Product Description

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."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #583446 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-18
• Released on: 2005-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 399 pages

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.

Customer Reviews

Bravo for Evan Hendricks! He hits the nail on the head!
He not only explains the costly effects of our severely flawed credit reporting system, but he paints a remarkable picture of the incredible maze most have to travel when simply trying to maintain an accurate credit identity. It appears that Mr. Hendricks has ruffled a few feathers in the credit industry -and for that, we should all be thankful! Give Me Back My Credit!

A must read for every American consumer out there
Very well thought out book. Well structured and a must read if you are a consumer in America - otherwise the system could be hurting you...

Plenty of eye openers in the book...Well worth the price...

My only negative comment is it can be pretty technical and have a lot of legal verbiage, but with the subject's context, it has to be...

I disagree with the one comment saying it was repetitive...the only insight we have to the intrical parts of the credit system is through legal cases...so the history is very important...if anything, I'm anxious for developments to take place to fix the system...

It's another one of those topics where just because you're born, you have to be aware of it and understand how it works...

A Necessary Read... but Very Repetetive-
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.