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Credit.com listicle HTML error and time length after account closed

The wheels are coming off Adam Levin's expert wagon

| By Greg Fisher

Here is an error in the HTML code of a web page in the domain credit.com.

<h2><b><b>2. They Can Help Establish a Longer Credit History</b></b></h2>

There are two boldface tags (<b>)(and two closing tags (</b>) for the same). But two doesn't make the text any bolder than just one.




As you can see, the heading "Bonus: Your Debt-to-Income Ratio Can Be Important" is as bold as any other heading in the listicle, and it only has one boldface tag.

What does this have to do with credit scores? Nothing, per se, but it indicates sloppy work, and is one more way to tweak the nose of Adam Levin and his crew of "experts." Bloomberg identifies Levin as "Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board" of Credit.com. Credit.com identifes him as only "Co-Founder," and he is not named as part of the organization's executive team.

Things-credit score

Here is an item in the same listicle (alt (?)) as the HTML error, "6 Ways Student Loans Could Impact Your Credit Score."

2. They Can Help Establish a Longer Credit History

One portion of your credit scores comes from the length of your credit history. The longer you’ve had credit, the higher your score will be. For many students, student loans are their first piece of credit. And because they’re likely to stick around on your credit reports for ten years or more while you’re in repayment, student loans can give your score an automatic lift.

(Oh, boy-- this poor young person.).

According to one national consumer reporting agency, "TransUnion normally reports the information for up to 10 years from the last activity on the account [emphasis added]."

In other words, the history remains for ten years after repayment, not just while in repayment (double-boldface added).

Experian, another CRA, put it in the title of an article, no less: "Closed accounts will remain in credit history for up to 10 years."

Equifax (o' the U.S. CRA troika, coming in last, here) tries to explain, and fails, in the the epic "How Long Do Closed Accounts Stay on My Credit Report?" by the esteemed Diane Moogalian.

But, there is a more important point. Peculiarly, there is nothing in the law that mandates the 10-year period, specifically. It is an arbitrary number that the Big Three credit bureaus have (by sheer coincidence!) instituted. And it comes wrapped up with another oddity in reporting on consumer credit issues: Credit Score Myth 8.

Credit Score Myth 4

The same Credit.com article also states, "For best credit scoring results, it’s generally recommended you keep the amount of debt you owe below at least 30% and ideally 10% of your total available credit limit.)"

The writer probably means 'below at most 30%,' and even better, simply 'below 30%.'

But that's not the big story. The notion of 30 percent as some kind sharp angle on the utilization ratio curve is pure fiction. Even more fiction is the idea that there are people who know what they're talking about recommending it. #Myth4 According to the Washington Post, "'There is no specific threshold when utilization begins to negatively impact a FICO score,' said Can Arkali, principal scientist for FICO."

See an attempt at reasoning with another Credit.com writer, and what happened next.

Error: "loanmortgage" #sloppysloppysloppy

FROM: Greg Fisher (greg@truthandfalsity.com)
TO: Michael Schreiber, Credit.com
CC: Abby Hayes, Credit.com, Janice McDill, News Corporation
DATE: Wed, Sep 28, 2016 at 12:51 AM
SUBJECT: credit score, error

https://twitter.com/realtordotcom/status/780829620585115648

I will publish this message.

An article on your website states (among other things (if you know what I mean)), "Applying for mortgages will ding your credit a bit, but actually opening a mortgage will cost even more points, especially if this is your first home loanmortgage."

Meanwhile, the same article (almost) on the website at realtor.com states, "Applying for mortgages will ding your credit a bit, but actually opening a mortgage will cost even more points, especially if this is your first home loan/mortgage."

This, of course, intrigues me. #1509bD

--
Greg Fisher
Truth and Falsity
truthandfalsity.com
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio 45409-0342
mobile/text 937-681-3224

Verity test: Credit Score Myth 2

Employers do not use credit scores because they cannot even get them. #TheCompanyHeKeeps

Despite that now well-known fact, an item in Forbes.com (indeed, "A Special Feature Brought to You by Experian") still states, "According to credit.com, in addition to lenders and credit card companies, the most common businesses that use your credit scores also include home and auto insurance companies, employers, landlords, cell phone companies, child support enforcement agencies and government agencies." #Myth2

Yes, that is pathetic. #falsity

Follow the activity of Item #1605y using that hashtag.




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