January 18, 2016

Flat-out false information published and maintained by media organization Gannett on its USA Today website:

On Wednesday, Jones and five other sheriffs – three from House Majority Leader John Boehner's home district – joined in a chorus of that mantra, sending what Jones called "a helluva strong message."

In 2013, the year that article was published, Rep. Boehner was Speaker, not Majority Leader.

Credit scores

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@pagea2.com]
Sent: Saturday, January 09, 2016 2:25 PM
To: Ken King, Ask Ken:
Subject: credit score, Too many bank/national revolving accounts, yahoo

This message and your response will be published at http://www.creditscoring.com/interaction/2016/01/09-gannett.html.

You wrote, "There is nothing in the scoring formulas that penalize[SIC] you for having too many credit cards or too much available credit." King, K. (2015, June 26). Ask Ken: Let's clear a few myths about credit reports. Retrieved January 9, 2016, from http://www.sheboyganpress.com/story/money/2015/06/27/ask-ken-clear-myths-credit-reports/29355947/

What is your evidence?

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

Despite King's claim, in its "FICO Score Factors Guide" in the domain scoreinfo.org, Fair Isaac states that the "Number of established accounts" is a reason that a credit score might not be higher.

The FICO score company explains, "Your FICO Score also looks at the total number of accounts you have." It uses the terms

very limited number of credit accounts
moderate number of credit accounts

and

relatively large number of credit accounts

"Too many bank/national revolving accounts" is represented by the code 04 on the Fair Isaac list: "US FICO Score Reason Codes."

Credit scores are complicated, but not so much that people in financial services or media cannot understand their fundamental, indeed, published principles. But, the bigger question, perhaps, is why they are compelled to try to analyze and repeat information already available-- risking error in the process. The only answer is megalomania.

On its page at "cccsonline.org/credit-scoring/," Family Service Association of Sheboygan, Inc. asks, "What actions will hurt the score?"

Its answer includes "Closing credit cards out ( this[SIC] lowers available capacity and the eliminates the history)."

Closing an account does not eliminate its history on a credit report. If that were the case, deadbeats could simply eradicate any late payments that annoy them by closing their accounts. See Credit Score Myth 8.

The same document from Wisconsin states, "Missing payments (regardless of $ amounts… It takes 24 months to restore credit of one late pay)."

However, an official Fair Isaac document (see a creditscoring.com effect) states, "A 60-day late payment made just a month ago will affect a score more than a 90-day late payment from five years ago.

Restore?

Website information maintained in a Council of Better Business Bureaus internet domain indicates "Principal: Mr. Kenneth R. King, Executive Director" as contact information for Family Service Association of Sheboygan, Inc. URLs associated with that organization and listed in bbb.org are www.cccsonline.org and excel.net.

One more time:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/wayne-griesbach-28a544a8

A response

From: Ken King
Sent: Saturday, January 16, 2016 8:10 AM
To: Greg Fisher
Subject: Re: credit score, Too many bank/national revolving accounts, yahoo

The only evidence I have is from working with individuals over the years who have had good credit scores and many credit accounts, including mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, etc.

I am sure that of the multiple scoring models available there are some models that take the number of credit cards into consideration. However, as you know, most models consider the activity, amount of available credit and payment history as well as the mix of credit in developing their scores.

I have experience people with great credit scores, even after bankruptcy because of past credit history and credit cards that had no balances on them when they filed.

Credit scores and access to credit are often confused.

If you have evidence to the contrary or have access to any of the multiple score model criteria I would appreciate you sharing it with me.

Thank you for your question and observation.

Ken King

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@truthandfalsity.com]
Sent: Monday, January 18, 2016 11:49 AM
To: Ken King, Ask Ken
Subject: RE: credit score, refute, "Too many bank/national revolving accounts," 1998, CFPB

Stop writing about credit scoring, please. You do not know what you are talking about. You are far from alone, though; there is enough blame to go around for this sorry mess–this list of myths about credit scores.

As a point of departure for a website about credit scores, I wrote about the same aspect of credit scoring a long time ago.

I was responding to a 1996 law the U.S. congress passed that allowed credit scores to be kept secret. In 1997, needing focus to make a point-not just about secrecy, but about mere existence of credit bureau risk scores-I asked the consumer reporting agencies selling popular scores about the aspect that is the number of credit cards. To me, it seemed to make credit scores real.

Overwhelmed by false information, my question is obscured and has lost efficacy.

A Fair Isaac list of reasons that a score might not be higher delineates Reason Statement 04 for a Beacon score (a very prominent line of credit scores) as "Too many bank/national revolving accounts."

First, you said (absolutely, assuredly, definitely, emphatically and in an essay, indeed, about myths), "There is nothing in the scoring formulas that penalize[SIC] you for having too many credit cards or too much available credit."

That is false.

Then, backpedalling, you said, "I am sure that of the multiple scoring models available there are some models that take the number of credit cards into consideration."

Beacon 5.0 is a real credit score version designated for use in mortgage lending by Fannie Mae, an important organization in mortgage lending. That score model is big in global financial markets such as the one central in the last collapse of the world's economy, and was used in a highfalutin 2012 federal government study. To refocus those who live in a convenient world of their own creation, I began calling it The Real Big Credit Score. I use that moniker in countering the "multiple scoring models" argument (and other vagaries), a symptom and result of years of ridiculous, hyper-intense marketing. I named a credit score to make my point, now do the same to make yours.

Name one.

Name just one credit score in whose formula there is no penalty with regard to having too many credit cards. In other words: What in the world are you talking about? At least one of the scores to which you refer must be prominent. And, at least two must exist.

Suppose a person comes to you with a 759 credit score, and needs 760 to obtain a loan. A lender has taken adverse action in a loan request by that person, and the applicant has a declination letter that gives "Too many bank/national revolving accounts" as a denial reason. If he has a credit score report with reasons the score was not higher that states, "Too many bank/national revolving accounts," do you tell him that that is not a factor?

I cannot prove that Martians have not invaded. I cannot prove what is not; that something does not exist. But, if a person claims that something does not exist, his statement is easily refuted. I can prove what is.

And, furthermore, Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS), a division of Family Service Association of Sheboygan, Inc., states, falsely (in answer to its own question "What actions will hurt the score?")

Closing credit cards out ( this[SIC] lowers available capacity and the eliminates the history)

("Copyright 2014"). #Myth8

What is the name of the person who wrote that? It is Credit Score Myth 8. Closing an account doesn't eliminate the history. If were that easy, we could all just close all our bad accounts and everybody would have wonderful lives with perfect credit. Yippee!

The payment history remains. The typographical error leads to a page, with the same, exact error, dated 2012

Closing credit cards out ( this[SIC] lowers available capacity and the eliminates the history).

Which page containing the identical error (indeed, the same, exact sentence) was published first? When tracking myths, there are two damning types of evidence: Numbers and unique typographical errors.

Here, however, a bigger question (obviously) is that of getting this information to the citizens. You have the Sheboygan Press snowed; I stand at the edge of your community and watch. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Gannett sphere, a USA Today headline from last week is "Here's a guy who has 1,497 credit cards," and there is no evidence that such a man even exists. I left a message for the writer.

I am tired. I am exhausted by megalomaniacal mainstream media silly nonsense. Will you help me?

--
Greg Fisher
truthandfalsity.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio 45409-0342

[attached:]

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@truthandfalsity.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2016 10:28 AM
To: Wayne Griesbach
Cc: Info, cccsonline.org; N Robinson
Subject: RE: credit score, Too many bank/national revolving accounts, yahoo, confirmation

I left a voicemail in your mailbox, Mr. Griesbach.

Did you get my message?

--
Greg Fisher
Truth and Falsity
truthandfalsity.com
Page A2
pagea2.com
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio 45409-0342
mobile/text 937-681-3224