New Threats to Your Credit Score

Written by Nickel - 3 Comments

According to a recent article on MSN/Money, an increasing number of municipalities are turning over unpaid library fines, parking tickets, traffic fines, etc. to collection agencies. Thus, these sorts of things are now starting to turn up on people’s credit reports, wreaking havoc with their FICO scores. The unfortunate thing is that such indiscretions may have more to do with absent-mindedness than with a lack of creditworthiness, but they count just the same. So be careful not to let such things slide by, or you might inadvertently wreck your credit.

Published on July 11th, 2005 - 3 Comments
Filed under: Credit Cards
email this article email this article - add to tip'd - stumble it - digg it - bookmark it

About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!

Related articles...

» One Year Ago This Week (July 9th – July 15th)
» Five Ways to Hurt Your Credit Score
» From the Archives (July 8th – July 14th)
» $4.60 Worth of Laziness
» Yet Another Reason to Value Your Credit Score
» Another Reason to Value Your Credit Score
» Do You Care About Your Credit Score?
» Delinquency Rates and FICO Scores

Was this article useful? Please sign up to receive our content via e-mail:

You will receive only the daily updates, and can unsubscribe at anytime.

Comments (scroll down to add your own):

  1. I would say that these things indicate that a person is not as responsible as the average person (after all, if you consistently forget to return your library books, can a company be certain that you’ll remember to pay your bill?). On the other hand, credit card companies love absent-minded people because then they can charge extra late fees! ;-)

    Comment by FMF — Jul 11th 2005 @ 1:37 pm

  2. Good point. However, is honestly forgetting to pay a bill on time a reliable predictor of whether or not you will *default* on your debt obligations? That, after all, is what creditors are really afraid of. As you point out, they might actually enjoy being able to tag you for a bunch of extra late fees, etc.

    Comment by nickel — Jul 11th 2005 @ 1:41 pm

  3. A debt is a debt … a quarter to your co-worker when you’re short at lunch is a debt, and it should be repaid just like your parking tickets or your mortgage. Intentional or not, forgetting to repay something that is owed indicates a higher risk of default, which is what the credit score measures.

    Comment by mbhunter — Jul 11th 2005 @ 9:48 pm

Leave a comment

Subscribe without commenting

« Update on the Blockbuster (Non)Deal for Switching

  2. < $10,000
 

Great deals...

Readers’ choice...

Recent articles...

Recent comments...

Most talked about...

Disclaimer...

The terms of third-party offers referenced on this website are subject to change without notice. While we strive to maintain timely and accurate information, offer details may be out of date. Visitors should thus verify the terms of any such offers prior to participating in them. Please see our terms of service for additional details.