doubter <devnul[at]YELL0WBRICKR0AD.COM> wrote in message news:<4et210dover7p9shdnri01s20qeds0m0kl[at]4ax.com> ...
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Oh man. That's good to know. What did she see that made her file the fraud alert?


Regards,
Bill H

michaelloll[at]hotmail.com (Mike) wrote in message news:<cba741c1.0401231153.135c5093[at]posting.google.com> ...
- quote -

Thanks for posting that info for me! It clears a lot of things up.
It helped a lot. Just another case of the corporations trying to take
advantage of the semi-ignernt. ;-)

Thanks and Regards,
Bill H.

bgold[at]nyx.net (Barry Gold) wrote in message news:<1074876152.203857[at]irys.nyx.net> ...
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Thanks so much for this in-depth explanation! Very helpful! It eases
my mind and restores a tiny faith I have in the rationality of the
credit bureau folks.

Now I need to figure out how to communicate how I feel to the company
that tried to peddle me that garbage...

Thanks and Regards,
Bill H

"Barry Gold" <bgold[at]nyx.net> wrote in message
news:1074876152.203857[at]irys.nyx.net...
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All correct.

- quote -

A couple of years ago, when I was beginning the home purchasing process, I
purchased credit monitoring services from myfico.com (an Equifax site)
because I realized that both my wife's and my credit report had all kinds of
mistakes in them. At the time, you could request *unlimited* credit reports
within the program. I don't believe they offer that anymore. That helped me
hold my creditors and the CRAs accountable; in other words, I could quickly
check to see if they did what they said they had done. It took me two to
four months to correct each mistake on our credit reports.

I now keep an eye on our credit reports but I don't require the credit
monitoring program. However, one additional benefit of the program at the
time, at least, was identity theft insurance.

YMMV,

Michael

bholt[at]advantexmail.net (Bill H) wrote in message news:<c124ea1c.0401222251.5cdc86ab[at]posting.google.com> ...
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"
What is a BEACON, EMPIRICA or Experian/Fair Isaac Risk Score?
These are the commercial names used by the different credit reporting
agencies for the FICO score. FICO scores are calculated by the three
major credit reporting agencies - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -
using formulas developed by Fair Isaac. The FICO score is known as
BEACON® at Equifax, EMPIRICA® at TransUnion and the Experian/Fair
Isaac Risk Score at Experian.

Will ordering my FICO® score cause it to drop?
No. Ordering your own FICO score and credit report through any myFICO
product will not change your score.
"

http://www.myfico.com/myFICO/FAQ/FICOScores.asp#Q38

Hope that helps.

--
Mike Loll

On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 10:51:21 CST, bgold[at]nyx.net (Barry Gold) wrote:

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And as my daughter just learned: you get a free credit report from all
three bureaus when you file a fraud alert with one of them.

Bill H <bholt[at]advantexmail.net> wrote:
- quote -

She was lying. The credit bureaus distinguish among three different
types of queries:

1. "Hard" queries: These are from companies where you have applied
for credit and given them permission (in the fine print) to get your
credit report. A "hard" query will lower your credit score slightly
because it may indicate that you are about to open another account,
which will increase your available credit. "Too much" available
credit is one factor that can lower your score.

2. "Soft" queries: These come from companies that are trolling for new
business. They are looking for people who are credit-worthy so they
can send them a "pre-approved" offer for a credit card or a home loan.
(It isn't really pre-approved, there's always weasel-wording about
"subject to income documentation" or "subject to credit
verification".) These don't affect your credit score, because it
doesn't really mean anything until you submit your application -- an
they pull a real ("hard") report. The response to a "soft" query has
less detailed info than that to a "hard" one.

3. "Consumer" queries: when you ask about your own credit info (or get
somebody like FICO or a credit monitoring service to do it for you).
These never affect your credit score because they don't indicate
anything except that you wanted to know.

I don't think these "credit beacon" or "monitoring" services are worth
what they charge, but if you're a nervous type you might want to spend
the money. Some of them allow you to check your credit report as
often as once a month. The 3 major credit bureaus will usually charge
you around $8 for each report. (Except you can get a free report any
time you are denied credit or "down-rated", and in some states you can
get one free credit report a year.)
--
I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and
to the republic which it established, one nation from many peoples, promising
liberty and justice for all.

Howdy,

I'm brand new so feel free to send me off to an FAQ if I am treading
old and well coevered ground.

The other day I activated a replacement credit card and the upsell du
jour was some credit repair service including a periodic 'beacon
score' report. The lady described the beacon score as a FICO
facsimilie except better because pulling your own credit report or
getting your own FICO actually lowers your credit score.

My gut was telling me that she was a lying nut job.

Was there any truth to what she was saying?

Does pulling your own credit report or FICO score actually harm your
credit?

Thanks for any input.

Regards,
Bill H