The role of the Credit Reporting Agencies in the destruction of America

The only ones that should be reporting anything to the credit bureaus should be from your 'Not too shabby' list. But then again when it came time to increase the profits of the credit bureaus the credit bureau salesmen went knocking on every door in the country didn't they.

Actually, the credit bureaus have a monopoly. There are only 3 big players. And they really don't have a sales staff - Creditors come knocking down their door. They probably have "Relationship Managers" for the big banks, but I don't think they aggressively seek creditors for business.

If you open Guido's Car Finance, you simply apply to the credit bureaus to report credit history on your borrowers. No salesman will knock at your door. They might send an inspector out to see your operation, but I tend to doubt that inspections even occur. I am certain, however, that the creditor has to jump through some hoops to prove their legitimacy as a creditor.

Also, remember, most of the creditors on the credit bureaus are big names like Chase, Bank of America, IBM Credit, Toyota Finance, etc. Very, very rarely do you see some tiny local outfit on someone's credit bureau.

Yes, there are Guidos out there. Welcome to America.

I really fail to understand why the government must insist on reporting to the bureaus for collections. It's just another tool for them to get thier share of the cash that they feel entitiled to.

Well, I am not sure exactly how that works for the government as far as reporting is concerned. Remember, tax liens, judgments, and bankruptcies are all public information.

My guess - and I am just guessing - is that when a tax lien is filed, it automatically hits the credit bureau electronically in some form or fashion. I don't know that government really actively reports this information, but I could be wrong.

But why shouldn't government report delinquent taxes, judgments, and bankruptcies? I mean, if you skip out on your property taxes, shouldn't your creditors be made aware of this delinquency? If you have a history of judgments and lawsuits gone awry, don't you think that's relevant to a creditor? Same with bankruptcy. Creditors definitely take bankruptcies very seriously as a major warning flag.

Originally posted by CookieMonster09

Did you miss the part where I stated that most people are morons? Basic finance is not taught in the public school system. You would think if TPTB wanted to create consumers they would at least teach people in the public school system to pay thier bills and live within thier means, etc. Obviously good citizenship, basic morals, creative thinking and questioning the world around you is not taught using public tax money either. Or even in the private educational system anymore.

Just because the educational system doesn't teach financial literacy skills, doesn't mean the information and education isn't readily available if people want to learn.

I mean - Just turn on the TV or listen to the radio. Dave Ramsey is on the radio EVERY DAY. Suze Ormon is on TV all the time. Our bookstores and libraries and Amazon.com have tons and tons of books on personal finance, debt management, etc.

The information is there for the taking. And you don't have to look far. If people are morons about personal finance, then they need to wake up. Maybe when they stiff a creditor, it will be their wake up call.

The good thing about this credit crisis is that it has woken up a lot of people to realize how stupid they have behaved in the past.

[edit on 9-7-2009 by CookieMonster09]

What 18 yr old graduates high school knowing he/she does not understand finance? Many do not find out they do not know as much as they thought until the credit card people have already got them into debt. They prey on the young and ignorant.

The schools are supposed to teach the children skills to function in life as an adult. If they are not doing so then they are to blame for the ignorance of young adults who are being preyed upon by credit pushers. Basic finance and banking skills should be mandatory for graduation.

You are correct - The credit card companies are the worst. They do prey on the young, but people are starting to wake up to the dangers of abusing credit cards.

This is where a good parent can step in and give some sound advice, because it's quite clear that our educational institutions aren't going to say anything.

After all, it's the universities themselves that accept millions of dollars of basically bribe money to allow these credit card companies to market to the college students.

Universities turn over your information - names, e-mail addresses, mailing addresses, etc. - to these credit card companies for credit card solicitation purposes. In return, the university usually gets a nice big fat check from the credit card companies.

Gotta love the corruption in our universities for allowing this to happen. All the while, college students are already swimming in a sea of student loan debt, and now you can add credit card debt on top of it. Car debt soon follows, and later a big whopping mortgage to boot.

This is why people need to be very cautious with using debt, and use it responsibly if at all. Debt can be used responsibly, but young people are notorious for abusing credit and making poor decisions on financial matters.