Source: https://www.linkwaylive.com/business/1-6-2017/thing/how-to-untangle-the-credit-score-shell-game
Timestamp: 2018-05-28 03:30:58
Document Index: 102620615

Matched Legal Cases: ['in fine', 'in fine', 'in fine', 'in Fine', 'in fine', 'in fine', 'in fine']

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has taken action against misleading scores. Take your "magic number" with a grain of salt. - From CNBC
The bureaus must also "clearly inform consumers about the nature of the scores they are selling," according to the release from the CFPB. The scores you'll see can vary widely from source to source — and are likely to be altogether different than the number the lender pulls when you submit your application for a mortgage or credit card, said credit expert Gerri Detweiler, author of "Finance Your Own Business." (On a given day, Detweiler's score has varied by more than 40 points across sources, she said.) • Score type. Your score might be specific to one lender and even a particular product — say, car loans versus credit cards. Your score is based on data pulled from your credit report at one of the three major firms. Your score can change daily as that information on your report changes — for example, you apply for a car loan or the scoring company gets its monthly sweep of info on your current credit card balances.
TransUnion And Equifax Must Pay $23 Million Fine For Deceiving Customers Over Credit Score Services
TransUnion And Equifax have been fined by a U.S. regulator for deceiving customers about their credit scores. - From MadameNoire
TransUnion and Equifax must now pay more than $23.2 million in fines and restitution for misleading consumers about the usefulness and cost of credit scores they purchased. According to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), TransUnion and Equifax “falsely represented that the credit scores they sold to consumers were the same scores that lenders used” and also enticed consumers into “enrolling in credit services advertised as free or costing only $1, but which could cost more than $200 a year,” reported Fortune. TransUnion must give $13.93 million back to consumers, plus pay a $3 million civil fine. Equifax must reimburse $3.8 million to customers and pay a $2.5 million civil fine.
When was the last time you checked your credit score? If it’s been a while, you aren’t alone. - From The Christian Science Monitor
One of the major factors influencing your credit score is something called credit utilization. That’s not to say your credit score will tank if you use 41% of your available credit line. There are plenty of online services that allow you to check your credit score and a few major factors that are impacting it. Even if you don’t want to trust third-party sites offering you access to your credit score, you can rely on major banks and financial institutions to do this. If you want to look beyond your credit score, and take a deeper dive into what’s in your credit report, that's also possible and cheap.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has fined two of the three largest credit-reporting agencies in the country for misrepresenting the scores they sold to consumers. TransUnion and Equifax were ordered to pay a combined $17. - From USA TODAY
TransUnion and Equifax were ordered to pay a combined $17. Today, free credit scores are offered routinely by personal finance websites and banks and other financial institutions in an effort to build customer loyalty and repeat visits.(Photo: iStockphoto) The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has fined two of the three largest credit-reporting agencies in the country for misrepresenting the scores they sold to consumers. TransUnion and Equifax were ordered to pay a combined $17.7 million in refunds and $5.5 million in fines. Today, free credit scores are offered routinely by personal finance websites and banks and other financial institutions in an effort to build customer loyalty and repeat visits. Most free scores are a VantageScore — developed jointly by the three major credit bureaus — rather than FICO.
Bureaus busted for selling credit scores with quotes around them...
A free credit score that was neither free, nor really the credit score borrowers were looking for. - From NBC News
On Tuesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered two of the biggest credit bureaus, TransUnion and Equifax, to pay a total of $5.5 million in fines and give $17.6 million in refunds to customers. FICO credit scores are a proprietary product that assign a score from 300-800 based on a combination of the credit history from each of the three major credit bureaus. Credit bureaus have to pay a fee to FICO when they sell a credit score so by developing and selling their own score they can keep more of the profits. The CFPB also said the two companies lured consumers into signing up for credit score programs and credit-related products that were "free" or "$1." In fact, after an initial trial, consumers were enrolled in an auto-renewing subscription of $16 or more. You can either get that by paying up, or through a service that gives you access to your credit score as a customer benefit, like Discover, Capital One, or Walmart.
Feds order TransUnion, Equifax to pay $23M over allegedly false ads - From http://www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-order-transunion-equifax-to-pay-23m-over-allegedly-false-ads/
WASHINGTON -- Federal regulators have ordered credit-reporting agencies TransUnion and Equifax to pay about $23 million for falsely advertising that the credit scores they sell consumers are the same ones lenders use to make credit decisions. TransUnion, based in Chicago, and Atlanta-based Equifax Inc. are two of the three major credit-reporting agencies in the U.S., along with Experian. The credit scores they generate are used to determine whether consumers can qualify for a mortgage, a car loan, a cellphone plan and a range of other loans. “Our trial credit monitoring service has given consumers low-cost access to their credit report and credit score and allowed them to conveniently cancel monitoring services at any time online or by phone,” the company said.
Read more from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-order-transunion-equifax-to-pay-23m-over-allegedly-false-ads/
Credit Reporting Agencies Ordered to Refund Customers $23 Million in Fines
If you want to buy a house, get a new a car or even land a new job - odds are your credit comes into play. - From WFMY
(Photo: ThinkStock Images) If you log onto AnnualCreditReport.com you can request a free copy of your credit report once a year from the big from each of the major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. FCC Online Public Inspection File • EEO Public File Report
Paying for your credit score may not be worth it, especially since you often can get it for free. Consumer Reports explains why, and when you might want to pay. - From Consumer Reports
Instead, check with your bank, credit card company, or financial services company. The score you get from your credit-card company may be somewhat different than the FICO score you get from, say, your auto lender. You can then challenge that information with the credit bureaus and freeze your credit so fraudsters can't do more damage. You can get free copies of your credit report by visiting annualcreditreport.com. My role: Helping you manage your money so you can afford to do what you love and still sleep well at night.
Deceit to cost 2 credit bureaus
Two of the nation's largest credit reporting bureaus, TransUnion and Equifax, will pay more than $23 million in fines and refunds to settle charges from a federal consumer watchdog that they misled consumers about the pricing and value of credit products. - From NWADG.com
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Tuesday that the companies deceived consumers by suggesting that the credit scores they provided were the same scores used by financial firms to make lending decisions when in fact, the scores "were not typically used by lenders." "Credit scores are central to a consumer's financial life and people deserve honest and accurate information about them," Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray said in a statement. The companies will need to notify affected customers about the refunds. As part of the enforcement action, the companies will need to change how they market and sell certain products. The companies will need to gain consumers' consent before signing them up for products that may lead to additional charges. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said that until January 2014, Equifax violated part of that agreement by showing advertisements to consumers before they viewed their credit reports.
TransUnion and Equifax Inc. have agreed to pay more than $23 million over allegations they deceived consumers about the usefulness and cost of credit scores. - From UPI
have agreed to pay more than $23 million over allegations that they deceived consumers about the usefulness and cost of credit scores. "TransUnion and Equifax deceived consumers about the usefulness of the credit scores they marketed, and lured consumers into expensive recurring payments with false promises," Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray said in a statement on Tuesday. "Credit scores are central to a consumer's financial life and people deserve honest and accurate information about them." The companies and their subsidiaries will pay $17.6 million in restitution to consumers and $5.5 million in fines to the CFPB, which also ordered the companies to truthfully represent the value and cost of credit scores and to acquire the consumer's consent when signing up for a credit-related product with a negative option billing plan in which consumers are charged automatically. The CFPB said TransUnion and Equifax violated the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Financial Protection Act for years since 2011. The CFPB said those models to generate credit scores that TransUnion and Equifax gave to consumers are not generally used by lenders to make credit decisions -- suggesting the companies misled consumers about their usefulness.
Two of the largest credit monitoring firms have been fined by a major U.S. financial watchdog for misleading consumers about the value of the services they peddle. - From CBC News
One of their major services is to give customers their credit score, which is a number tabulated to summarize their overall credit-worthiness. A higher score means the person is a solid bet to repay a loan. One of the services the companies offer to help do that is known as credit monitoring, which the companies sell for as much as $16 per month. Different credit "scores" are not necessarily correlated to each other, a CFPB report from 2012 found, which means consumers could be misled about their actual credit-worthiness if they paid attention solely to the information being given to them from one company. "TransUnion and Equifax deceived consumers about the usefulness of the credit scores they marketed, and lured consumers into expensive recurring payments with false promises," said CFPB director Richard Cordray.
TransUnion and Equifax forced to pay restitution for misleading hundreds of thousands of consumers, says Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. - From CNNMoney
Two major US credit reporting bureaus have been ordered to pay more than $23 million in restitution and penalties after being exposed of deceiving customers and tricking them into expensive recurring payments. - From RT International
Atlanta-based Equifax and the Chicago-based TransUnion will have to pay a total of $17.6 million in restitution to their customers and a total of $5.5 million in fines to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) under the terms of a consent order announced on Tuesday. The companies also provide, market and sell credit reporting services directly to customers. According to the CFPB, however, the credit scores both companies sold to customers were not the same ones they provided to lenders. Furthermore, they advertised credit scores for free or a nominal fee, only to automatically enroll customers in a subscription program that cost $16 or more a month. About those "Free Credit Scores?" Yeah, that's a scam and a come-on.https://t.co/SR8A3nVifi#uniteblue#tcot#maga Under the terms of the settlement, both companies will have to obtain consumer consent when signing them up for subscription services, and “truthfully represent the value and cost of credit scores.” TransUnion will pay $3 million to the CFPB’s civil penalty fund, and compensate some 700,000 customers.
All credit scores are not created equal. - From chicagotribune.com
The CFPB also said the companies used the promise of free or cheap credit scores to hook consumers into costly monthly credit-monitoring subscriptions. The bureau did not take action against the nation’s other major credit bureau, Experian of Costa Mesa. But the report suggested that the scores can be different enough to warrant caution. For instance, the report found that thousands of consumers with FICO scores of 680 to 740 — representing good but not perfect credit — had educational scores that made them look significantly better or worse. Wu of the National Consumer Law Center said there’s little need for consumers to sign up for those subscriptions because consumers are entitled to three free credit reports annually — one from each of the major bureaus — though they are not entitled to free credit scores.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators have ordered credit-reporting agencies TransUnion and Equifax to pay about $23 million for falsely advertising that the credit scores they sel - From AP News
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Tuesday that TransUnion and Equifax must pay fines totaling $5.5 million and return about $17.6 million to wronged consumers. The agency also said the two companies lured consumers into payments of $16 or more per month for credit scores and related products such as credit monitoring. are two of the three major credit-reporting agencies in the U.S., along with Experian. The credit scores they generate are used to determine whether consumers can qualify for a mortgage, a car loan, a cellphone plan and a range of other loans. "While Equifax does not believe it has violated any laws and has not admitted any liability, Equifax determined it was in its best interest to resolve the matter with the CFPB," the company's statement said.
All credit scores are not created equal. - From latimes.com
The deadliest fire in a decade has focused new attention on Ghost Ship warehouse owner Chor Ng, Congress is holding its first hearing today on the Russian cyberattacks during the presidential election, Aerospace firms are stepping up competition with Silicon Valley for young engineers and if Amazon’s Alexa is always listening, can she incriminate you in a crime? The deadliest fire in a decade has focused new attention on Ghost Ship warehouse owner Chor Ng, Congress is holding its first hearing today on the Russian cyberattacks during the presidential election, Aerospace firms are stepping up competition with Silicon Valley for young engineers and if Amazon’s Alexa is always listening, can she incriminate you in a crime? The deadliest fire in a decade has focused new attention on Ghost Ship warehouse owner Chor Ng, Congress is holding its first hearing today on the Russian cyberattacks during the presidential election, Aerospace firms are stepping up competition with Silicon Valley for young engineers and if Amazon’s Alexa is always listening, can she incriminate you in a crime? The deadliest fire in a decade has focused new attention on Ghost Ship warehouse owner Chor Ng, Congress is holding its first hearing today on the Russian cyberattacks during the presidential election, Aerospace firms are stepping up competition with Silicon Valley for young engineers and if Amazon’s Alexa is always listening, can she incriminate you in a crime? California's bracing itself for the Trump administration, California's drought looks to be easing as snow piles up in the Sierras, protesters are shutting down Mexico's streets over a sudden spike in gasoline prices, and nationwide, more than 84% of undergraduate computer science majors are men.
Equifax being Equifax
The biggest savings! Thanks Equifax
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