Bryan W. Alaspa 1Credit THIS, Mofo
September 23rd 2008 19:04
Riddle me this, Batman: Why is it that we are told ad nauseum to keep a close eye on our credit (lest we be victims of ye olde identity theft), yet we do not have free access to our own credit reports whenever we want?
I don't understant the concept. Ok, I get that Experian and TransUnion has to be able to pay their own bills and all that, but who died and made them Keepers of the Kredit? I mean seriously, it's MY information, MY (supposed) borrowing history... why do I need to pay you to tell me that I've been naughty or nice? Shouldn't I be allowed to track my own reported badness (or goodness, as the case may be) whenever the mood hits?
Scenario for your face: Some Billy Bob Bastard in Podunk, Missip, decided that I would be an ideal person for Dell to give some credit to. Billy Bob didn't bother to ask me to do it for him, he just went ahead on and signed me up for a Dell Business Credit account. Apparently, my name and billing address were all Billy Bob needed to go ahead and purchase $5000 worth of computers, cameras, and printers for what appears to be an amateur porn website or something.
Dell called me up demanding their money, o'course. I called the 5-0 and filed my handy dandy little report and sent it on to Dell. Now, three months later and I'm still denied credit when I need it. Me, who has never had lower than a 750 credit score is shamefully turned down for a measely $3000 loan to pay for my small wedding. I am so embarrassed.
Side question: Why should I have to prove it ISN'T me, and why doesn't Dell have to prove it IS? I didn't buy the crap, yet here I sit, day in and day out affected by this, while Billy Bob photographs naked womens and prints them off on his shiny new Lexmark. (I don't know for sure that's what the equipment was bought for, but it's mighty suspicious)
So, back to the topic at hand. I put a security lock on my credit, and requested credit reports. Because of the fraud alert, instead of being able to view and print my own credit report, I have to print a PDF form, fill it out, mail it in, and wait SIX to EIGHT WEEKS for them to determine it really is ME who is requesting the report.
(Another side question: Why is that? Who ever attempts to view someone ELSE'S credit report. What would that do? Help them determine that the individual is a good candidate for ID theft? Whatever.)
So... you want me to keep a close eye on my credit report, yet won't show me my credit report? That reminds me of when I was in high school and Dad said I needed to have a job before I could get a car, but because he and Mom both worked, I kind of needed a car to get to the job... Catch 22 it's called?
I understand we get one free credit report annually, but in my opinion, that is not enough. We should be allowed to at least view our own credit report online whenever the mood strikes us.
Lastly, one last side tangent: Freecreditreport.com is a scam. Despite its catchy jingly commercials, it is NOT FREE. You get one free credit report viewing IF you sign up for their credit monitoring service. Guess what, you can get one free credit report viewing yearly anyway, so don't bother with "free"creditreport.com.
Swipe it
I don't understant the concept. Ok, I get that Experian and TransUnion has to be able to pay their own bills and all that, but who died and made them Keepers of the Kredit? I mean seriously, it's MY information, MY (supposed) borrowing history... why do I need to pay you to tell me that I've been naughty or nice? Shouldn't I be allowed to track my own reported badness (or goodness, as the case may be) whenever the mood hits?
Scenario for your face: Some Billy Bob Bastard in Podunk, Missip, decided that I would be an ideal person for Dell to give some credit to. Billy Bob didn't bother to ask me to do it for him, he just went ahead on and signed me up for a Dell Business Credit account. Apparently, my name and billing address were all Billy Bob needed to go ahead and purchase $5000 worth of computers, cameras, and printers for what appears to be an amateur porn website or something.
Dell called me up demanding their money, o'course. I called the 5-0 and filed my handy dandy little report and sent it on to Dell. Now, three months later and I'm still denied credit when I need it. Me, who has never had lower than a 750 credit score is shamefully turned down for a measely $3000 loan to pay for my small wedding. I am so embarrassed.
Side question: Why should I have to prove it ISN'T me, and why doesn't Dell have to prove it IS? I didn't buy the crap, yet here I sit, day in and day out affected by this, while Billy Bob photographs naked womens and prints them off on his shiny new Lexmark. (I don't know for sure that's what the equipment was bought for, but it's mighty suspicious)
So, back to the topic at hand. I put a security lock on my credit, and requested credit reports. Because of the fraud alert, instead of being able to view and print my own credit report, I have to print a PDF form, fill it out, mail it in, and wait SIX to EIGHT WEEKS for them to determine it really is ME who is requesting the report.
(Another side question: Why is that? Who ever attempts to view someone ELSE'S credit report. What would that do? Help them determine that the individual is a good candidate for ID theft? Whatever.)
So... you want me to keep a close eye on my credit report, yet won't show me my credit report? That reminds me of when I was in high school and Dad said I needed to have a job before I could get a car, but because he and Mom both worked, I kind of needed a car to get to the job... Catch 22 it's called?
I understand we get one free credit report annually, but in my opinion, that is not enough. We should be allowed to at least view our own credit report online whenever the mood strikes us.
Lastly, one last side tangent: Freecreditreport.com is a scam. Despite its catchy jingly commercials, it is NOT FREE. You get one free credit report viewing IF you sign up for their credit monitoring service. Guess what, you can get one free credit report viewing yearly anyway, so don't bother with "free"creditreport.com.
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