Consumers far more likely to forgive credit card issuers this year

by admin on April 30, 2012

Consumers nationwide continued to feel better about the approach their credit card lenders take to customer service and were therefore more likely to forgive any missteps they felt they experienced in dealing with those companies, according to the latest annual Forgiveness Ratings issued by the Temkin Group. Forgiveness is the key element of customer loyalty, and is based on the functionality, accessibility and emotional factors consumers experience in dealing with companies.

Spring Clean Your Credit in 5 Easy Steps

April 30th, 2012 by Joshua Heckathorn

Spring is a time of renewal and rejuvenation. For many, there's just something about the spring season that makes us want to declutter life and move forward with a fresh start. This might include scrubbing the entire house from floor to ceiling or finally getting around to cleaning out piles of junk from the old attic. But what about all the financial clutter that makes its way into our lives? Shouldn't it get some attention too?

Credit card issuers remain unsure of future payment technology

by admin on April 29, 2012

Credit card issuers have begun slowly rolling out a more secure offering to some of their more affluent borrowers because the payment technology is more or less the only one used overseas, but there has been considerable discussion over whether a wider rollout is feasible, according to a report from Credit Union Times. The new technology - known as chip and pin or EMV - has been widely used in Europe and Asia for years, and the U.S. is the only developed country not to rely on it.

Would You Pay the Mortgage or Credit Cards?

April 27th, 2012 by Joshua Heckathorn

Here are some interesting credit facts to contemplate while you take your Friday-morning coffee break. Prepare yourself, because I know you're excited! According to TransUnion's most recent Credit Risk Index (CRI), the amount of credit risk taken on by consumers is rising for the first time since its peak in 2009, and the driving factor is mortgage delinquency. Apparently the numbers of homeowners who were at least 60-days late on their mortgage began to rise again during the 4th quarter of 2011. Check out the chart below which shows how the CRI has moved since 2005.

College kids still being marketed to by lenders

by admin on April 25, 2012

Despite numerous provisions of the CARD Act designed to protect them from lenders' marketing tactics, it seems many college students have seen little change in receiving offers for new cards, according to a new study from Professor Jim Hawkins of the University of Houston Law Center.

New Data Shows Inquiries Have Little Effect on FICO Scores

April 25th, 2012 by Joshua Heckathorn

It's true that too many credit inquiries can have a negative effect on FICO scores, but my experience has been that most people focus WAY too much on this small factor in the FICO credit-scoring model. In fact, I receive emails quite often from both readers and personal friends who are concerned about something as simple as applying for a new airline miles credit card because they're planning on financing a new home or a car in the next 12 months. Their reasoning is they don't want to risk taking any sort of unnecessary hit to their credit scores before applying for a major loan, and I completely understand that. I wouldn't apply for new credit within a month or two of closing on a home loan either.

Building Credit with Credit Cards for Bad Credit

Nobody wants to deal with repairing damaged credit, but the truth is many of us are just one serious illness or job loss away from a credit nightmare. And while it can take years of responsible credit management to build great FICO scores, it unfortunately takes just a few missed credit card payments to inflict major damage on your credit history. The good news is that bad credit isn't a permanent thing. No matter how bad your credit scores are, they can always get better! Time, in conjunction with responsible use of credit cards for poor credit, can heal all credit wounds.

Updated by Joshua Heckathorn on Mon, 2012-04-23 17:00

Ask Creditnet: Should I Close My Son's First Credit Card?

April 23rd, 2012 by Joshua Heckathorn

Dear Creditnet: I wanted my son to have a credit card in his name when he went off to college. However, the only way we could get him a card was to apply for one in my name and add him as an authorized user. He used the credit card responsibly for the last four years and upon graduation was able to open a new credit card in his own name. We'd like to close the old one now, even though it doesn't have an annual fee, but we're concerned about how this might affect both of our credit scores. Should we just close it since we don't plan on using the card again?

Credit card debt more problematic for women

by admin on April 22, 2012

Women are both more likely to mishandle their credit card accounts and simultaneously have fewer positive behaviors than men, according to a new study from the independent securities regulator FINRA. Perhaps the most troubling data to come out of the survey found that 60 percent of women and 55 percent of men typically carried a balance on their accounts from one month to the next - the most common credit misstep consumers made.

Indices shows drop in consumer default rates

by admin on April 20, 2012

Nearly all types of consumer credit experienced declines in the rate of default during March, according to the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices.