Under the Rug
I had a fucking fascinating (thank you, Penny Arcade, for that phrase) adventure in credit reporting today.
These are the facts, in narrative order:
1) I have never had a late payment.
2) I always pay OVER the minimum amount.
3) My credit report reflects this.
4) I have debt. I'm a college student. This happens.
5) My student loands AND car payments are also both ahead of schedule.
6) I had three cards: one for Amazon, one for JetBlue, and my first card from CapOne with a ridiculously high APR
7) CapOne & The Amazon Card, due to the economy and to (and I quote) "maintain profitability on [my] account" were going to hike my interest rates (see previous posts).
8) I closed those accounts, with remaining balances on them, to avoid this. No problem.
9) Two weeks ago I found a card that had a high enough limit that I could transfer ALL my debt, save for a bit from my JetBlue card, and pay 0% APR for long enough to make it totally worthwhile.
10) This effectively closed out my CapOne & Amazon cards, and (again) most of the debt from my JetBlue card.
11) The new card put my new balance on it before paying off the old ones.
12) For a few days, it looked like I had DOUBLE my current debt, because of this. (for those not credit savvy: It looked like I went out, got a card with a high limit, and blew it all on a fucking swimming pool or something.
13) The credit reporting agencies, thinking this is what happened, called everyone on their phone tree to say "Hey, Thomas A. Thorogood is a HUUUUUUUUGE credit risk. Don't give him any money OMG"
14) My JetBlue card called to tell me that they reduced my limit to just above my current balance.
15) The result: I have absolutely zero credit fluidity, due to a DELAY IN PROCESSING.
16) The JetBlue card, when I called to inquire about this, said they decreased it because of my "history of delinquency"
17) the new card people said "It's not our fault. You have to call TransUnion".
18) I called TransUnion and they don't think I exist.
So because of a processing delay, I either don't exist, or have a bullshit "history of delinquency" (Which nobody actually seems to know anything about, but "it's true because we say it is" kind of thing). And as a result, I have no credit whatsoever, and I have to start rebuilding a history.
What's great is that I probably could be a total fucking delinquent for realz and still be able to buy a house I can't afford. So, because the economy is bad, I get screwed, and I can't do my part to help the economy by spending/borrowing/paying things back because I'm responsible an d try to do these things.
The moral of the story: go out and blow all your money and max out all your cards and don't worry about paying anything back, because it doesn't make a damn bit of difference anyway.
-tom
sic luceat lux
These are the facts, in narrative order:
1) I have never had a late payment.
2) I always pay OVER the minimum amount.
3) My credit report reflects this.
4) I have debt. I'm a college student. This happens.
5) My student loands AND car payments are also both ahead of schedule.
6) I had three cards: one for Amazon, one for JetBlue, and my first card from CapOne with a ridiculously high APR
7) CapOne & The Amazon Card, due to the economy and to (and I quote) "maintain profitability on [my] account" were going to hike my interest rates (see previous posts).
8) I closed those accounts, with remaining balances on them, to avoid this. No problem.
9) Two weeks ago I found a card that had a high enough limit that I could transfer ALL my debt, save for a bit from my JetBlue card, and pay 0% APR for long enough to make it totally worthwhile.
10) This effectively closed out my CapOne & Amazon cards, and (again) most of the debt from my JetBlue card.
11) The new card put my new balance on it before paying off the old ones.
12) For a few days, it looked like I had DOUBLE my current debt, because of this. (for those not credit savvy: It looked like I went out, got a card with a high limit, and blew it all on a fucking swimming pool or something.
13) The credit reporting agencies, thinking this is what happened, called everyone on their phone tree to say "Hey, Thomas A. Thorogood is a HUUUUUUUUGE credit risk. Don't give him any money OMG"
14) My JetBlue card called to tell me that they reduced my limit to just above my current balance.
15) The result: I have absolutely zero credit fluidity, due to a DELAY IN PROCESSING.
16) The JetBlue card, when I called to inquire about this, said they decreased it because of my "history of delinquency"
17) the new card people said "It's not our fault. You have to call TransUnion".
18) I called TransUnion and they don't think I exist.
So because of a processing delay, I either don't exist, or have a bullshit "history of delinquency" (Which nobody actually seems to know anything about, but "it's true because we say it is" kind of thing). And as a result, I have no credit whatsoever, and I have to start rebuilding a history.
What's great is that I probably could be a total fucking delinquent for realz and still be able to buy a house I can't afford. So, because the economy is bad, I get screwed, and I can't do my part to help the economy by spending/borrowing/paying things back because I'm responsible an d try to do these things.
The moral of the story: go out and blow all your money and max out all your cards and don't worry about paying anything back, because it doesn't make a damn bit of difference anyway.
-tom
sic luceat lux