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It's Official: Medical Debt Now Barred From Your Credit Report

Credit scores are expected to rise by average of 20 points, thanks to new rule by Biden administration

(Newser) - Unpaid medical bills will no longer appear on credit reports, where they can block people from mortgages, car loans, or small-business loans, according to a final rule announced Tuesday by the Biden administration. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule will remove $49 billion in medical debt from the credit reports...

Warren Wants to Stop Equifax From Profiting Off Data Breach

She's introduced the Freedom From Equifax Exploitation Act

(Newser) - Sen. Elizabeth Warren—and 11 other Democratic senators—introduced legislation Friday targeting credit reporting companies in the wake of the Equifax data breach that affected 143 million US consumers, Reuters reports. In short, the Freedom from Equifax Exploitation Act would keep Equifax from profiting off its own data breach, according...

Here's Why You Should Freeze Your Credit Reports

It's the only way to stop criminals from opening new accounts in your name

(Newser) - Freeze your credit reports before you get burned. That's the message from security experts, consumer advocates, and some state attorneys general. They say more people should consider a credit freeze as a way to block identity thieves from opening new credit cards and other accounts in your name. They...

Guy Named 'God' Finally Settles Lawsuit

Equifax had refused to acknowledge God Gazarov

(Newser) - A New York City man whose first name is God has settled a lawsuit with a credit reporting agency that had refused to recognize his name as legitimate. Under the agreement reached in Brooklyn federal court this week, Equifax will enter God Gazarov's name into its database. The terms...

Medical Debt Gets a Break in Credit-Report Overhaul

Big 3 agencies agree to revamp system to better address errors, medical bills

(Newser) - Good news for consumers who've had to play the waiting game to pay off medical debt: The three largest credit-reporting agencies in the US are working together to overhaul their systems to take better care of customer issues and the way medical debt is handled, Reuters reports. In a...

Study: 1 in 5 Had Error in Their Credit Reports

But few of the errors would change prices consumers pay

(Newser) - One in five consumers had an error in a credit report issued by a major agency, according to a government study released today. The Federal Trade Commission study also said that 5% of the consumers identified errors in their reports that could lead to them paying more for mortgages, auto...

Medical Bills? Your Credit Score Could Take a Whack

Health providers are using collection agencies more aggressively

(Newser) - That unpaid medical bill your insurance company promises to cover for you? Watch out, because even small medical bills are more likely to damage your credit score these days, the New York Times reports. A Texas man was surprised to find that an unpaid $200 ambulance bill (for his son'...

Credit Card Debt Drops to 8-Year Low

Falls to an average of $4,951

(Newser) - The average American’s credit card debt hit an 8-year low in the second quarter of the year—even as rates hit a 9-year high . The average combined credit card debt fell to $4,951, down 13% from $5,719 over the same stretch last year, according to figures from...

Biggest Ripoffs in US
 Biggest Ripoffs in US 
Feb 2, 2010 5:58 PM CST

Biggest Ripoffs in US

Phone texts, movie popcorn, and textbooks are overpriced

(Newser) - Text messages may be the biggest ripoff in America. It costs 1/3 of a cent for carriers to send a message, but they can hit you with a 20-cent charge on pay-per-text plans. That's a markup of 6,500%. More bad deals from CNNMoney :
  • Movie popcorn, 900%: No surprise here,
...

FTC Takes on 'Free' Credit Report Minstrels

Latest showdown between Feds and credit bureau goes viral

(Newser) - A long-running battle between the Federal Trade Commission and credit bureau Experian has blossomed into a viral video showdown of sorts. Experian runs FreeCreditReport.com—beneficiary of the cheeky slacker music video/ads. The FTC thinks—rightly, in the opinion of many—that the company is intentionally diverting consumers from the...

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