It was clear from the stunning news footage and other coverage that Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Fiona caused enormous physical damage to their communities. Houses were leveled, businesses were left in rubble, and streets became rivers. But, as people lose their homes and jobs or have to wait until insurance checks arrive, the bills somehow […]
Category Archives: Credit Scores
Last year, a 91-year-old Marylander had the shock of her life. She discovered that, according to the Social Security Administration, she was already dead. This wasn’t just comical. It immediately impacted her life because, since she was “dead,” she was no longer eligible for the retirement benefits that she lived on. And she isn’t the […]
Last year, a 91-year-old Marylander had the shock of her life. She discovered that, according to the Social Security Administration, she was already dead. This wasn’t just comical. It immediately impacted her life because, since she was “dead,” she was no longer eligible for the retirement benefits that she lived on. And she isn’t the […]
Last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered Hyundai Capital America (HCA) to pay more than $19 million in penalties for giving inaccurate information to the financial credit bureaus—making this the CFPB’s largest case against an automotive servicer for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Of the penalties, $13 million will impact Hyundai […]
Recently, the Wall Street Journal had an article about married couples who wound up having the same name. And this issue may become more common as names previously considered male or female become gender-neutral. For example, in November of 2022, movie star Taylor Lautner married Taylor Dome, who became Mrs. Taylor Lautner. While the article […]
A person’s surname can reveal a lot of information about them, particularly their ethnicity or ancestry—but it’s not always safe to assume that you know who someone is because of their last name. Plenty of folks get their name from marriage; others take the name of their adoptive family. Some people make up their name […]
You’re probably aware that many Italian surnames have a vowel as the final letter, but the number of them that end with an A, E, I, or O might surprise you. Of the top 100 Italian surnames, 96 fit that convention! Piras, de Angelis, de Santis, and Dal are the only four that do not […]
The story of German people in America is as old as the story of America itself. Most people know that immigrants from all over Europe flocked to the United States in the 1800s, but the German population here had some 200 years of American life under their belts by then. A few of the notable […]
If you haven’t yet, read part 1! Though tradelines—reports of outstanding debts—can considerably impact a consumer’s credit report and credit score, a report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reveals that debt collection reporting is uneven and suspect. Updating the information on a credit report often does not depend on the debt resolution. Instead, […]
According to a report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), debt collectors provide vast amounts of data to the three national credit bureaus—Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. The bureaus then use the debt collectors’ data in calculating the credit reports (and credit scores) of 220 million consumers. And concerningly, the CFPB has identified critical issues […]