But I might not be able to stop you. I have heard a couple of stories about this, most recently today on Marketplace. In the olden days, you make charges, pay your bills on time, manage your money responsibly and you have a good credit score.
But not anymore. Now they are starting to look at other factors like foreclosure rates in the neighborhood in which you live and even the stores you shop at. If you shop at discount stores, the reasoning goes, you might be in financial trouble, especially if you shop at the same store as lots of other people with credit problems! Wal-Mart should be very worried.
This could reduce your credit score or companies have been known to reduce credit limits. A reduced credit limit can hurt you since you are using a higher percentage of your available credit which can, you guessed it, lower your credit score making it harder to get loans or force you to pay higher interest rates in the future.
So think twice about the trip to Wal-Mart or to the liquor store. Look around before you check out to be sure you are shopping at a high end store to preserve your financial future. What will they think of next?
But you can fight back..be sure to check out the New Credit Rules for advice on how to keep from being bitten and what to do if you are.
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9 comments:
Boppster...
I heard about this a while ago and thought it was BS...wrong!
The list of things they check is unreal. I wish I could remember where I saw it so I could post it.
Things like: (Hypothetical)
I call KK and ask her out to lunch.
...they look at where I took her
...what we ordered
...how much I spent
...what day of the week
...what time of day
...if I have been there before
...how many times.
The list was/is amazing...
If I go to K-Mart and by a pair of “Spudman” jeans verses a name brand.
...what size I bought, who gives a shit!
...how many pair
...same thing, day, week, time, quantity...
The same goes for grocery shopping. You can REALLY tell a lot, if the person is single, married, family size. Age of the family; different age groups purchase different items, cookies verses wine
And the one about foreclosures in my neighborhood, that one really cooked my butt.
I kept thinking the size of these data blanks have to be enormous!
As a quick note, Abby goes to the Pig Store grocery shopping and users her Pig discount card...Walla, name association to items purchased...BAR CODES...
What I absolutely hate is that "FREE" credit report you can get. Ha! That ad should be illegal. To begin with they want a credit card number. Then to get your score you need to pay for it. A bunch of do do.
Also... I opted to get a free credit watch because my SS # was on a mailing I got from the government. Nice. Except evidently my 'free year' was up this month and there was a monthly charge on one of my cards. $31.95 I immediately cancelled and thankfully they credited that card. Boy you have to watch them all the time.
SER-same here with Pig card. I get coupons towards what I've purchaced.
Well, credit is only important if you live on it. I have an ATM card. If my checking account can't afford it, I don't buy it. Paid off my house and refused to "tap into my wealth" because I would never put my roof into jeopardy. My credit score however is trashed from medical billing so I figure if it's trashed, just don't use it.
Everything I own, I own. Cash or ATM, with a very rare credit charge when I get gas. The entire bill for that gets paid each month. If they're data logging where I eat and what I buy, and when I get food, they have pretty slim pickings. Now if gold would just take off, I could be sitting pretty.
I have been "frugal" my whole life. They must have quite the history on me. My mom will tell you I still haven't spent my confirmation money.
I'm in SER, where is this hypothetical lunch? I'm assuming some schmantzy joint so you don't look cheap? Is wine included or are you afraid that might hurt your credit rating? ;> (you can't blame a girl for trying!)
The people watching our credit are the same geniuses who destroyed the economy with their lending games. Of course, who can question the judgment of thieves who gave themselves over $18 billion of extorted tax money in bonuses for causing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression?
Remember that credit scores can affect you even if you don't use credit cards. Some insurance companies use credit score in setting rates (Lower score=higher rate) and some employers use it in job screening. I applied for a job one time that made me sign a form saying they could pull a credit report during the hiring process. If hired, I had to sign saying they could pull a credit report on me any time they wanted (I was offered the job but did not accept...ended up here in Tucson so it was the right decision in the long run). The last thing I need is to be fired because the yahoo in front of me in line at the convenience store is getting his house foreclosed! Fortunately, my current employer has no such policy.
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