Experian: pulling a fast one on consumers
Cash Advance Mojo would like to take a moment to discuss something that pertains to anyone who cares about maintaining their credit. According to Silicon Valley Blogger of The Digerati Life, myFICO is going to stop using consumers’ Experian credit scores and reports when factoring their score. This is planned to go into effect on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2009. If you need an Experian score and report, get it before then or you will lose out. Get to their Web site now!
Equifax and Transunion scores will remain available through these and other sources.
This will not directly impact your ability to apply for a cash advance, as credit scores are not typically required.
As you may know, Experian is one of the three national credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and Transunion). They won’t be going away completely, however. They will sell FICO scores to their own customers (lenders, banks and other institutions). What will this mean? Other parties will be able to see data that we can’t see. It will be that much harder to view your credit standing. I’d like to know how they plan to end-around the Fair Credit Reporting Act, because a consumer reporting agency like Experian is required by law to “provide a consumer with information about him or her in the agency’s files and to take steps to verify the accuracy of information disputed by a consumer.”
Making credit repair even harder – during a recession!
Needless to say, Experian is under fire. According to Silicon Valley Blogger, they have ended their partnership with Fair Isaac (who is responsible for the FICO score and myFICO.com) for “competitive reasons.” Consumers are being taken advantage of here!
Silicon Valley Blogger goes on to show how various myFICO products you may have used or are planning to use will be affected by the absence of Experian. Again, keep in mind that being able to apply for a payday loan won’t typically be impacted by this change):
- FICO Credit Complete: no Experian, discounts offered to remainder of service
- FICO Standard: no Experian, discounts offered to remainder of service
- Suze Orman’s FICO Kit Platinum: no Experian, discounts offered to remainder of service
Pretty definitive, isn’t it?
myFICO ideas for managing your credit profile, post-Experian
Silicon Valley Blogger relays some ideas from the myFICO forums about how to go forward and manage your credit profile:
- Buy a new myFICO CreditComplete package on the 12th or 13th
- Boycott lenders who use Experian scores for credit ratings. (Cash Advance Mojo loves this one!)
- Get the scores directly from Experian before the expiration date
- Some financial institutions may still allow you to obtain your Experian score and report
- Experian report information (not score) will still be available at annualcreditreport.com
Remember: cash advance typically requires no credit check
Cash Advance Mojo is as distressed about the situation with Experian as you are. I’d be curious to see how this works out in court, because there are bound to be lawsuits. Sure, a payday loan or cash advance may not require a credit check, but plenty of other services and purchases do. The information should be transparent and consumers should be able to see. It’s the law, or at least it should be.
Related articles
- Experian Says You’re Not Entitled To Know Your Credit Score Anymore (dvorak.org)
- MyFICO ScoreWatch Review: Perfect for Credit Score Junkies! at http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/myfico-review-scorewatch.html (bargaineering.com)
This is one of the next parts of the credit industry that needs to get fixed. Not so much the existence of a rating system – that much is necessary, and firms have a right to now about the risk of a lender that they might take on – but the lack of transparency. If there is information on a person, they have the right to find out about it. I could get my file from the FBI if I have one, I should also be able to get it from Experian.
Experian will still sell FICO scores to lenders, but they just aren’t going to allow the consumer to see their Experian FICO score. This turns the clock back to 1997. It violates the spirit of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and perhaps even the letter of it. Complain to Congress and the FTC.