Finance Globe

The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives consumers the right to use a credit reporting agency who violates their rights. An Oregon woman recently won an $18.4 million judgment against Equifax, one of the three major credit bureaus, for violation of her credit reporting rights. Julie Miller, the plaintiff in the case against Equifax, initially requested her credit report from Equifax after being denied credit. When she finally obtained her credit report she found evidence of identity...

“Would you take a taxi on a cross country trip?” asks the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in an infographic summarizing the findings of their recent white paper on payday loans (and checking account deposit advances). Of course you wouldn’t take a taxi on such a long road trip because it would be expensive. Though they are quite expensive, and heavily warned against, many consumers still take out these dangerous loans. In its white paper, the CFPB...

Most of us have some type of monthly service that we don’t want to have ended abruptly – like water or electricity, for example. So, if your service provider calls you saying that you’ve missed a payment and need to make one immediately to avoid interruption, you may be eager to give up your bank account or credit card number. But, in an attempt to preserve your good account standing, you could be giving your financial...

When Bankrate.com surveyed consumers about their credit card debt and emergency fund or savings, only 55% of them answered that they have more money saved up than they have in credit card debt. Forty percent (40%) either has more in credit card debt than in savings or no credit card debt or savings at all. The final 5% didn’t know or didn’t answer. Men are faring better: 60% of men said they have more in savings...

Despite the high interest rate and borrowing costs, payday loans are attractive to so many borrowers because they don’t have as rigorous of an approval process as regular loans. In fact, all you usually need to get a payday loan is your driver’s license, a recent paystub, and a blank check. Since there are no credit checks, you can get a payday loan no matter what type of credit score you have or what negative items...

We know that paying bills on time is one of the most important aspects of being financially responsible. If you pay late, you’ll get charged a late fee, you risk having your services terminated (no one wants to be in the dark!), and your credit could be impacted. While payment history is generally the most important factor influencing your credit score, it’s not the only thing that matters. In fact, you could pay on time every...

It’s widely known that the FICO score is the score most used by creditors and lenders to approve your credit card, loan, or application. There are possibly hundreds of credit scores out there, so when you check your credit score, especially if you get a free credit score, chances are you’re not getting the FICO score. While, you want to see a credit score nearest to the one a lender’s going to see, it’s not the...

Young people may never pay off their credit card debt. That’s the hypothesis that experts and reporters have made based on a recent study by an Ohio State economics professor. The study found that the younger generation of borrowers, those born between 1980 and 1984, has $5,500 more in credit card debt than their parents’ generation and $8,000 more in credit card debt than their grandparents’ generation. And worse, this particular generation of borrowers is taking...

You probably wouldn’t imagine something as simple as an unreturned library book or movie would hurt your credit. After all, you only kept the books out a few days past the date. But, libraries around the country are turning to collection agencies to handle fines that patrons neglect to pay. You probably already know how the library system works. When you check out something from the library, you agree to return it by the due date....

About 80% of consumers still aren’t checking their credit reports. According to a report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau only about 44 million of 200 million consumers checked their credit report in 2010 and 2011. Ordering a free credit report is fairly simple through AnnualCreditReport.com, the site setup by the three major credit bureaus to fulfill the annual credit report requirements. Despite the availability of these free credit reports, only 16 million ordered through the...