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Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

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Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#101

Post by patio11 »

Cederfjard wrote: post #92
astral303 wrote: post #58

"Angry people demand; professionals “require.” " YES YES YES--it's not enough to merely be aware of the connotations of your words. You must also be aware of any unintended information conveyed through their use. For example, despite being synonyms, the use of the word "demand" in this context exposes one as an amateur. It doesn't matter if you think this is unfair. It matters that you know all information conveyed,…

Sorry, I know this is very minor and beside the point (ironic, given what you just said about relevance), but isn't that exactly what connotation means? >a : the suggesting of a meaning by a word apart from the thing it explicitly names or describes⁰ Or is this perhaps even more meta than that - the choice itself can convey something apart from the semantics of a word, and this isn't something that the word connotati…

The word connotation is typically used to describe inferences that you'd make about a statement given the word used which are widely available to native speakers of that language. Thin, skinny, and gaunt all mean the same thing; only "gaunt" has the connotation that the person described necessarily has a problem.

The other poster is describing something a bit more meta than what the word connotation typically covers. They are describing something akin to a shibboleth, a great linguistics word. One's use of a shibboleth is an (often very quiet) signal of membership in an in-group. (c.f. usage #2 here: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shibboleth )

An example: if someone steals your credit card, and you call your bank to report that, you could describe your requested action as either "opening a dispute" or "filing a chargeback." These are functionally equivalent but saying "chargeback" suggests that you're likely rather sophisticated about the mechanics of credit cards relative to most well-educated people.

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#102

Post by SilasX »

patio11 wrote: post #5
brndnmtthws wrote: post #2

Another good way to protect yourself is to save money, and avoid needing to rely on banks for a credit lifeline.

You might not care about your credit rating but your credit rating, unfortunately, cares about you. Do you want to rent an apartment in the United States? You will, in many geographical markets, expect to have credit pulled as a matter of course. This is partly to determine ability to pay and partly to determine whether you are socially established; "I have mountains of money, why would I need credit ?" is something…

Yeah, lack of a credit history hurt me when applying for apartment rentals. What's worse, back then the annualcreditreport.com assured me that my FICO was ~720 even though lenders and apartments would treat me as toxic purely on the basis of lacking a history!

(Not a problem since I built up history using a credit card but pretty kafkaesque.)

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#103

Post by lisper »

trishume wrote: post #54

When I grow up, I want to be a Dangerous Professional.

Why wait? You can be a Dangerous Professional at any age. Being able to remain calm in emotional situations is a huge lever in many situations, not just when dealing with bureaucracies. It's almost like a super power. I recommend it.

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#104

Post by SilasX »

scarmig wrote: post #84
yebyen wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the things they were tracking are reliable indicators of "credit-worthiness" then it would not matter if you "game the system" or not. It's like that story about robbing the bank. First, we get jobs at the bank. Then we go in and work the jobs every day... (spoiler: we never actually rob the bank, because we get cushy jobs with benefits, and retirement plans. That's brilliant!) Anyone with a good credit score can…

Any metric is gameable. And, if the current algorithm is the best way to predict "credit-worthiness," publicizing its details will drive consumers toward different behavior, which makes it less powerful Imagine Google made its own credit score, based on your searches, social contacts, etc. It turns out that someone clicking on ads for product X have a very high likelihood of repaying their debt. This information ends…

That's overstating it. "Whether you've paid back all debts on time" isn't gameable.

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#105

Post by e40 »

ptero wrote: post #100
kejaed wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you automatically covered if they give the standard boilerplate that they are recording the call?

IANAL either, but I think either of informing the party upfront or soft beeps in the background are acceptable.

I've been informed by the other side many times that the call was recorded, and never once heard soft beeps. I think the announcement must be enough.

EDIT: IANAL

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#106

Post by JumpCrisscross »

milkytron wrote: post #83

> Mean words cannot hurt a bank. Threats cannot hurt a bank. Paper trails, though, are terrifying to regulated institutions. Your bank’s customer support representatives are taught to evaluate whether someone looks like they’re competent and collecting a paper trail. If they are, the CS rep is supposed to stop touching the case immediately and instead escalate them to a supervisor or to the legal department. This is…

Recording phone calls without the other party's consent is super illegal, as in criminally illegal, in all-party consent states [1]. Needless to say, one gives up leverage when one commits a crime.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_recording_laws

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#107

Post by snowpanda »

kejaed wrote: post #91
patio11 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Important not-a-lawyer advice: recording phone calls without the other party's consent is illegal in wide swathes of the U.S., but keeping copies of letters is legal everywhere.

Are you automatically covered if they give the standard boilerplate that they are recording the call?

That's a great question, this might be of interest to you:

https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/5614/if-other-party-...

The top answer states:

>Once AT&T, or anyone else for that matter, states that the communication is being recorded, it is no longer considered a confidential communication requiring the consent of all parties in order for any party to record it.

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#108

Post by phant0mas »

I see the same thing with all my family and friends. Whenever they have to do something that involves bureaucracy, they give up and/or start shouting. Especially in Greece, where the public sector and the banks depend on you giving up.

Personally I always make sure to go fully prepared, with every legal paper ready before hand, and having ready answers/solution for every possible issue. And above all else I talk as polite as I possibly can, showing respect and making sure I am asking clear and direct questions. And I always double check their answers. As a result I always get my job done.

Funny story: I once needed a signature from the tax office director. While I was at her office and she was taking quite some time to check every thing, looking for something wrong to send me away, her phone rang. The house next to hers caught on fire. She started search for the fire departments phone number and she couldn't find it. Luckily I had my phone with me, googled it really fast and told her the number. Got the paper signed in a instant after that.

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#109

Post by yebyen »

scarmig wrote: post #84
yebyen wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the things they were tracking are reliable indicators of "credit-worthiness" then it would not matter if you "game the system" or not. It's like that story about robbing the bank. First, we get jobs at the bank. Then we go in and work the jobs every day... (spoiler: we never actually rob the bank, because we get cushy jobs with benefits, and retirement plans. That's brilliant!) Anyone with a good credit score can…

Any metric is gameable. And, if the current algorithm is the best way to predict "credit-worthiness," publicizing its details will drive consumers toward different behavior, which makes it less powerful Imagine Google made its own credit score, based on your searches, social contacts, etc. It turns out that someone clicking on ads for product X have a very high likelihood of repaying their debt. This information ends…

Not any metric is gameable.

A reliable indicator of whether you will pay your bills in the future might be whether you paid your bills in the past. There is no way to game this metric, other than by paying your bills.

You just chose a metric that would be easily gamed and said that any metric is gameable.

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#110

Post by eropple »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #21
sailfast wrote: post #14

This is quite a useful write-up and I love the way it's written. Thank you. If you are in the United States you also have an option to file a complaint with their government regulator. Consumer Financial protections bureau has a complaint form prominently featured on their website, as does the FTC for non-financial parts. Believe FDIC does for banks as well. Worth a shot and establishes a paper trail quickly!

Also, find your state financial regulator. Mine is the New York Department of Financial Services and they have teeth.

This is one of the undersold advantages of living in states that care about the decent behavior of corporations operating in their states. It's very expensive to screw people over in them, and so you are more resistant--not immune, of course--to many types of nasty behavior on their part.
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