Credit Scores & Credit Reports provides the first thorough examination of the all-important, but little understood, Credit Scoring and Credit Reporting systems. The Second Edition of this highly-acclaimed book enables consumers to understand how both of these systems actually work, and what they can do to improve their FICO scores, and to ensure their credit reports are accurate. Importantly, the book also describes how the system sometimes doesn't work, and how hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of consumers have been frustrated in their efforts to correct errors in their credit reports. Moreover, it explains: *Link between credit reports and the burgeoning problem of identity theft *How credit card companies use credit scoring to raise your interest rates *The role of credit scores in auto and homeowners insurance *The difference between mortgage rates for consumers with excellent, good, fair and poor credit scores *The damages to consumers and their creditworthiness flowing from credit report inaccuracy and identity theft *Credit reports and debt collection *The debate over credit scoring and discrimination *The politics of credit reporting The current credit reporting system keep detailed financial histories on more than 200 million Americans. That is why virtually everyone has a stake in the system, and why Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America said, "There are few books I think all consumers should read. This is one of them. It is a well-informed, informative, and a well-written guide to a subject of great and growing importance to consumers."
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Since 1981, Evan Hendricks has served as Editor/Publisher of the Privacy Times, a biweekly newsletter that reports on privacy and freedom of information law. A graduate of Columbia University, Hendricks regularly lectures on information policy issues in the United States, Canada and Europe. He has been interviewed on various FOIA and privacy issues by the Oprah Winfrey Show, Geraldo, ABC Nightline and World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, CNN News Watch, The Washington Post, New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal He has served as an expert witness in several cases involving the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In 1991, Hendricks became Chairman of the U.S. Privacy Council, a new organization and the first dedicated to the protection of privacy and improving our nation's law and policy.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Accurately simplifies a complex subject...,
This review is from: Credit Scores and Credit Reports: How The System Really Works, What You Can Do (Second Edition) (Paperback)
It is of little surprise here that reviewers trend towards either a 1 or 5 star extreme. This book assumes a sophisticated audience with deep interest in the subject matter - and for such readers, it provides sharp insight as to the nuances and reality of credit scoring, what a score means to consumers, and how scores and reports may be manipulated for better or worse by a variety of parties.
There is also some very necessary coverage of an often ignored fact... credit scoring and report data collection lies in the hands of a small group of privately held, for-profit companies that have limited accountability to consumers and a heavy lobby presence. This scenario provides the potential ingredients for corruption and abuse, just as it would in any market where profits and lack of transparency are allowed to cohabitate. For most consumers, a credit score is mysterious and rather arbitrary - while constantly changing, for most of us, a score is only seen and important when it makes or breaks major transactions. This book tears away the veil, and in a methodical fashion. This quickly earns Mr. Hendricks a "must read" recommendation to mortgage brokers, loan officers, independent lenders, consumer advocates, small business owners, certain among lawyers, privacy awareness groups, accountants, and anyone else whose business model, clientele, or personal dealings are directly influenced by credit ratings. The book is well-suited for reference, but can quickly be read from cover to cover, and is one of the most comprehensive and current works on the subject as a whole. Keying from another review, a consumer wishing for a brochure style summary to help quickly convey quick answers to basic questions may another work is more accessible for such needs. This is a dense, thorough approach, and is not explicitly geared for the self-help crowd. Keep surfing if you are in the market for "The Idiot's Guide to Why They Repossessed My Car." Audience issues aside, those reviewers who have suggested Mr. Hendricks' work contains errors state this without examples or reliable supporting data, and appear to have a personal agenda in their biased assessments. There certainly do exist many gray areas in the world of credit reports and scoring - for example, the formulas used to create scores are generally unpublished and proprietary - but the author demonstrates experience and strong, often first-person research and citations that guides educated guesswork when required - and any such gray areas are consistently noted as precisely that by the author.
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Author Evan Hendricks Responds,
By
This review is from: Credit Scores and Credit Reports: How The System Really Works, What You Can Do (Second Edition) (Paperback)
Dear Amazon customers,
Please take note that the three negative "reviews" were by people who failed to identify themselves or explain what was wrong with the book. More, each one of them only wrote one review -- of my book. I'd challenge any of them to a debate over how credit scoring and credit reporting works, but I'm sure they wouldn't have the guts. This book is for regular folk and professionals alike who want understand how these all-important systems work. Many readers have thanked me for its accuracy and reliability. Naturally, the book is critical of some of the major companies that are known to pollute credit reports with inaccuracies(a possible motive?). See the review by Michelle Singletary, syndicated columnist for the Washington Post -- here's one passage: "So what should you do to become more informed? To start, I suggest you read Evan Hendricks's book "Credit Scores & Credit Reports." (Iit) is an extensive manual that includes just about everything you will ever want to know about the system and then some ... (And) you know what? Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance can cost you money." -- Michelle Singletary, Columnist, Washington Post(Announcing it as "Book of the Month" In her "Color of Money Book Club)
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Necessary Read... but Very Repetetive-,
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This review is from: Credit Scores and Credit Reports: How The System Really Works, What You Can Do (Second Edition) (Paperback)
As a mortgage lender I knew this book would be a necessary read. The first half of the book talks about the in's and out's of the FICO scoring model. The information is extremely useful for both consumers and those in the lending industry. However, the second half of the book just repeats over and over the same things. 'id theft causes emotional trauma' is talked about at least 15 times in different examples and it starts to get useless. Additionally the author goes through dozens of court cases, papers written, and quotes different people on things regarding the credit industry. Again its just turns into a repetetive and useless history lesson. I rated it 4 stars though just because there aren't many good books on the subject, and this one did contain some great gems of information.
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