Soapbox Complaint About America's Messed Up Credit System
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  Soapbox Complaint About America's Messed Up Credit System
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Author Topic: Soapbox Complaint About America's Messed Up Credit System  (Read 1236 times)
Wakie
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« on: September 12, 2009, 12:32:15 PM »

So this is way off topic but I don't care I need to vent.

I'm in the process of buying a house.  I have no debt and haven't had any because I don't buy things I can't afford.  Immediately after graduating from college I rapidly paid off my student loans.  I earn a 6 digit salary and have worked for the same company for 5 years.  I have sizable savings stored up in cash as well as in stable stocks (Microsoft, Pfizer, etc) and I completely own 2 vehicles.  I pay off my credit card bills every month in full.

Now that I want to purchase a home I'm running into banks giving me a hard time over things like "you have no revolving debt" and "there's no history of you dealing with financial instability".

So WTF is messed up with this country!!  I mean seriously, the fact that I've spent my life being responsible is now actually being punished?!?!?  Maybe I should have overextended myself.

Maybe in the future I'll just steal the money.
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Beet
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« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2009, 12:39:52 PM »

I know exactly how you feel Wakie. I have applied for about 5 credit cards and been rejected for every one. Reason? No "credit history." But I don't understand how I am supposed to build a credit history when I can't get any credit in the first place.

I tried looking up my credit score online, because the law supposedly guarantees me a free credit check once a year. I couldn't get it from any of the ratings agencies. One agency made me sign up for a $40 a month service, which I did in desperation, but the score they gave was "9007" which apparently means insufficient history. I can't even buy a cell phone without a massive deposit. I've been paying off my student loans and cell phone for years and I still have no ability to borrow as far as I can tell.
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Stampever
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« Reply #2 on: September 12, 2009, 01:23:13 PM »

I know what you mean.  This is why I enjoy credit unions.  If you've been with one for a while, and have had at least on loan paid in full through them, then it is much easier to get a home loan than if you went through a traditional lender.

One way to get around this is to have something like your phone bill be charged against a credit card that is separate from your primary card (the one you use for your everyday expenses).  This way, you establish a revolving debt that is insignificant and won't cost you an excessive amount of monthly interest.

There is a push for a new set of "credit" tracking that focuses on actual wealth and spending, but I doubt that would ever be enacted since there are fears it would give companies too much info on your finances.

Best of luck though.  But try a credit union if you can.
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MSG
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« Reply #3 on: September 12, 2009, 04:24:16 PM »

Hey beet,

I had the same problem when i got out of school.  After looking around i finally just went and talked to the manager at my bank.  he told me the best way you can build up your credit was to take out gas cards and a card from a place like target or if you must wal-mart.  Those place don't usually give anyone mass amounts of credit so they look at things in a different manner.  This worked for me and i was able to establish credit in about six months.  Up until that point i could only get credit cards with $500 limits which basically makes it impossible to go on long trips, hotels and plane flights only taking credit cards and all. I hope that helps sadly i bet you cant even get the sh**tty interest rate credit card with low limits nowadays. And by nowadays i mena four years later.



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Sam Spade
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« Reply #4 on: September 12, 2009, 04:42:44 PM »

It's been that way for a while, Wakie.  And it's especially gotten bad over the past 12-24 months in the credit crisis (like exponentially worse).

I don't see it stopping until you get some of my scenarios to start playing out, which you may not like for other reasons (some obvious, some not).

Anecdotally, when I was in college and grad school, I purposefully applied for a credit card each year or so, made sure I used them and purposefully kept small balances for a few months at a time to whet the banker's appetite.  Don't do that any more, but the banks this year are pretty much slashing everyone's credit line, starting off with the people who actually pay balances on time.  They've gotten to me too, of course.

Anyway, there is a broader point I'm trying to make.  Basically, the banks don't want to lend to anyone unless the government is interested in playing along.  If we knew what was on their balance sheets, I could tell you why, but I can already kinda connect the dots from everything I've seen before.
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Small Business Owner of Any Repute
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« Reply #5 on: September 12, 2009, 06:36:39 PM »

American Express cut my credit limit to $100 over my balance a few months ago because of the "economy"; Citibank then followed suit because my Amex was maxed out, which is a credit no-no. With both of my major cards now "maxed," I went from a near perfect credit score to a credit risk in about 3 months.
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