Ask me anything about your Credit Score

[SossMan]

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so I still don't understand why late payments hurt your score so much - I have a truly godawful credit score - like 560 last time I checked - because and only because I have gone through periods of life where I am unable to pay a bill on time (through irresponsibility not lacking the funds)- yet I always end up paying (no defaults) so in essence credit card companies make even MORE off me than the already outrageous interest rates they charge me (25.6% booyah) because I pay once every 3 months everything that is due plus all their crappy late payment fees. i know its supposedly a risk-metric, but i wonder if late payments correlate so strongly with risk of default.

also, i have a car repossession (that I paid off with cash but it shouldnt have been repossessed in the first place) that i have been fighting for 6 months to get taken off my credit record - the car leasing company agrees that they made a mistake (at least verbally) but they say now that they have reported it it can't be taken off - true or untrue?

i don't really care about my credit score as i feel pretty strongly about never going into debt again beyond student loans - even to buy a house - but it might be nice to have that option at somepoint -

also i have 17 traffic tickets (don't ask) from 5+ years ago (that were paid off) that JUST went to a collection agency a couple months ago and now show up as defaulted debt - i'm not planning on paying them (again) nor flying across the country to fight them in court and will just ignore them until they stop sending notices - why does this show up on my credit history when it wasn't a loan that i'm failing to pay back but contested civil penalties?

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I get this all the time.

"If CC companies make more money from late fees, then why do they care, as long as I end up paying it eventually"

In a bubble, maybe they make more off someone like you who pays w/ penalties and accrued default interest on a quarterly instead of a monthly basis. But in practice, you are lumped in with people who happen to share your characteristics. People who default on their debts share one common habit moreso than any other trait: they don't make timely payments. It indicates a cash-flow problem or an indifference to debtor problem. If you share these characteristics, then you are going to be lumped in with the people who eventually say 'eff you' to the CC company.

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also, i have a car repossession (that I paid off with cash but it shouldnt have been repossessed in the first place) that i have been fighting for 6 months to get taken off my credit record - the car leasing company agrees that they made a mistake (at least verbally) but they say now that they have reported it it can't be taken off - true or untrue

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untrue. if you get something in writing from them, you can submit it to the credit repositories and it will come off your credit.

www.annualcreditreport.com

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i don't really care about my credit score as i feel pretty strongly about never going into debt again beyond student loans - even to buy a house - but it might be nice to have that option at somepoint

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There are other things in life that require a credit score other than going into debt. Lots of employers pull your credit before offering you a job, for instance.


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also i have 17 traffic tickets (don't ask) from 5+ years ago (that were paid off) that JUST went to a collection agency a couple months ago and now show up as defaulted debt - i'm not planning on paying them (again) nor flying across the country to fight them in court and will just ignore them until they stop sending notices - why does this show up on my credit history when it wasn't a loan that i'm failing to pay back but contested civil penalties?

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Judgements are reported on your credit report...otherwise, lots of people would simply never pay. If you go to buy a house and get a loan, now you will be forced to pay this (or show that it has already been paid)