homeowners Insurance In Ohio: A Report For the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, January 2003 ²¹⁴ Id. Then, there is bankruptcy data. If consumers who have filed for bankruptcy in the past five years are far more likely to have claims than consumers who have not filed for bankruptcies, then we would expect an increase in loss ratios if the number of bankruptcies increases dramatically. Personal bankruptcies did increase dramatically during the 1990 s, yet private passenger auto insurance loss ratios declined. The following data show a negative correlation-just the opposite of the positive correlation claimed by the insurance industry, he wrote.²¹⁵ consolidation debt free quote

Birnbaum argued that credit scoring allows insurers to price based on the profitability of the consumer, as opposed to the expected risk of loss. In sum, it provides a shortcut for underwriting and rating consumers by income. card consolidation counseling

He said that other profitability factors include: consolidation debt lender

• Credit scoring makes possible the expansion beyond the traditional tiers of preferred, standard, and non-standard. With more tiers, consumers can be identified for higher rates because of their place on the credit scoring scale. calculator consolidation debt

• In most states, insurer changes to underwriting guidelines receive no scrutiny. Consequently, an insurer could simply raise the cutoff score for rating tier eligibility by, say, ten points, and effectively create a 10% rate increase without mak-ing a rate filing or any other regulatory oversight. best consolidation debt loan

• Credit scoring enables larger insurers to build a base of customers more likely to purchase other financial products, including life insurance, retirement products, and traditional banking products. consolidation counseling

• Since the FCRA allows insurers to use credit reports to market to consumers without their permission (prescreening), insurers can essentially best consolidation debt

Caroline Wright, a 34-year-old student from Virginia, told the Post s Michelle Singletary that a mortgage broker told Wright she would have trouble getting a good interest rate on a home loan if her on-time payments to Sallie Mae were missing from her Experian and Trans Union reports files. best company consolidation

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www.salliemae.com ²⁹³ Harney, Kenneth, Sallie Mae s History Lesson, Washington Post, November 15, 2003, pg. F1 They weren t protecting me, Wright said. They were doing exactly the opposite. ²⁹⁴ The controversy came in the latter stages of Congress s consideration of amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Once the story broke, Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) prepared legislation to require Sallie Mae to resume reporting to all three credit bureaus. Soon thereafter, Sallie Mae sent a letter, promising to continue reporting to Experian and Trans Union. Undeterred, Durbin said he would offer his amendment as part of the Higher Education Act, instead of the FCRA. consolidation debt lending

Students Credit Cards

Another challenge facing graduates is a high level of credit card debt, often at high interest rates. Prof. Robert Manning of Rochester Institute of Technology, and author of Credit Card Nation, ²⁹⁵ told Congress, What is striking in the acknowledgement of the credit card industry is that college students are a desirable market because of their ignorance of personal finance and their lack of consumer debt. ²⁹⁶ business consolidation debt

The marketing of credit cards has shifted rapidly over the last five years from college upperclassmen to college freshmen and high school seniors. More significantly is the recognition that student consumption has a large debt component that is increasingly financed by family loans, federally subsidized student loans, summer earnings, and part-time employment during the academic year, and even with other credit cards. advice consolidation debt

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Singletary, Michelle, Giving Students Due Credit for History, Washington Post, Nov. 6, 2003, pg. E3 ²⁹⁵ Credit Card Nation: America s Dangerous Addiction to Consumer Credit (Basic Books, 2001). ²⁹⁶ Statement of Prof. Robert Manning before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Consumer Credit, June 12, 2003. http://financialservices.house.gov/media/pdf/061203rm.pdf consolidation debt interest

Three out of five students with credit cards in our survey had already maxed them out during their freshmen year and, three out of five freshmen with multiple credit cards were already using bank cards to pay for other revolving credit accounts. Furthermore, this survey reveals that nearly three-fourths of students use their student loans to pay for their credit cards. Not incidentally, recent studies indicate that this indiscriminate marketing to college students has led to high incidences of fraud and identity theft among this young adult population, Manning testified.²⁹⁷ consolidation debt refinance

Not surprisingly, Manning recommends that students check their credit reports. Clearly, today s graduates face greater challenges in managing their finances so as not to jeopardize their finances. The National Consumers League has a page on its Web site dedicated to student debt issues.²⁹⁸ Divorce Divorce can have a dramatic impact on the divorcee s credit score and credit report. A major problem is that divorcees often don t realize the extent to which their credit relationships can continue to entangle each other s lives well after divorce. Or, they are so overwhelmed with the emotional and logistical difficulties of separation that there is little time left for separating and straightening out credit relationships. But that is precisely what you need to do: ensure that your name is no longer on accounts for which you are not responsible for paying. During the divorce, the husband and wife usually work out a division of debts that receives final approval from the judge. Divorcees often think that any debt assigned to their ex-spouse by the court frees them from that debt for ever after. consolidation debt finance

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. ²⁹⁸ www.nclnet.org/moneyandcredit/index.htm The problem is that your creditors usually don t know about your divorce. In terms of the credit report, problems arise when the ex-spouse who is responsible for paying an account, fails to, and the other spouse, according to the creditor s records, is still a co-signer or joint user or otherwise associated with the account. The failure to pay goes on the credit report of the innocent spouse, creating a fresh derogatory that slams that spouse s credit score. consolidation debt plan

Thus, it is vital that divorcees identify all of their accounts and separate them completely. This includes mortgages, credit cards, bank loans, debit cards, store charge cards, lines of credit, and overdraft checking. Some authors suggest that spouses begin separating accounts as soon as they consider separating.²⁹⁹ consolidation debt personal

Of course, it s also crucial that divorcees obtain their credit reports to check the accuracy of information. Bankruptcy Bankruptcy is the most derogatory item that can appear on your credit report. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a bankruptcy can stay on your report for 10 years. But that does not mean you can no longer get credit. As Gerri Detweiler, a renowned expert on credit explains in her 1997 book, The Ultimate Credit Handbook, (Plume) people can rebuild their credit after bankruptcy or other traumas. It requires patience and a plan. It starts with checking the credit report to see where you stand. If you still have open accounts, try to negotiate with creditors to improve the way they report on you to the credit bureaus, Detweiler advises. Try to catch up on any accounts for which there might be late payments. consolidation debt management

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Ventura, John The Credit Repair Kit (Dearborn 1998 3rd Edition); or see Sember, Brette McWhorter, Repair Your Own Credit and Deal With Debt (Sphinx 2003 2nd Edition) Next, try to re-establish positive lines of credit. A bank card, paid on time over time, is one of the stronger credit references you can add. In the beginning, she says, you might need to get a secured credit card, which requires you to deposit money so use of the card is secured against those deposits.³⁰⁰ But be careful: both Detweiler and the FTC warn there are a lot of scam artists offering secured credit cards. The BankCard Holders of America (BHA) provides a list of institutions offering secured cards.³⁰¹ consolidation debt secured

Perhaps the best scholarship on bankruptcy is found in the books of Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren.³⁰² Warren has pointed out that of the 1.66 million bankruptcies filed in fiscal year 2003, nearly 40% were by husband-wife couples, meaning that the number of people who actually filed for bankruptcy in that year was 2.14 million.³⁰³ consolidation debt florida

Warren said that women were both the fastest growing and largest demographic group in bankruptcy. There were 1, 661, 996 bankruptcies filed in fiscal year 2003, up 7.4% from the 1, 547, 669 filings in fiscal year 2002. Since 1994, when filings totaled 837, 797, bankruptcies in federal courts have increased 98%. From 1991-95, annual bankruptcy filings hovered around 870, 000. The biggest noticeable jump occurred in 1995-1996, when they went from 874, 642 to 1, 125, 006.³⁰⁴ Interestingly, that is when credit card companies sharply escalated their use of direct marketing solicitations offering pre-approved credit card offers. It is estimated that the industry now sends out five billion unsolicited credit card applications annually. canada consolidation debt loan

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Detweiler continues to advise consumers and publish, see www.ultimatecredit.com, and www.DebtConsolidationRX.com, or for her new E-Book, www. .com ³⁰¹ Send a check or money order for $4.00 to: Secured Credit Card List BHA Customer Service, 524 Branch Drive Salem, VA 24153. Also see http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/secured.htm ³⁰² Warren, Elizabeth, Bankruptcy (West 2002), and, Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi, The Two-Income Trap, (Basic Books 2003) consolidation debt nonprofit

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http://www.bankruptcyaction.com/USbankstats.htm ³⁰⁴ http://www.abiworld.org/stats/1980annual.html Many consumers who complete a bankruptcy find that bad debts that were supposed to be discharged as part of the bankruptcy are later erroneously included on credit reports. Robert Weed, an Alexandria, Virginia attorney, said he regularly must file motions in federal bankruptcy court in order to get creditors to stop reporting discharged debts and to get the credit reporting agencies to remove them. consolidation debt reduction

A third problem is that identity theft, considered the nation s fastest-growing crime, poses a direct threat to the accuracy and integrity of data in the credit reporting system. Identity thieves typically steal an individual s identifiers, such as Social Security number, name, address, date-of-birth, and/or mother s maiden name, and then use them to obtain credit in that individual s name. When debts created by the identity thief go unpaid, creditors report the negative payment history to the credit report of the innocent victim. calculator card consolidation

Consequently, the innocent victim s credit report is polluted by highly negative information that is inaccurate because it does not reflect that victim s activities. Multiply this dynamic by millions of cases each year and you will see why identity theft raises serious concerns about ensuring accuracy in credit report data. consolidation debt unsecured

Like your own credit score, the credit scoring and credit reporting system is a work in progress. It would be inaccurate to characterize the system as totally or always unfair. But it clearly cannot be depicted as totally or always fair either. And, as we will see, when the system breaks down, the impact on individuals can range from inconvenient annoyance to life-altering devastation. consolidation debt free loan

Spreading Awareness

This book is written to address these and a host of other issues concerning credit reporting in America. The book is designed to help readers gain a greater understanding of the credit reporting and scoring system, and how it impacts them. It would seem that greater awareness is needed. According to a July 2003 survey by the Consumer Federation of America, Only 25 percent of Americans-and less than 20 percent of those with incomes below $35, 000-said they knew what their credit score was. But only three percent of Americans could, unprompted, name the three main credit bureaus Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union that provide both lenders and consumers with information from credit reports. Forty-three percent of Americans-only 35 percent of those with incomes below $35, 000-said they had obtained a copy of their credit report from the three credit bureaus in the past two years. ¹⁰ consolidation debt high loan

As the disclaimer states, this book does not give legal advice. Legal advice can only be given case-by-case by a lawyer, which this author is not. This also is not a credit repair book. This author repeats the advice of consumer protection officials: be very, very leery of outfits that call themselves credit repair clinics. Contrary to its literal meaning, the common use of credit repair connotes improving one s credit score through the removal of negative-but-accurate data. There is no guaranteed method for removing accurate information from a credit report, whether it is positive or negative. But promising that you can do so and charging money in advance is a violation of federal law, according to the FTC. consolidation debt free help

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CFA Opinion Survey, July 2003, conducted by Opinion Research Corp.; www.consumerfed.org/072803creditscores.html This Book Covers... The book is divided into chapters that cover the basics of credit scores and credit reports, and ones that cover advanced aspects of the systems, which create them. Chapter 1 explains the basics of credit scores-beginning with Fair Isaac s explanation as to how they are calculated. Chapter 2 is more advanced, delving into little known-and sometimes surprising-details about credit scoring that should further increase your understanding. Chapter 3 goes even further by exploring the world of resellers and re-scoring, a little known but valuable service for improving the credit scores of mortgage applicants, but which appears threatened by hostile economic forces. consolidation debt ohio

We return to basics in Chapter 4, describing how you can obtain your credit report and the circumstances that currently entitle you to a free report. This chapter notes that eventually, all Americans will be entitled to one free credit report per year under the 2003 Amendments to the FCRA, known as the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA). The requirement took effect in December 2004, and was gradually being phased in under rules set by the Federal Trade Commission. advice consolidation debt free

The first two sections of the country that were entitled to free reports were the West and Midwest. Opening day for the South is June 1, 2005; the East gets theirs on September 1, 2005. Similarly, Chapter 5 explains the basics of reading and understanding your credit report, and Chapter 6 describes the fundamentals of disputing inaccuracy. Chapter 7 offers a basic overview of identity theft, often described as America s fastest growing crime, and its impact on credit report accuracy. These how-to sections serve as a starting point for those who are ready to oversee their own credit histories. consolidation debt free online

Beyond How-To

To fully appreciate the basics, one needs to understand the larger system. To that end, Chapters 8 and 9 examine how the three major credit reporting agencies (CRAs) compile credit data on 205 million Americans, and how they and credit grantors conduct, or sometimes don t conduct, reinvestigations upon receiving consumer disputes. To help explain why credit reporting continually draws the attention of Congress, state legislators and enforcement officials, Chapter 10 traces the evolution of the industry, of the mixed files problem and other inaccuracy issues, and of identity theft. consolidation debt new york

Chapters 11 and 12 address the controversial subjects of credit repair and debt collection. Chapters 13-15 explore the use of credit reports and scores by automobile, homeowners and mortgage insurers. consolidation debt student

Chapter 16 focuses on the heated debate over whether credit scoring is tied to racial discrimination. Chapter 17 looks at some of the special challenges faced by certain groups, including Hispanics, students and the divorced. consolidate consolidation debt

One activity that affects most adult Americans, but is little understood, is the marketing of pre-approved credit card offers-the topic of Chapter 18. Chapter 19 covers the thorny issue of unauthorized access to credit reports, a problem that can arise in a number of settings, including car dealerships, for a number of reasons, including identity theft. consolidation debt lo

Chapter 20 explores the kinds of damages typically suffered by victims of inaccurate credit reports or identity theft, and provides a preliminary methodology for identifying and measuring those damages. card christian consolidation

Chapter 21 recounts the exciting legislative debate of 2003, which resulted in major amendments to increase the FCRA s consumer protections. Despite the improvements, no one in Congress or elsewhere felt that the problems of credit report inaccuracy or identity theft would go away anytime soon. Some advocates predicted the problems would get worse before they got better. by consolidation debt

Chapter 22, the only entirely new chapter in this Second Edition, explores controversial policies of credit card companies that fail to report their card holders credit limits to credit bureaus, a practice that can lower credit scores. It also examines credit card companies that practice universal default, meaning they will raise card holders interest rates if their credit scores drop too much - even if they ve never had a late payment with that particular company. consolidation debt uk

Privacy

Credit scoring and credit reporting are inextricably linked to the fundamental privacy rights of consumers. As the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized, To begin with, both the common law and the literal understandings of privacy encompass the individual s control of information concerning his or her person. ¹¹ In the Information Age, privacy is defined by, and measured according to, the principles of Fair Information Practices (FIPs). As we will see in Chapter 10, these principles are at the core of information privacy laws, both in the United States and abroad, including the FCRA. They seek to ensure that individuals maintain a reasonable level of control over their personal information by ensuring accuracy, fairness, collection and use limitation, purpose specification, security, and enforcement. These principles form the basis for an international consensus¹² as to how personal data should be protected by law and by organizational practice. Enacted in 1970, the FCRA was the United States first information privacy statute. consolidation debt mortgage

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