Customer Reviews

Credit Scores & Credit Reports

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Having written about credit for fifteen years myself (I am the author of The Ultimate Credit Handbook), I know a lot about credit reports and scores. But I learned even more from this book.

Hendricks brings a very unique perspective to the topic of credit scores because of his years of experience as a privacy advocate. I found his references to court cases and the testimony of credit reporting agency executives eye opening. The chapter that explains how lenders often get different reports than consumers, and the subject of "cloaking" was alarming.

If you really want to understand how credit reports and scores work -- from what I would say is an insider's perspective -- I'd recommend this book highly.

I thought I had a pretty good idea what a credit score was, how it worked, and how to get mine. I was wrong. I had no idea how complicated the process was, how many different variables entered into it, and how easily I could do damage to myself.

I understood that I had a right to a free credit report. I had no idea how deeply the "free" option was buried, how much digging had to be done to find it, and how limited the information would be--all in an effort to drive me to the paid options. Thanks to this book, I now know, step by step, how to get the information I need, and know which options are free, which cost money, and when I need each one.

While I've been fortunate enough not to be hit with identity theft, I know people who've had to cope with it. I'm relieved that I now own a complete resource on how to deal with it. I know how to challenge errors in my credit report. I hope I won't ever need to use a lot of what this book provides me, but I'm sure glad I have a copy on my shelf.

I'm also glad to have read the reports on the insurance industry, the use of credit in discriminatory practices, opting out of having personal data shared, and other issues. Coming from the editor and publisher of PRIVACY TIMES, the information is timely, insightful, and important.

If you've got any serious credit history, privacy concerns, an intent to make a major purchase, or feel vulnerable to identity theft, you'll value having this book in your library.

This book doesn't follow through on analyzing the credit scoring process a the title suggests. It focuses mostly on court cases involving consumers and credit reporting companies instead of getting to the meat and potatoes of credit scoring. In short, it has some pretty enlightening information but not about credit scoring. I'd recommend Liz Weston's Your Credit Score and KE Varner's The Insider's Guide to Credit Repair for additional information.

Evan Hendricks is one of the world's leading experts on privacy. In his new book he delves into the frightening world of credit reports, showing how your financial history is misreported and used against you. If you've ever wondered why your credit isn't as good as it should be, or what is happening behind the scenes in the world of credit this book is a must read. Hendricks has been editing Privacy Times since the early 80s. He writes well and he really knows his stuff!

It is tough to overstate the value of this incredible book; its one everyone in America should read, because credit scoring is affecting us all now.

The author, editor of the respected Privacy Times newsletter, was recently a guest on WashingtonPost.com along with that newspaper's personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary and was quoted in an Associated Press story that is currently being picked up by newspapers throughout the country.

Opinionated to the point of being prickly, the author moves quickly, and gets to the heart of the matter, using as documentation actual court cases and news articles.

Because of the book's dual emphasis on privacy and credit, the only person in the country who could write a book like this is the author. I'm glad he took the time to write it (he told me it took him three solid months of writing).

The author covers a wide range of topics, with an eye always toward privacy - an interesting perspective.

Its almost 350 pages long and I think I learned something new from each page, and that is after more than a decade of teaching about, writing about, and learning about credit scoring. The first three chapters alone - which concentrate on credit scoring - are worth much more than the cost of the book. If you only have time to read those chapters, you will have gotten a great deal out of this book.

I must say though, that the cover is awful, the book is full of footnotes (good to establish credibility, not so good for the reader), and it is self-published. The cover should be jazzed up, the footnotes should be incorporated into the text, and the author should get it in the hands of a publisher of consumer financial education books so this thing can get where it deserves - on best-seller lists. The author should also expand the website dedicated to this book, perhaps capturing e-mail addresses of borrowers who want to be updated about the ever-changing world of credit scores and credit reports.

Having made these small criticisms, please know that the book as written is very readable and accessible, and you will learn something new from every page.

Certainly no one in the mortgage business should be without this book. In my travels throughout the country as a contract mortgage trainer for the ten biggest mortgage companies in the country, among others, I show this book to every originator I meet and demand that they buy it. I feel that strongly about it.

5 Stars...Excellent reading about how credit affects your life and how easy/difficult it can make it. Lots of information you won't find anywhere else and revealing information about how the banks/lenders/insurance companies sleazy operating practices work. A real "eye-opener" into a business that can and does have real impact on how much you will pay in interest (APR), insurance costs and even as a job hunter and the relevance your FICO and credit score play.

Got the book yesterday and just cannot put it down. The facts are all here. Who to call, what to fix, footnotes with the actual law suits and awards given (show your attorney). It is all here. Even address and phone numbers. If you are tired of the 3 Credit Reporting Agencies (CRA's) giving you the run-around, send them a letter with your corrected CR data and quote a few of these cases. They just might actually correct the wrong data with the first letter. There needs to be another Congressional hearing on the shoddy methods used by the CRA's and how that most of the Insurance Companies take advantage of these errors to jack up ALL your insurance rates. When the insurance companies are questioned about the rate increase, they pass it off as your fault or there are more claims in your age group or area where you live. When they are really pressed, they blame Fair Isaac. Fair Isaac's blames the insurance model. When TransUnion (or the other CRA's) refuses to correct the faulty Credit Report completely even after many letters and phone calls from you and/or the credit grantor, then something has to be done. Mr. Hendricks NEEDS to once again report to the Congressional Committee. Using Credit Reports (about 80% contain errors) (that CRA's won't correct) with faulty information to jack up YOUR RATES is very dishonest and wrong. Congress should STOP the Insurance Companies NOW!!!! Cost of insurance should be based on actual facts from claims, NOT from faulty Credit Reports. GET THE BOOK!

I used this book as the basis for an outline for a continuing education class. I found it to be informative from a historical perspective, helpful in understanding how scores are determined and how to fix credit issues. A must read for all!

This book is alright. But the author lacks updated and factual knowledge of how the system works. Kudos for trying, though. It's hard to find a book that's 100% true on credit scoring.

I wasn't really impressed. I've done a lot of research on how credit scoring works and how the credit bureaus work. Some of the information matches my research. Some doesn't. I'm waiting to find that one book to "WOW" me.