Guess I'm a bad credit risk!
 

Lynda and I were at Carsons, formally Elder Berman. Don't know if you've heard of them but they're like Kohls. Had a number of different store names and changed them all to Carsons.

Anyway, Lynda had a discount coupon she got in the mail, she had an Elder Berman charge. She also had a disount coupon from renewing her charge card which was switched to a Carsons charge card. Didn't know if the coupons were valid on the items we were buying so we asked, there's always the fine print you know. Well the clerk said no but if you don't have a Carsons credit card we can open one and you'll get 20% off. Since Lynda already had one she suggested I open one and get the 20%.

So they run the info through and it was declined at that time. She said they would mail me in a few days and let me know for sure. So the letter came today, declined, reason:

1. Insufficient number of accounts with a balance.
What was I thinking paying off my charge cards every month?

2. Limited real estate obligations.
What a dumb ass I am. I should be upside down on my mortgage instead of having my house almost paid off.

Now if you're thinking like I did, that's crazy, just wait. The credit scoring company they use is Experian, one of the big 3. Credit scores range from 1, worst, to 999, best, my score, 984. Not sure what the cutoff point is but if 984 out of a possible 999 isn't good enough I'm pretty sure I don't want to do business with these people anyway.

F'um, I don't want or need their card. I already have a wallet full of credit cards. I also won't shop at Carsons anymore and I'll let them know in writing why.

I don't really care, we bought the stuff we wanted anyway and I sure don't need another credit card. Just saying, that's about the craziest thing I've ever heard. If I was a lot worse credit risk they would have handed me a credit card on the spot, go figure.

Credit scores are a joke. You need to be totally in debt to have a high credit score. I don't have any credit cards, haven't had a car payment in over 6 years and like you my house is almost paid for and my other one is. My wife has a couple of credit cards so when we just purchased her new car she now has a higher credit score then me and works like 10 hours a week. They put her first on all the paper work and made me the co-signer and I'm the one who will making the payments. Go figure?

I have a co worker that lives paycheck to paycheck ,no savings and a recent bankruptcy that can get all the credit he wants .I dont understand how the system works anymore .I only owe for part of my Kubota tractor ,houses ,cars ,everything else paid for and like you I pay my balance in full every month and would probably be turned down too.

It baffles me too. At least I understand my problem. I have NO credit. I paid cash for everything my whole life. Even the 5 acres in Tennessee I have. I tried to get a $15K loan on a HOUSE with 1 acre of land next door. (the house had some fire damage, but wasn't bad at all.) I was turned down for a $130/month mortgage payment. REALLY?! ...But they'll let me get a smart phone and data package for whole family that costs more than that.

I can't imagine why the economy is so screwed up when someone that pays for stuff is denied a loan, but someone with a bunch of credit cards on food stamps qualifies for whatever they want.

Grumpy and I have never really had credit cards. We have paid cash for everything we wanted, except house. When I went to purchase a van about 10 yrs ago I had to have my mother co sign for me because I didn't have enough credit history. We paid off the van in 2 1/2 years. Then 4 years ago I went to buy a new car, with a huge down payment. I was told I didn't have enough of a current credit history, the van had been paid off 4 years prior. I got them to give me a small loan on the car. I had $100 payments on the car, and made them every month, on time. Just found out a few months back that my credit score went up. And ended up saving me on my car insurance. Just curious, what the heck does your car insurance have to do with your credit score. Funny thing is that I have been with the same car insurance company for over 14 years. Go figure.

I thought my car insurance rate was getting alittle high so I gotta a quote from another insur. co. The quote was alot lower than what I was paying. I went to my insur. co with the quote to see what they could do. They explained to me that they base the insur. qoutes on your credit score. They rewrote my policy and it saved me almost 1800 bucks a year. I asked them why they didn't call me when they started doing that. The agent said, oh it's was in your renewal policy packet. I thought, who reads that?

Brian, I found out that the insurance companies don't tell you about your credit score impacting your rate. Also, some give you a discount for being on time for at least the past 12 months, and sometimes you have to ask about that one too.

Thing is Ray, I have no debt but I do have a high credit score. 984 out of a possible 999. So what does it take? 985, 990, what? I have a damn near perfect credit score, very little debt, only the mortgage and I'm a bad credit risk. Things have definitely changed.

11 years ago when we bought this house I asked for an $80,000 mortgage. They ran my credit then asked if I was sure I only wanted $80,000, wouldn't you like $200,000? No I don't want $200,000, I can't make those kind of payments. Oh sure you can. No thanks.

A few years later we applied for a home equity credit line to get the upper level sided and some new windows. I asked for $25,000, that was the smallest they offered. They suggested I get a $50,000 line of credit because the interest rate was lower. Okay, make it $50,000. When we went back to sign all the papers they suggested I get $100,000 line of credit because again the interest rate was even lower. So we got a $100,000 line of credit. Now we certainly never borrowed that much but it's still available if we wanted to.

Around the same time I opened a Home Depot credit card to purchase a generator. Got a discount by using the HD card. Took 5 minutes at the service desk and they said, here you go, you have a $15,000 credit limit. $15,000? I don't need a $15,000 limit, I'll never spend that much here. It's $15,000, take it or leave it.

Now I don't qualify for a store credit card at Carsons? Yup, things have changed.

The theory, not my theory, their theory is, if you have bad credit you're also a bad risk as a driver. Not sure who made that correlation but that's their theory.

I had the same thing happen with the bank also. Infact they raised my credit line with out asking. I had to go in and have them lower it and when I had credit cards they would raise the limit all the time. I had to call them and have them lowered or put a freeze on the card so it they every got stolen they couldn't get max out at some high number.

Credit scores are base on :

Payment history:
A good record of on-time payments will help your credit.

Outstanding debt:
High balances in relation to your credit limits can lower your credit score. Aim for balances under 35%.

Credit account history:
An established credit history makes you a less risky borrower. Think twice before closing old accounts before a loan application.

Recent inquiries:
When a lender or business checks your credit, it causes a hard inquiry and a slight ding to your credit score. Apply for new credit in moderation.

The rest of a credit score is based on factors like the length of a borrower's credit history, the types of credit he has, and how much new credit he has recently applied for or obtained. The longer an individual has had credit in good standing, the more reliable he is deemed to be. Individuals with a mix of credit types, such as credit cards, mortgages and other loans, are also viewed to be more responsible and will have a slightly higher credit score.

The older I get the lower my credit score is going to be since I don't want to have debt to worry about. You can buy a house with no credit history, my son did. He show his rental history to the bank and got the loan. Credit scores should be base on what you have payed off and closed rather what you owe. Insurance companies and other companies have no business basing their rates on a credit score. We should be able to rate them instead. The insurance companies have some of the most expensive buildings in every town across America.

My mom is always worried about her credit score. She is 75 and has the highest score of anyone I know. She has a condo that she bought 7 yrs ago and has a small payment which she makes early every month. She has a car that is paid off, a Visa that she won't put more than $200 on, she wants to make sure she pays it off quickly. I just have to worry about her, she has everything she needs but she still feels that her credit score is so important at her age.

I bought my wife a Cadilac Escalade this week end and they said my credit was great and in the 800s I think. I got 1.9% apr and on her 2008 Tahoe that we just traded in was 0%. I love the cadi!

I want a new truck....want to adopt me ?

I want a new truck too. Maybe if I buy a lot of stuff on credit I wouldn't be such a bad credit risk?

Im building my new old truck ,dont want a new one with payment.

I don't want a payment either and don't really need a new truck. Mine sits in the driveway 99% of the time. Only use it every week or two.

Haha Nancy. She was very surprised when I brought it home, its white on black and before she had a black truck and she didn't really like it because she thought it was more manly. It's a fun car and I like driving the cadi, I only got 24k for the Tahoe which didn't really make me happy but in the end it all worked out.

The funny thing was that when I first went to the dealer I had the chevelle and Rey let me park it right in front and when I came back all the salesmen were out taking pictures and telling me how straight the body is and him mint the interior is. Then one of them said my boss loves your car and wants to see under the hood. The guys mouth nearly dropped when he saw it had a Delco battery and brake booster, maybe he doesnt know they are reproduced. Only if they made an offer though:D

Heck Hank, I will just come over and borrow your truck. It will be cheaper for me anyway.

You wouldn't have taken the offer...or would you have ? Money talks. BS walks.

Your right I wouldn't have but if it was crazy money then maybe. It's cool when someone puts a price on your work and I do like hearing offers.

But what if it was a crazy offer ? I don't know what I would do.

:confused:
The highest FICO score possible is 850.
http://creditscoresrange.net/what-is...n-achieve.html

http://www.experian.com/consumer-pro...dit-score.html

Bill, I quoted what it said in the letter I received. Why the difference I don't know.

Okay, went to the experian link you provided. It says some lenders may require custom scoring models from experian.

No problem Hank...Bowtie smiley
Wasn't questioning your post ...just want to make sure someone wasn't feeding you a line of BS.
Lot's of that going around lately. ;)

I dont know what my scores are but I dont guess it matters as I dont plan to borrow any money .

Ya, just listen to the politicians in Washington.

Not sure what my credit score really is either. Like you I don't plan on borrowing any money. I guess at some point we'll have to replace our car but I know I can get a loan through the credit union if I need it.

Don't really know my score either but I do request a free credit report about every 6-8 months...rotating the request from one of the three credit agencies...to scan over the report after seeing what my son had to go thru two years ago with someone stealing his identity. :(

Don't know exactly what mine is either. But it didn't hurt having a small car payment for the past couple years. Now that I don't have that anymore I am sure that it will go down, which doesn't make sense. But at least it was high enough this year to drop my home owners and car insurance.

Not fair to the other people with lower scores.This country should do away with the practice of rating peoples credit.The crack whore in the city should have the same chance to get a mortgage and low intrest rate as me to buy that $300k home in the country.

:ntwrthy::D I agree;)

I like your attitude Gary. Not to worry, there are plans in Washington DC to take care of these people so they can live the life they deserve.