January 3, 2016 | By Greg Fisher

"You know your Social Security number, your PIN and your passwords, but do you know the number that will cost – or save – you thousands of dollars?" - Chris Thornburgh, in bakersfield.com, 2015

"You know your Social Security number, your PIN, an access code here, a password there. But do you know the number that will cost–or save–you thousands of dollars?" - Beth Kobliner, Reader's Digest, 2009

"A late payment on a two-year-old account hurts your score more than if you'd had the account for two decades." - Thornburgh, 2015

"A late payment on a two-year-old account will hurt your score more than if you'd had the card for two decades." - Kobliner, 2009

"Credit cards tend to count more than installment loans because they're better predictors of your debt management." - Thornburgh, 2015

"Revolving accounts (credit cards) tend to count more than installment loans (mortgages, car loans, student loans) because they're better predictors of your debt management." - Kobliner, 2009

"A high credit score will earn you a VIP pass to the best interest rates on credit cards, mortgages and loans. It can also help you land a job, save money on insurance and get approved for that apartment or condo you want to rent." - Thornburgh, 2015

"Having super-high credit scores can make your financial life a breeze – helping you earn a VIP pass to the best interest rates and terms on credit cards, mortgages and loans of all kinds. A stellar credit rating can also help you land a job or a promotion, save money on insurance, and get approved for that apartment or condo you want to rent." Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, in dailyfinance.com (AOL), 2010

While less is better, owing a little bit can be better than owing nothing at all. Lenders want to see that you timely repay debt. - Thornburgh, 2015

"Less is better, but owing a little bit can be better than owing nothing at all because lenders want to see that if you borrow money, you are responsible and financially stable enough to pay it back." - Amy Fontinelle, in investopedia.com, 2010 (that article, unfortunately, includes Myth 2 #myth2)(also, see Influence: Hearst)

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@truthandfalsity.com]
Sent: Monday, December 28, 2015 12:14 PM
To: Chris Thornburgh @ThornburghCPA, CPA, partner, Brown Armstrong Accountancy Corp.; Louis Amestoy, bakersfield.com
Subject: error, #1007b, #1512rr, #CPA, ubiquity, credit scares, score tactics, Leadership, despicable

I am with the media, am on a deadline (it is tomorrow), and I am writing about you, your company and the publisher of a newspaper article you authored. I presume that your email address was included as a way to contact you.

In "Money Matters: Your FICO credit score" (Bakersfield Californian, December 26, 2015), you wrote

Your credit score is like a fingerprint following you everywhere. A high credit score will earn you a VIP pass to the best interest rates on credit cards, mortgages and loans. It can also help you land a job, save money on insurance and get approved for that apartment or condo you want to rent.

My credit score (whatever that means; there is more than one) is not omnipresent. It certainly does not follow me to the job market. #Myth2 I looked into it. So if an employer can't even get one, how does a high credit score help me land a job?

You also state that a 700 FICO credit score is good. Who told you that (or, did you just make it up)?

Further, you categorize a FICO score of 300 to 599 as "No credit / bad credit." What are you talking about? If there is no history, then there is no credit score.

You wrote, "Delinquent payments (even a few days late) and collections can have a major negative impact." #Myth13

That is false, but I'm sure it sells newspapers. Late payments do not affect credit scores after days, or even weeks. The credit reporting system does not record late payments that are less than 30 days past the due date.

Another statement of yours: "Outstanding balances in relation to your total available credit contributes 30 percent to your FICO score." #Myth7

Wrong, again. According to the FICO score company, Fair Isaac, the category that determines 30 percent of a score includes

- The amount owed on all accounts
- The amount owed on different types of accounts
- Whether you're showing an amount owed on certain types of accounts

- How many accounts have balances

So, if what you are saying is true, those four items would all account for zero (and here, all along, I've worried myself sick about them).

The other two items in the category (indeed, the last two on the list):

- How much of the total credit line is being used and other 'revolving' credit accounts
- How much of the installment loan amounts is still owed, compared with the original loan amount

You claim, "A late payment on a two-year-old account hurts your score more than if you'd had the account for two decades."

That's a new one on me, but I'm willing to learn. Maybe you can redeem yourself. Who told you that?

See "The other cheek, hashtag 1501h."

What exposure to credit scores do you have in your normal course of business? Does your company even have a permissible purpose to obtain credit reports? If so, what is it, and who do you get them from? I'll contact that company to direct it to give you better information than you, apparently, received.

Reply to this message today.

--
Greg Fisher
Truth and Falsity
truthandfalsity.com
Page A2
pagea2.com
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio 45409-0342

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