The Bank of New Glarus Credit Score Myth 8: Closing accounts shortens credit history (#1411s)

The website of the Bank of New Glarus states

Don’t Avoid All Debt

One common misconception among consumers is that any debt on your credit report is bad, which is not entirely true. Good debt – debt that you handled well by making on-time payments – is good for your credit score because it shows that you are a reliable borrower. This is especially true if it’s old debt, because it extends your credit history. So don’t call the reporting agency to remove that car loan from your credit report as soon as you pay off the vehicle. Leave old debt and good accounts on your credit history for as long as possible. This is also why you should keep your oldest credit cards active, even if you don’t use them very often. Cancelling a credit card that you’ve had for a long time will shorten your credit history, which could negatively impact your overall credit score.

The top person of that organization is Ronald J. Schaaf, president and CEO.

See #1411s (and #1411s).

Mound City Bank and Transunion Credit Score Myth 8: Closing accounts shortens credit history (#1411s)

On a page titled “Credit Myths and Misconceptions,” Transunion, a consumer reporting agency, questionably states

It helps to close old accounts.

This credit myth advocates closing old and inactive accounts to hike up your score. However, this might inadvertently have the opposite affect[SIC] and lower your credit score because now the credit history appears shorter. If you don’t trust yourself to put a card away in a safe place and not use it, then consider canceling newer accounts.

That passage contains, at least, if not one of fact, a grammatical error. #myth8


FROM: Greg Fisher, creditscoring.com
TO: Donna Hoppenjan, president & CEO, Mound City Bank (#n259442)
DATE: 2016-09-19
SUBJECT: credit score, closing; Mound City Bank, president; Transunion #1411s

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=5570 [this page].

I am with the media, am on a deadline (I set it; it is today) and I am writing about you. #1411s

This is the second item in a listicle titled “President’s Message” that you wrote for Mound City Bank:

Don’t Avoid All Debt

One common misconception among consumers is that any debt on your credit report is bad, which is not entirely true. Good debt – debt that you handled well by making on-time payments – is good for your credit score because it shows that you are a reliable borrower. This is especially true if it’s old debt, because it extends your credit history. So don’t call the reporting agency to remove that car loan from your credit report as soon as you pay off the vehicle. Leave old debt and good accounts on your credit history for as long as possible. This is also why you should keep your oldest credit cards active, even if you don’t use them very often. Cancelling a credit card that you’ve had for a long time will shorten your credit history, which could negatively impact your overall credit score.

You are wrong. See Credit Score Myth 8. http://www.creditscoring.com/myths/#myth8

Who told you that a person can have an account removed from his credit report once the account is paid off?

This is important, and it is not just about Wisconsin, your state. Please see the greater significance and reply today. Your number is n259442.


Greg Fisher
Truth and Falsity
truthandfalsity.com
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio 45409-0342
mobile/text 937-681-3224

OCC Charter No. 1316

From: Greg Fisher
Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2013 1:14 PM
To: William S. Demchak, president and CEO, PNC Financial Services Group (via P. McMahon)
Subject: credit score, employers, OCC Charter No. 1316

See this message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=5343.

At https://twitter.com/PNCNews/status/372705152752705536, you wrote, “Who looks at your #creditscore? Not just lenders, but employers, landlords, even mobile phone companies. #PNC #AchievementSessions.”

Employers don’t use credit scores.  I looked into it.


Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

Not Too Big to Let Fail: Wells Fargo (on credit scores in employment)

A Massachusetts state representative, a Believer, fell for the urban legend that employers use credit scores.  Asked for proof, the politician replied: “How to prove? AG Edwards is one I know of.”

A.G. Edwards, Inc. was acquired by Wachovia Securities, who was later acquired by Wells Fargo & Company.

Last month, the Florida Courier gave a Wells Fargo mouthpiecesenior vice president” an editorial column to spout off about credit scores.  The first sentence says, “Many of us are misinformed when it comes to credit.”

Uh– us,  indeed.  It – only – takes – four – clicks from Wells Fargo’s home page to get misinformed by this ridiculous little gem of a bullet point:

Employers often check the credit rating of prospective employees. A solid credit rating reflects positively on your ability to manage your job responsibly.

On the contrary, the consumer reporting agencies all state that they do not provide credit scores for employment purposes.

But what is a credit rating (as opposed to a credit score)Credit rating is a loose term bankers have thrown around for years, long before credit scores, to strike fear in the hearts of loan applicants.  It was a vague notion of some kind of evaluation of you that only wise bankers knew.  But today, according to the important, big, too-big-to-let-fail Wells Fargo, the terms are interchangeable:

Credit Score
Also known as a credit rating. Many lenders use this numeric calculation of your credit report to obtain a fast, objective measure of your credit risk, and consider your score when deciding whether or not to approve a loan.

Here’s another one (in an education sub-directory, no less):

Credit scores
A credit score — also known as a credit rating — is a numeric value based on the information contained in your credit report. That score (usually between 300 and 850) tells the lender the level of future risk associated with your credit history. The higher the score, the lower the risk.

But if you think linking the terms rating and score is a stretch, and the those instances are merely the result of keyboard finger-flapping by some low-ranking cubicle rat under pressure to write a silly website for a silly bank, then here is something overtly despicable:  Telling children the credit scores and employers urban legend:

8. c. Not just lenders but landlords and employers also use credit scores as a decision-making factor, so it’s important to build a good credit history and achieve a high score.

and

A lower score may even jeopardize your chances for landing a job.

It’s enough to make you fall off the Wells Fargo wagon.

Zillow and SF Chronicle believe Fed credit score info

Consumer reporting agencies TransUnion, Equifax and Experian all emphatically state that they do not provide credit scores for employment purposes.

Despite that, again, the Federal Reserve claims that credit scores are, indeed, used in employment.  Zillow and the San Francisco Chronicle believe it.

The first sentence of a Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland commentary states, “Credit scores are used in nearly every part of our lives, from applications for car loans, mortgages, credit cards, and car insurance to even some hiring decisions.”


Enough to be Dangerous: U.S. Bank and PrivacyGuard

To: Steve Dale, senior vice president, Media Relations, U.S. Bank
From: Greg Fisher
Date: April 29, 2010
Subject: Fake-O FICO Funk, U.S. Bank

You state, “Get your credit report and FICO score online now, plus have your report monitored for signs of identity theft.”

However, the credit score that I received by using your link was not a FICO score.

What are you doing to correct your sales pitch? What about refunds?

See Enough to be Dangerous.

Greg Fisher
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio 45409-0342