5 ms·

I don't understand why people freak out so much about their credit reports. I have no idea what my credit score is and don't care. I guess it's poor people who

I don't understand why people freak out so much about their credit reports. I have no idea what my credit score is and don't care. I guess it's poor people who need credit to scrape by on a regular basis? If you have a lot of cash it seems like a completely empty threat. The bank is not going to care about your $400 unpaid comcast bill when writing you a mortgage. People who have declared bankruptcy twice are getting low rates. Tell the collectors to fuck off and go ahead and tell experian. I got a $1200 medical bill, about half of which was BS. I sent a certified letter disputing the invalid charges. I never got a reply, so I never paid. I started getting calls from a collector. I blocked the numbers, end of story. I similarly never paid some bullshit charge from a landlord. These unpaid "debts" have never impacted me in the slightest. If someone is trying to screw you, just don't pay. I don't understand why people are such cowards about it.

pavel_lishin 12y ago
> The bank is not going to care about your $400 unpaid comcast bill when writing you a mortgage. [citation needed] Sure, a single unpaid bill won't hurt you, but that's because it won't hurt your credit score much. If your credit score is low enough, your bank may still give you a loan to buy a house, but will demand a lot more money up front and charge you a much higher interest rate. If you can buy a house for cash, it might not matter, but there are plenty of non-"poor people" who can't just drop a quarter million dollars off in a suitcase.
- a8da6b0c91d 12y ago
  I am telling you that people with multiple bankruptcies are getting the same rates on mortgages. It just doesn't matter like you think it does if you have a solid income and the down payment. The credit score is this bizarre hollow threat that has middle class people terrified into submission in many situations where they shouldn't submit.
  - TheOtherHobbes 12y ago
    Until they try to get a phone contract, or a broadband contract, or even an electricity supply they can pay from a bank account. I know people who have had problems with all of the above because of poor credit. I agree that the credit industry relies on extortion. I also know for a fact that some debt collectors act as front men for 'legit' banks and credit card companies who use them to extort extra interest from written-off debt. So they get a double profit - a tax write-off, and some or all of the principal back, with interest. The lenders should - and I guess do - run actuarial models which give them a good idea what current and future default rates are. I know there's at least one credit card company in the UK that deliberately lends to people with poor credit - not because it's run by nice people, but because it knows it can maximise profit by taking defaulters to court and foreclosing on their houses. It's a vile, despicable business run by failed human beings.
Iftheshoefits 12y ago
This is the worst possible advice a person could give. Collectors can and will go to court to get a Judgement (capital-J), which allows them to garnish wages (among other things) and in some cases is actually worse than declaring bankruptcy. "If you have a lot of cash" speaks volumes about where you're coming from, though. Congratulations on being one of the very privileged few in this country who can afford to do what you suggest. The vast majority of the rest simply cannot.
- a8da6b0c91d 12y ago
  They pursue a judgement on sums up around thousands of dollars where the charges are clearly valid. There is no way that's going to happen on some piddly $400 amount that you have documented is substantially BS. What I'm talking about is people I've seen in recent threads freaked out about some comcast charge affecting their credit report. Don't waste a minute of your time dealing with them or the credit bureaus. Just don't pay.
  - eli 12y ago
    Echoing that this is really bad advice. I spent a rather unpleasant day in small claims court and saw first-hand that credit card companies can and will file lawsuits over relatively small amounts owed.
  - cnp 12y ago
    This is beyond idiotic. My credit score is HORRIBLE due to little things like this accumulating in my youth. Pay everything, always -- always pay -- always. It WILL come back to fuck you over just when you need those extra few points.
    - vinceguidry 12y ago
      Not so idiotic. I ran up a modest amount of debt in my early twenties, never paid any of it. Fast forward ten years. Found a decent job, look to buy a car, come to find out my credit report is mostly empty. Most everything had dropped off. Capital One gave me a credit card, I've been building up credit and savings over the last year. If you have the discipline to say, "no new debt," which isn't that hard to do after you've already fucked up your score, then you can hit thirty with a clean slate.
rondon2 12y ago
There is a small difference in interest rates that you get based on your credit score. When I bought a car from the dealer I told the loan guy that I had a 0.9% rate at my Credit Union so I didn't need financing. He was able to match the rate based on my credit score and take 300.00 off the car. I doubt he would have believed that I qualified for %0.9 if I had bad credit. So for me we are talking about a difference of at least $300 a year for having a good Rating.
dchuk 12y ago
Credit isn't just for poor people
seanflyon 12y ago
If you ever want to own a home, your credit score effects the rate at which you can borrow money which can make a mortgage much more expensive.
jliptzin 12y ago
Even rich people take out mortgages, for plenty of reasons. Banks will look for any reason to charge you a higher interest rate. That $400 unpaid comcast bill is a perfect excuse for them to charge you an extra $15,000 in interest or more on a loan (over the course of the loan's lifetime).
- judk 12y ago
  This is why we get competitive bids from multiple banks.
  - infinite8s 12y ago
    They all use the same 3 credit reporting agencies (in addition to the completely non-transparent aggregate FICO score)
UrMomReadsHN 12y ago
Here is something you might not understand or know. Nowadays your credit score affects more than you realize. It used in many places as a measure of trustworthiness. You can have trouble renting an apartment (depending on the market and landlord) with debt that went to collection. Also you pay more in insurance premiums. Your potential employer may pull your credit report as part of a background check and decide not to hire you because you didn't feel like paying your debt. Just forget about getting a security clearance with debt in collections. Information does eventually age out of your credit report.
- michaelochurch 12y ago
  Your potential employer may pull your credit report as part of a background check and decide not to hire you because you didn't feel like paying your debt. In many jurisdictions, they have to disclose that they're doing so. Fake a competing "exploding" offer to put time pressure on them. They'll write you an offer (if they're interested) quickly. Then, if they rescind the offer later because they don't like what they see on a credit check, threaten to sue for promissory estoppel. Whether or not you're likely to win, they'll settle in order not to be known as a company that rescinds offers. Walk away with a severance, without even having set foot on the job site. I'm not saying that people should let their credit scores go to shit just to avoid paying small debts. It's rarely worth it to welch on a debt. However, in the case of employment, there is a strategy if you think you're at risk of losing job opportunities based on a credit report. (That said, I've never heard of anyone in tech getting dicked on bad credit. But in our scummy/chummy industry, rescinded offers over reputation issues are not uncommon and those can usually be turned into 3-5 months' pay.)
  - FireBeyond 12y ago
    "Then, if they rescind the offer later because they don't like what they see on a credit check, threaten to sue for promissory estoppel." At which point they'll promptly hire you, and let you go in the first week, as you're "just not working out", and you're most likely in an "at will" state.
    - 12y ago
FireBeyond 12y ago
LOL... the last time I looked at a mortgage, despite my six digit income and all other things, I absolutely promise you that the bank -did- insist I resolve several unpaid debts that were listed on my credit score (probably four or five, totaling <$3,000 between them).
- a8da6b0c91d 12y ago
  I don't believe you got hit with four or five scammy $700 charges. You are apparently chronically delinquent on accounts, which is not what I'm talking about.
kyllo 12y ago
That is a great way to blow tens to hundreds of thousands on interest over a lifetime.

pavel_lishin 12y ago

> The bank is not going to care about your $400 unpaid comcast bill when writing you a mortgage. [citation needed] Sure, a single unpaid bill won't hurt you, but that's because it won't hurt your credit score much. If your credit score is low enough, your bank may still give you a loan to buy a house, but will demand a lot more money up front and charge you a much higher interest rate. If you can buy a house for cash, it might not matter, but there are plenty of non-"poor people" who can't just drop a quarter million dollars off in a suitcase.

a8da6b0c91d 12y ago
I am telling you that people with multiple bankruptcies are getting the same rates on mortgages. It just doesn't matter like you think it does if you have a solid income and the down payment. The credit score is this bizarre hollow threat that has middle class people terrified into submission in many situations where they shouldn't submit.
- TheOtherHobbes 12y ago
  Until they try to get a phone contract, or a broadband contract, or even an electricity supply they can pay from a bank account. I know people who have had problems with all of the above because of poor credit. I agree that the credit industry relies on extortion. I also know for a fact that some debt collectors act as front men for 'legit' banks and credit card companies who use them to extort extra interest from written-off debt. So they get a double profit - a tax write-off, and some or all of the principal back, with interest. The lenders should - and I guess do - run actuarial models which give them a good idea what current and future default rates are. I know there's at least one credit card company in the UK that deliberately lends to people with poor credit - not because it's run by nice people, but because it knows it can maximise profit by taking defaulters to court and foreclosing on their houses. It's a vile, despicable business run by failed human beings.

Iftheshoefits 12y ago

This is the worst possible advice a person could give. Collectors can and will go to court to get a Judgement (capital-J), which allows them to garnish wages (among other things) and in some cases is actually worse than declaring bankruptcy. "If you have a lot of cash" speaks volumes about where you're coming from, though. Congratulations on being one of the very privileged few in this country who can afford to do what you suggest. The vast majority of the rest simply cannot.

a8da6b0c91d 12y ago
They pursue a judgement on sums up around thousands of dollars where the charges are clearly valid. There is no way that's going to happen on some piddly $400 amount that you have documented is substantially BS. What I'm talking about is people I've seen in recent threads freaked out about some comcast charge affecting their credit report. Don't waste a minute of your time dealing with them or the credit bureaus. Just don't pay.
- eli 12y ago
  Echoing that this is really bad advice. I spent a rather unpleasant day in small claims court and saw first-hand that credit card companies can and will file lawsuits over relatively small amounts owed.
- cnp 12y ago
  This is beyond idiotic. My credit score is HORRIBLE due to little things like this accumulating in my youth. Pay everything, always -- always pay -- always. It WILL come back to fuck you over just when you need those extra few points.
  - vinceguidry 12y ago
    Not so idiotic. I ran up a modest amount of debt in my early twenties, never paid any of it. Fast forward ten years. Found a decent job, look to buy a car, come to find out my credit report is mostly empty. Most everything had dropped off. Capital One gave me a credit card, I've been building up credit and savings over the last year. If you have the discipline to say, "no new debt," which isn't that hard to do after you've already fucked up your score, then you can hit thirty with a clean slate.

rondon2 12y ago

There is a small difference in interest rates that you get based on your credit score. When I bought a car from the dealer I told the loan guy that I had a 0.9% rate at my Credit Union so I didn't need financing. He was able to match the rate based on my credit score and take 300.00 off the car. I doubt he would have believed that I qualified for %0.9 if I had bad credit. So for me we are talking about a difference of at least $300 a year for having a good Rating.

dchuk 12y ago

Credit isn't just for poor people

seanflyon 12y ago

If you ever want to own a home, your credit score effects the rate at which you can borrow money which can make a mortgage much more expensive.

jliptzin 12y ago

Even rich people take out mortgages, for plenty of reasons. Banks will look for any reason to charge you a higher interest rate. That $400 unpaid comcast bill is a perfect excuse for them to charge you an extra $15,000 in interest or more on a loan (over the course of the loan's lifetime).

judk 12y ago
This is why we get competitive bids from multiple banks.
- infinite8s 12y ago
  They all use the same 3 credit reporting agencies (in addition to the completely non-transparent aggregate FICO score)

UrMomReadsHN 12y ago

Here is something you might not understand or know. Nowadays your credit score affects more than you realize. It used in many places as a measure of trustworthiness. You can have trouble renting an apartment (depending on the market and landlord) with debt that went to collection. Also you pay more in insurance premiums. Your potential employer may pull your credit report as part of a background check and decide not to hire you because you didn't feel like paying your debt. Just forget about getting a security clearance with debt in collections. Information does eventually age out of your credit report.

michaelochurch 12y ago
Your potential employer may pull your credit report as part of a background check and decide not to hire you because you didn't feel like paying your debt. In many jurisdictions, they have to disclose that they're doing so. Fake a competing "exploding" offer to put time pressure on them. They'll write you an offer (if they're interested) quickly. Then, if they rescind the offer later because they don't like what they see on a credit check, threaten to sue for promissory estoppel. Whether or not you're likely to win, they'll settle in order not to be known as a company that rescinds offers. Walk away with a severance, without even having set foot on the job site. I'm not saying that people should let their credit scores go to shit just to avoid paying small debts. It's rarely worth it to welch on a debt. However, in the case of employment, there is a strategy if you think you're at risk of losing job opportunities based on a credit report. (That said, I've never heard of anyone in tech getting dicked on bad credit. But in our scummy/chummy industry, rescinded offers over reputation issues are not uncommon and those can usually be turned into 3-5 months' pay.)
- FireBeyond 12y ago
  "Then, if they rescind the offer later because they don't like what they see on a credit check, threaten to sue for promissory estoppel." At which point they'll promptly hire you, and let you go in the first week, as you're "just not working out", and you're most likely in an "at will" state.
  - 12y ago

FireBeyond 12y ago

LOL... the last time I looked at a mortgage, despite my six digit income and all other things, I absolutely promise you that the bank -did- insist I resolve several unpaid debts that were listed on my credit score (probably four or five, totaling <$3,000 between them).

a8da6b0c91d 12y ago
I don't believe you got hit with four or five scammy $700 charges. You are apparently chronically delinquent on accounts, which is not what I'm talking about.

kyllo 12y ago

That is a great way to blow tens to hundreds of thousands on interest over a lifetime.