Latest news with #creditScore
Washington Post
5 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Carolyn Hax: Retired parent blamed for son's spiraling marriage and finances
Dear Carolyn: I'm 73, retired and have a $30,000 annual income. My credit score is in the 800s because I live within my means. I learned today that my 43-year-old son's marriage is collapsing because I stated I cannot buy a four-bedroom house with the proceeds from my house, which has only three bedrooms. My daughter-in-law signed a contract to work here next school year after resigning her out-of-state contract. Their credit scores are below what they need to rent a decent place here.
Independent Singapore
6 days ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
'$50K in debt, no job yet, and scared I'll get rejected again cos of my credit' — 25 y/o Singaporean cries out for help
SINGAPORE: A 25-year-old Singaporean took to social media to express his worry that his poor credit score might once again stand in the way of landing a job. Posting on the r/askSingapore forum, he shared that he has accumulated about S$50,000 in debt, largely from credit cards and personal loans. And while he has consistently made minimum payments and never defaulted, his credit score has still dropped to 'EE.' 'I've got another job interview lined up (not banking, more IT side) and not gonna lie, I'm scared. Scared they'll check my credit and reject me again,' he said. 'It's eating me up. I haven't even started work, and I already feel like it's slipping away,' he added. The man added that ever since he was laid off in February, 'everything has been rough'—he lost his source of income, his mental health took a hit, and the debt continued to pile up. In an effort to turn things around, he said he made several lifestyle changes.'I've been trying to fix myself, quit smoking, hit the gym again, cut off distractions, just trying to get back on my feet.' See also Confusion clouds China's social credit system Despite these efforts, he admitted that the weight of his financial situation remains a constant source of stress. 'I just wanna know, do non-finance companies even check credit reports? Like gov, IT, healthcare sector roles? Or am I just overthinking?' he asked. 'If you've been through this or know how it works, please let me know. I just wanna make it out of this. Appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this.' 'Focus on doing well in your interview…' In the comments, one Singaporean Redditor advised, 'Solve the root cause of your debt issue first… Bought many luxury things? Time to sell them at a small loss and get some cash back. S$50K is not a huge sum, not life-changing. Can make it back one.' Another wrote, 'I think you worry too much, my friend. Focus on doing well in your interview. Most companies do not check credit scores except for financial institutions, especially for junior entry roles.' A third assured him, stating, 'Private companies have no access to your credit score. You're fine. It's only a concern if you are or were bankrupt. Not sure how they would even get that info either.' In other news, a woman was shocked to find a group of neighbours had entered her newly renovated BTO flat without her knowledge or consent. Among them were two children, a domestic helper, an elderly woman, and two other women. According to the woman's colleague, who shared the incident on the r/SingaporeRaw subreddit on Wednesday (May 28), the flat had just been fully renovated and professionally cleaned, ready for move-in. The woman and her husband had been eagerly anticipating starting their new life there, but were caught completely off guard when they turned up to find unfamiliar faces inside their home. Read more: 'The reno worker just let them in': Woman horrified as neighbours invade her new BTO unit Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)
Forbes
27-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Best Southwest Credit Cards Of 2025
Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed. Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed. Forbes Advisor created additional star ratings so that you can see the best card for specific needs. This card shines for this use, but overall the star ratings may differ when compared to other cards. Forbes Advisor created additional star ratings so that you can see the best card for specific needs. This card shines for this use, but overall the star ratings may differ when compared to other cards. Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed. Forbes Advisor created additional star ratings so that you can see the best card for specific needs. This card shines for this use, but overall the star ratings may differ when compared to other cards. Forbes Advisor created additional star ratings so that you can see the best card for specific needs. This card shines for this use, but overall the star ratings may differ when compared to other cards. Earn 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening Earn 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed. Forbes Advisor created additional star ratings so that you can see the best card for specific needs. This card shines for this use, but overall the star ratings may differ when compared to other cards. Forbes Advisor created additional star ratings so that you can see the best card for specific needs. This card shines for this use, but overall the star ratings may differ when compared to other cards.
CBC
26-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Equifax wiped out his credit score — and a little-known policy means he can't get it back
Social Sharing David Tregear says getting credit was never a problem, until the rejections started piling up. A car loan, credit cards and more — all denied. When he checked his Equifax account, he saw his score had been wiped to zero — without warning or explanation. " I was just stunned," said the Victoria man. "I was like, what do you mean I don't have credit? Are you kidding me?" What followed was more than a year of frustration. Tregear says he begged Equifax to fix the problem — sending documents, filing complaints, even turning to federal and provincial oversight bodies for help. Nothing worked. Equifax refused to restore his credit score or explain why it dropped to zero, until Go Public started asking questions. Only then did the company point to its little-known policy: If a credit file sits inactive, the consumer may be labelled "unscoreable" and their score reset to zero. Tregear says the last time he checked, before it disappeared, his score was around a more respectable 700. He says it's true that he stopped using credit to avoid falling into debt, but never imagined he'd be penalized for it. Equifax told him it's a two year cutoff, but won't say if that's true for everyone. Canada's other major credit bureau, TransUnion, says it doesn't reset credit scores. A credit score is a number that typically ranges from 300 to 900 and shows lenders how likely you are to repay debt. Tregear says the consequences have been serious — especially since many lenders rely solely on Equifax. WATCH | Reset to zero: Equifax customer fights to restore credit after score vanishes | Go Public 13 hours ago Duration 2:15 Equifax customer David Tregear has spent over a year battling the company after his credit score suddenly vanished, leaving him unable to borrow money or get credit cards. Tregear had no idea why until CBC's Go Public uncovered a little-known rule allowing the credit bureau to reset credit scores to zero — a rule consumer experts say lacks transparency and oversight. "This has to be rectified somehow," he said. Equifax told him he'll have to rebuild his credit score from scratch — a challenge, he says, since he can't get approved for credit without one. Serious flaws Go Public has since found a major flaw in consumer protection rules — that there are no laws or oversight on how credit scores are calculated, leaving credit bureaus to do what they want. Consumer advocate Geoff White says that gives credit bureaus too much power, with no transparency. "A credit score is a very important piece of information. It shouldn't be arbitrarily wiped out through lack of use of credit," said White, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, a non-profit that advocates for consumer rights. "The customer is out of luck," he says. "This shows there's a hole in Canada's consumer protection system when it comes to credit." Equifax says its website is clear about how scores are calculated — citing factors like payment history, available credit and public records. But it also says having different scores from Equifax and TransUnion is "completely normal," because each bureau uses "multiple scoring algorithms," and that "there are some differences in the calculations." Equifax refused to answer Go Public's specific questions about Tregear's case, how it justifies deleting a consumer's long-standing credit score due to inactivity, or how that policy affects Canadians. Instead, it sent a general statement partly saying it takes "consumer concerns very seriously" and "prides itself on being a trusted steward of personal data" and is "committed to maintaining the accuracy of all credit data… in compliance with applicable legislation." Tregear says the reset has left him stuck — unable to get credit or buy a home — because many lenders only check Equifax. He says every time he opened a complaint, Equifax closed it without resolving anything. "They've never reached out to me," he said. "I've always had to call in and with no success. I started feeling defeated." Equifax's website mentions the policy, saying: "Sometimes there's not enough information in your credit file to provide a credit score… This is not an indicator of bad credit history." But White, and other credit experts, tell Go Public that's just not the case. "A zero credit score means you're starting from scratch," he said. "Credit scores influence not only the decision to lend or not lend… it affects your ability to get a good interest rate on your mortgage." The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) also flags the issue on its website: "It's impossible to know exactly how much your credit score will change based on the actions you take. Credit bureaus and lenders don't share the actual formulas it uses to calculate credit scores." Go Public asked Equifax about transparency concerns. It didn't respond. Bureaucratic maze Tregear says trying to get help felt like being stuck in a bureaucratic maze. He's written letters, made countless phone calls, and even filed complaints with both provincial and federal regulators — but got no help. "Everybody was just referring me back to somebody else or referring back to the same person that referred me to them," Tregear said. He tried the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, which referred him to the FCAC, which said it doesn't handle complaints about credit bureaus. Then he was sent to Consumer Protection B.C., which said it was outside their mandate, and he should contact the privacy commissioner — but it wasn't clear whether that meant the federal or provincial office. "It's been crazy," Tregear said. White says when things go wrong — like in Tregear's case — the complaints process can be "tortuous." He says Tregear's case shows the maze consumers face with no clear path forward. "It tells me there's a lack of common-sense rules," said White. "This is a big problem." He says Ottawa can — and should — step in and create consistent national standards by regulating credit bureaus under the Bank Act, rather than leaving oversight to provinces with a patchwork of regulations. While banks fall under federal regulation, credit bureaus are overseen by provincial agencies — and rules can vary depending on where you live. In general, provinces make sure credit reports follow basic rules like getting consent before someone accesses your report, addressing false information and overseeing privacy like how personal data is collected, used and shared. But credit scores are a different story. No government agency regulates how they're calculated — or whether they're fair. Credit bureaus, which are private companies, make their own rules. "Credit reporting… needs an overhaul and we need clear federal rules that allow for accountability and more transparency in terms of how this process works and how life-affecting decisions are made," said White. Go Public asked Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne if he plans to step in — but got no response. The ministry would only say credit bureaus aren't under federal control. 'Punished for living debt-free' Equifax says it is already "a highly regulated business… governed by both applicable credit reporting and privacy laws in Canada. To protect the integrity of our processes, procedures and to ensure we comply with applicable law, we do not allow for public comment on consumer inquiries." After Go Public brought Tregear's case to their attention, two B.C. agencies — Consumer Protection B.C. and the provincial privacy commissioner — reached out to him offering to investigate. He'd contacted the wrong privacy office — the federal one — by mistake, and Consumer Protection B.C. had wrongly turned him away. That agency now admits it "overlooked" some jurisdictional issues and says it's reviewing its processes to make sure it doesn't happen again. But Tregear says he doubts he'll get the help he needs — especially with Equifax's little-known policy still in place. "I'm being punished for living debt-free," he said.
CBC
25-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Equifax customer fights to restore credit after score vanishes
Equifax customer David Tregear has spent over a year battling the company after his credit score suddenly vanished, leaving him unable to borrow money or get credit cards. Tregear had no idea why until CBC's Go Public uncovered a little-known rule allowing the credit bureau to reset credit scores to zero — a rule consumer experts say lacks transparency and oversight.
