| Comment Number: | OL-100065 |
| Received: | 11/8/2004 7:27:24 PM |
| Organization: | |
| Commenter: | Pottiger |
| State: | PA |
| Agency: | Federal Trade Commission |
| Rule: | Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| Docket ID: | RIN 3084-AA94 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
Despite urging by consumer advocates and even by the Fair Isaac Corp. , the company the pioneered the concept of credit scores with its FICO score, Congress has not included a free annual credit score as part of the recent changes to the Fair Credit Reporting Act that provides consumers with a free annual credit report. I have always thought it was unfair that credit agencies should profit from providing a consumer with his or her own credit information, particularly since providing this information to businesses is how the credit agencies earn a profit. Further, since the burden is on the consumer, not the credit agency, to make that the information is correct, the consumer should have free access to his or her own information. The same is now true for credit scores. In the past, if you weren't interested in borrowing money, you may not have been concerned about what was in your credit report. Today, however, your credit scores affect the cost of your insurance, your ability to get a job, and the balance you pay on your credit cards. As a result, for a consumer, it's not only important to make sure the information in your credit report is correct, it's also important to understand your credit scores. My belief is that the credit score should be included with the free annual credit report. If, however, the credit agencies are going to be allowed to charge for this information, a "fair and reasonable fee" is $5 or less. This way, the cost of getting your credit scores will not be a burden and the credit agencies won't make a windfall from providing consumers with their own information.