"Maxed Out"

[n74tg]

For any of you forum members that are Netflix customers, they have a pretty scary documentary movie called "Maxed Out".  I just watched it today.  The description on the jacket cover says (I quote):

Investigating both the personal and the national debt owed by Americans, this thought-provoking
documentary explores the staggering financial burden we live with every day and exposes how the
contemporary financial industry is set up in ways that can harm unwitting customers. With both
sobering facts and black humor, Maxed Out unveils the  consequences of our debt addiction,
including its conribution to the vanishing of the American middle class.  (end quote).

A few statements made in the video really floored me.  For instance the accusation has been made that the credit bureaus (Experian, Trans-Union, etc) have little interest in clearing up mistakes on your credit report, the main reason being that the existence of those mistakes allow the users (lenders, credit card companies, etc) of your credit information to charge you higher fees and interest rates.  There is no real financial incentive for them to clear up these errors.

This fits in with something I found out through another source.  One of the largest factors in figuring out what you will pay for auto insurance is not your driving record, but your credit score.

Consider watching the video, you might be glad you did. 

[glenn kangiser]

Sounds believable.  Thanks, Tony

[rwanders]

  You are not the customer of the credit reporting companies----their customers are banks and other lenders. If you are not paying for their services, why should they provide any "customer service" to you?

[ScottA]

The lesson here is, don't borrow money.

[Pox Eclipse]

Credit card companies do not need a reason to raise your rates.  They can raise your rate at any time, for any reason, or no reason at all.  My CC rate went up with the explanation that I didn't have enough credit accounts.

[pagan]

When we moved to Vermont my wife and I had nearly identical scores. The single credit card we have is in her name. Our only debt is the mortgage. Over the last five years her credit score has gone up while mine has dropped slowly. Not that I've defaulted on anything, but I'm not carrying enough debt, especially revolving debt like a credit card, to maintain a high score. My take; your credit score is based on current debts, so if you carry little or no debt your score goes down.