The biggest snoop in the US is the credit bureaus. You might think it is your neighbors, or the crazy rumor-mills in these little towns like South Padre Island. You might think it is George Bush with his illegal-sounding NSA phone taps and such. No, friends, it is the credit firms with evil names like Equifax, Solutions (huh?), and TransUnion. They know what you buy and whether you pay it on time or write a hot check. I read about this stuff while eating dinner and almost splooged.
I hate to sound like an old man, but it used to be you could work with your local bank, build up some savings, open a checking account, and get considered for a loan if you needed one, like for a house. Credit cards were for richie-rich people who shopped in downtown Manhattan, very expensive and very fake “gold card” money.
Heck man, most of us back then traded in cash. I remember as a kid working at a restaurant and somebody paid with a travelers check and we had absolutely no idea what to do with it. “That’s tourist money - it pays just as good, guys” said the boss. We stared in awe, mouths agape.
Spending, loans, check writing, and investments: unless you deal in hard currency these folks have everything financial on your life! And guess what, the government is behind it and gets to share some of those goodies. And they score you too, every day, 500 to 990! No other espionage system could work as well. They want us to worry about our medical records and whether George Bush is doing “peek-a-boo” searches but folks, I think I’m on to something and it is the worst.
Well, except for Bruno. He really is a snoopy bastard.
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Some states are trying to outlaw the use of credit reports by insurance companies as a basis for determining insurance premiums. The thinking behind this is that if you are conservative with your credit, you are probably equally responsible in other areas of everyday life, that is low risk. In the recent past I worked in real estate for several years, including mortgage and credit repair. You would be surprised at the variety of information available on your credit report. Hot checks, delinquent accts.,child support, tax leins, bankruptcies, over limit charges on accts., Broken leases and such can also be found. If, for example a contractor doing work on your home does poor work and you do not pay for the work, they, for a few dollars, can place a lein on your home. This can cost you time and money to clear up. Don't dispair, if you have credit issues, there are other ways of securing a loan using "Alternative Credit". These are other bills you pay which do not appear on your credit report, given they are in good standing. As not to go into a dissertation on credit, I will leave it at this. I do agree that the credit companies have too much information, even if it does speed up credit acquisition. MLeahy
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