Are you experiencing trouble with credit reporting agencies?

In the politics of every administration, whether it is Democrats or Republicans, there have been minor efforts to both curb the power of these giants of credit as well as have them clean up the way they do business.  Powerful in that they have complete control over a person’s credit record; they can and do wreck it for many, often by mistake.  Clean up their act as in making errors; as late as 2011, 80 percent of credit reports had them.

The giants of credit reporting are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and they wield their power in a relentless way because so far, the feds haven’t figured out a way to control them.  Like J. Edgar Hoover, as FBI Director in the late 60s and early 70s, had dossiers on presidents and members of Congress; the big 3 credit bureaus know they have the capability to help or ruin a person’s credit, often their life, and at times are very callous about it.  And that’s the problem.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has said it plans to “oversee” about 30 credit reporting firms; each of the big 3 supplies data to smaller companies spread out through the U.S and some of them even collect their own. The public "should not be burdened by unreasonably laborious processes to get errors removed from their files," CFPB director Richard Cordray said, according to the Wall Street Journal in an article by Alan Zibel.

From Zibel’s article: “A key problem for the industry is that federal law doesn't specify exactly what steps credit-reporting firms must take to investigate consumer complaints on reporting errors, and that's led to a flood of lawsuits,” said John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at SmartCredit.com, a credit-monitoring site. "It's my opinion versus yours," he said.  My take on this is that it is an unforgivable breach in consumer protection.

Watch this video re. lawsuit against TransUnion:

During the 35 years I spent in the junk mail industry, the biggest hawkers of your names and personal data were the three credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.  Everything from your age to your income, how much you paid for your house, how much you owe, how many children you have and their ages, your education level, where you work, if you smoke drink or gamble, what ailments you have, and the list goes on and on.  It’s all there for immediate use.

Credit scores

You would think, after selling all this personal information—It amounts to over $4 billion annually—that the credit bureaus would at least take better care of your personal data and be more courteous with corrections when you ask for them.  Not so on both counts.  80% of credit reports still with errors.  And a blog I posted back in August of 2006 on this very issue still gets comments today complaining about credit bureau treatment, particularly aimed at Experian.

  

That post dealt with a problem I had with Experian, after writing unflattering articles about the company.  Just days after this my credit history was taken down and I, nor the creditors, had access to it for over two months.  At the time I was paying Experian $90.00 a year for this service.  It finally reappeared with no explanation, and during that two-month period I was given every excuse in the book by a very incompetent series of customer service reps and managers.

Here are some of the comments from the above blog post:

I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET IN TOUCH WITH SOMEONE AT EXPERIAN (FOR THREE DAYS) ABOUT BEING TURNED DOWN BY CAPITAL ONE TO OPEN A 2ND ACCOUNT. THE FIRST ONE (I'VE HAD FOR 4 YEARS) HAS A $22 BALANCE WITH A CREDIT LIMIT OF 14,000. CAPITAL ONE SAYS GET IN TOUCH WITH EXPERIAN.
I WENT ON LINE AND THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY CREDIT MY SCORE IS IN HIGH 700'S I AM 65 AND HAVE GREAT CREDIT.

WHAT IS GOING ON

*****

There is a reason that Experian has such a crappy reputation - they are incompetent.

I recently disputed several items on my credit report via their online dispute process.

One item, they updated - by adding that I needed to contact the creditor (A paid off account that I have documentation of that status).

Another account - which was not mine, nor was I ever a party to... is listed and they just responded that it remains on my report (no explanation).

Yet a couple of others -they updated dates on the accounts - to incorrect dates.

And if you try again to dispute these accounts, their system will not allow it - you must mail in documentation (what documentation do I need to send in for an account that was never mine in the first place?).

Idiots.

*****

A year later, and Experian is just as incompetent. My husband's social security number is incorrect on his credit report, which means we can't get a credit report, and you can't dispute what's on your credit report until you get the credit report. Figure that one out. Experian makes it extra-specially impossible, as they send you to a local affiliate who tells you to contact Experian directly, who sends you to the affiliate saying they don't handle yours, but the affiliate won't handle it either.

My husband wants to be part of this country, yet he can't even get a CASH SECURED credit card because of this problem that can't be fixed. The slap on the face is that these companies have no responsibility for verifying even the basic information they have on you. THEY transposed the numbers and WE have to pay for it?

*****

It's been 2 years since this site started. It's now May 2008 and nothing's changed. Experian put a woman's name that sounded similar to mine on my report and listed that as my alias. They also put her delinquent acct. on it. I have my credit report but can't dispute it on line because I can't answer 4 questions to Experian's liking (most likely because Experian has wrong data)I get nowhere with the voicemail on their phone system. Why won't they take a letter and where can I send it?

*****

Im About to Apply For A Job There!! Get My Information Corrected!! And Then Quit!!

*****

I am legally blind and Experian has refused to provide me with a copy of my free annual report since 2009 after I relocated to Colorado.
The FTC refuses to intervene and this organization refuses to force Experian to follow the law.
Consumers need to petiton Congress to force action. Credit Scoring needs to be banned as this is an indiscreet Caste System that is illegal in the USA.
Experian continues as do other CRA's who are not government agencies and intentionally for a profit violate every State Constitution and the United States constition when they sell your personal information for profit.

*****

Step up and take action where 240 million plus in the United States can make a difference through class action litigation. I am willing are you?

Now this is only seven of 72 comments; the first four starting in 2006, the last three just recently.  You can read all 72 here.

Alan Zibel’s article is yet another welcome wake up call to correct a major abuse of consumers across the U.S.  It has been going on, and it will continue to go on in the future if the feds don’t crack down on the big 3 credit reporting companies.  If the GOP wins in November, there is no hope of correcting this situation.  If the Dems come back in force—the White House and Congress—they should place this dilemma on the list of priorities.

Logical questions in the Mitt Romney/Bain Capital uproar???

The first question is whether it is even a valid charge by the Obama campaign that there is anything wrong with what happened.  It’s a he said, they said, sort of predicament centering around the fact that Romney said he left Bain Capital in 1999, having absolutely no responsibility in decisions made thereafter, and a top Obama staffer saying he was still listed as Bain’s CEO, President, Chairman of the Board, and the firm’s sole stockholder as late as 2002.

Romney has been accused of being in charge of Bain at the time thousands of jobs were eliminated and outsourced at companies controlled by the firm.  He said he had nothing to do with it so the next question is, if you are its CEO and the only stockholder, doesn’t that mean you are the one who’s supposed to be watching the store?  There are legal questions also re. alleged false reports submitted to the SEC, but they seem to have been ruled out by legal experts.

Peter Cohan of Forbes magazine agrees with me in principle.  My earlier comment is based on an investor looking at the SEC reports showing Mitt Romney in charge at Bain Capital and making a decision to invest based on that.  Cohan comments “…if he is as good as he claims, Romney would never invest in a company whose CEO – in title only — collected an executive salary but spent almost every waking hour doing a completely different job.”  Misleading, at least?

John King on CNN interviewed 4 sources at Bain who say no to whether or not Romney had any hands-on role after 1999.  Three are Democrats.  David Gergen, also on CNN, claims that the Obama campaign has not made its case that Romney was doing any managing at Bain after 1999.  Gergen does have both a personal and financial relationship with top partners there. 

But the Obama staff continues to hang its hat on the context of the SEC filings, whether or not their intentions are specific or implied.

Insiders say that Obama wants to keep the Bain Capital matter live to get at another investment issue, but is hampered if the 1999 leaving date becomes official.  It seems that Bain Capital was involved with a company named Stericycle, a medical waste company that, among other things, disposed of aborted fetuses.  This was 9 months after Romney supposedly left, and could be an interesting shocker for the religious right heading into November.

The Boston Globe was first to release the Bain Capital story and quoted a former SEC commissioner, Roberta S. Karmel, who said SEC filings are a crucial window on the operations of business.  In addition she remarked, “Let me put it this way, it’s a pretty serious problem to file false documents with the SEC. You can be prosecuted for that.”  The next question is what direction will the Obama team follow?  Specific SEC statements or inferred misunderstanding?

In a Huff Post article, speaking to Rachel Maddow, Christopher Rowland, one of the Globe reporters on the story, said the discrepancy was important because Romney has used his supposed departure date to bat away criticism about Bain's dealings after 1999.  "This has been his main talking point when confronted with things like bankruptcies and layoffs," he said.  “If you look at the paperwork alone, it shows that he was the man in charge.” 

Again in Huff Post, they report Romney testimony that he sat on the board of LifeLike Co., a doll maker that Bain had invested in.  Then Talking Points Memo comes up with information not yet reported; “instances where Romney made declarations to the SEC that he was still involved in running Bain after February 1999.”  There are 2 SEC filings from 2000 and 2001 where Romney lists “Managing Director of Bain Capital, Inc.” as his “principal occupation.”

There’s more.  In a 2002 Boston Globe story, it was reported that Bain employee Marc Wolpow said, "I reported directly to Mitt Romney ... You can’t be CEO of Bain Capital and say, 'I really don’t know what my guys were doing.'"  When running for Massachusetts governor in 2002 he listed himself as “Executive” of Bain Capital, conflicting with a statement in 2001 also to the state as “Former Executive.”  It is clear why there is mistrust in his current denials.

Mitt Romney

But it’s Joe Klein of Time magazine that, perhaps, puts it all into perspective.  While pushing the envelope on Bain Capital, the Obama campaign is just biding its time to expose the fact that Romney has made zillions of dollars in the past, but has paid very little tax (14% is considered the high water mark).  Bain just keeps the stew boiling until Romney relinquishes 12 years of tax returns like Obama has, and most presidential candidates in the past.

Currently Romney has released 2010 and will honor us with 2011 when filed.  But he says that’s it, and will release no more of his returns.  You have to wonder what his taxes for 2001 and 2002 would reveal re. Bain Capital.  And here’s the clincher, George Romney, his father, ran for president in 1968 voluntarily releasing 12 years of tax returns.  In this case, not “like father, like son.”

June U.S. Shooting Report numbers soar

Although I have changed the formula in counting shootings—it is now one shooting for each death or wounded to conform with Brady campaign protocol—the total number has climbed to more than 4-times the May figure.  June was a startling 361 to 90 in May.  Prior to this, if three people were shot in the same incident, it was counted as one shooting.  Once again, these numbers are taken direct from qualified news reports throughout the country.

But the number of dead and wounded from shootings is even worse, considering the sizable increases.  In May there were 69 people killed as a result of a shooting compared to 128 in June.  That is an 85.5% increase.  These are folks their family or friends will never see again…all because of a gun.  Also in May, there were 131 woundings from shootings, compared to 233 in June.  That is a 77.9% increase.  And some of these may have died by now.

I keep saying this but it is still beyond me why lawmakers, and the White House, haven’t taken action to do something about this crisis.  They do have something of an excuse—which is really inexcusable—with the coming November elections.  But the major gun control advocates have absolutely no excuse for not jumping on these numbers to point out the need for immediate action to stop gun violence.  This report can’t be the only source of data; if it is, the situation is worse than any of us thought.

Once again, let me encourage any of you who know of shootings I have missed in this or future reports to let me know through comments and I will post an update.

Here are the June numbers by date and location, broken down by shootings, dead and wounded.  This is in a Word compatible Excel format which I hope to have converted to HTML soon so that all months will be available, and the file will be interactive.

DATE	CITY/STATE	SHOOTINGS	DEAD	WOUNDED
6/1/2012	Phoenix, AZ	5	5	0
6/1/2012	Tucson, AZ	1	0	1
6/1/2012	Miami, FL	2	1	1
6/2/2012	Phoenix, AZ	1	1	0
6/2/2012	Brooklyn, NY	2	1	1
6/2/2012	Clarksdale, MS	1	0	1
6/2/2012	Vallejo, CA	4	1	3
6/2-6/5/2012	Baltimore, MD	10	4	6
6/3/2012	El Mirage, AZ	2	1	1
6/3/2012	Miami, FL	2	2	0
6/3/2012	Phoenix, AZ	2	0	2
6/4/2012	Surprise, AZ	2	1	1
6/4/2012	Los Angeles, CA	2	1	1
6/4/2012	Springfield, MA	2	2	0
6/4/2012	Little Mexico, TX	1	1	0
6/4/2012	Phoenix, AZ	2	2	0
6/5/2012	Fresno, CA	4	1	3
6/6/2012	Chicago, IL	3	1	2
6/7/2012	Stone Mountain, GA	2	2	0
6/7/2012	New York, NY	3	3	0
6/8/2012	Belle Glade, FL	2	0	2
6/8/2012	Cobb County, GA	1	1	0
6/8-6/9/2012	Hartford, CT	11	2	9
6/9/2012	Auburn, AL	4	3	1
6/9/2012	Sacramento, CA	4	4	0
6/9/2012	Glasgow, MT	1	0	1
6/9/2012	Selma, CA	5	5	0
6/9/2012	Rochester, NY	3	1	2
6/9-6/11/2012	Mount Vernon, NY	2	0	2
6/10/2012	Hartford, CT	3	1	2
6/10/2012	Corpus Christi, TX	2	0	2
6/10/2012	Goldsboro, NC	4	0	4
6/11/2012	Louisville, KY	2	1	1
6/11/2012	West Palm Beach, FL	1	1	0
6/11/2012	Baltimore, MD	5	0	5
6/11-6/12/2012	Chicago, IL	7	2	5
6/12/2012	Tucson, AZ	1	1	0
6/12/2012	Providence, RI	1	1	0
6/13/2012	Kansas City, MO	2	1	1
6/13/2012	Buffalo, NY	1	1	0
6/13/2012	Buffalo, NY	1	1	0
6/13/2012	San Francisco, CA	4	2	2
6/13/2012	Bakersfiels, CA	2	0	2
6/13/2012	Chicago, IL	2	2	0
6/14/2012	Orlando, FL	2	2	0
6/14/2012	Phoenix, AZ	1	1	0
6/15/2012	Phoenix, AZ	1	1	0
6/15-6/17/2012	Chicago, IL	31	5	26
6/15/2012	St. Louis, MO	7	2	5
6/15-6/16/2012	Hamden, CT	1	0	1
6/15-6/17/2012	Chicago, IL	42	7	35
6/16/2012	Baltimore, MD	2	0	2
6/16/2012	Phoenix, AZ	4	0	4
6/16-6/17/2012	Camden, NJ	2	2	0
6/17/2012	Paterson, NJ	3	0	3
6/17/2012	Indianapolis, IN	2	2	0
6/17/2012	Anchorage, AK	3	1	2
6/17/2012	Phoenix, AZ	1	0	1
6/17/2012	Anniston, AL	1	0	1
6/18/2012	New Orleans, LA	2	0	2
6/18/2012	Pensacola, FL	2	0	2
6/18/2012	Manatee, FL	2	0	2
6/19/2012	Chicago, IL	2	2	0
6/19/2012	Chicago, IL	1	0	1
6/19/2012	McAllen, TX	3	3	0
6/19/2012	New Orleans, LA	3	1	2
6/20/2012	Edinburg, TX	4	2	2
6/20/2012	Houston, TX	5	3	2
6/21-6/26/2012	Flint, MI	10	6	4
6/22/2012	Buffalo, NY	2	0	2
6/24/2012	Trenton, NJ	2	1	1
6/22/2012	Phoenix, AZ	3	0	3
6/22/2012	Ionia, MI	3	1	2
6/22/2012	Richmond, CA	2	1	1
6/22-6/23/2012	Chicago, IL	14	1	13
6/23/2012	Beverly Hills, CA	2	2	0
6/23/2012	Rockford, IL	4	0	4
6/23/2012	Phoenix, AZ	1	0	1
6/23/2012	Albany, GA	3	0	3
6/23/2012	No. Las Vegas, NV	2	0	2
6/23/2012	Anchorage, AK	2	0	2
6/23/2012	Atlanta, GA	2	2	0
6/23/2012	Portland, TX	2	1	1
6/23-6/24/2012	Salinas, CA	3	1	2
6/24/2012	Louisville, KY	6	1	5
6/24/2012	Denver, CO	1	1	0
6/24/2012	Chicago, IL	2	1	1
6/24/2012	St. Louis, MO	2	0	2
6/25/2012	West Houston, TX	2	2	0
6/26/2012	Tucson, TX	1	0	1
6/26/2012	East Orange, NJ	2	2	0
6/26/2012	Miami, FL	2	2	0
6/26/2012	Memphis, TN	1	0	1
6/26/2012	Evansville, IN	3	0	3
6/27/2012	Las Vegas, NV	2	1	1
6/27/2012	Chicago, IL	2	1	1
6/28/2012	Fayetteville, NC	3	2	1
6/28/2012	SE Washington, DC	3	0	3
6/28/2012	Newport News, VA	3	1	2
6/28/2012	Houston, TX	5	1	4
6/29/2012	Chicago, IL	4	0	4
6/29/2012	Essex County, NJ	2	2	0
6/30/2012	San Jose Hills, CA	2	0	2
6/30 12	Winterhaven, CA	2	0	2
6/30/2012	Chicago, IL	3	1	2
TOTALS		361	128	233

See March, April, May reports.