Recreation Center

Credit Repair: The Truth About the Credit Bureaus

Are you under the impression that there is some relationship between the credit bureaus and the government? Credit repair expert Jim Kemish offers some insights.

Not a Friendly Service

In a recent blog entry I wrote, “Significant legislation has been enacted to protect you from the impact of the credit bureau’s inaccuracies. The right that you have to receive copies of your three credit reports for free on an annual basis is not a friendly public service by the credit bureaus. The bureaus have been required to provide this service as one of the protective measures included in the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. Your credit report can have a major impact on your financial life. Give your credit the attention that it deserves and review your reports regularly.”

A Reader Responds

A reader responded by asking, “I’ve read that the credit bureaus are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission. Doesn’t this indicate a relationship with the government?” Below is my reply along with some additional thoughts on the subject.

The Credit Bureaus are Not Government Agencies

I replied that, “The relationship between the credit bureaus and the government is the same as the relationship that you have with the government. Because your actions are conscripted by law does not in anyway suggest that you are necessarily a law abiding citizen (although I’m sure that you are!). As many people live in a constant adversarial relationship with the government, so do many large businesses. The credit bureaus happen to be constantly at odds with the law. Given the potential impact that credit reporting errors can have on your financial life, I strongly suggest that you modify your opinion of the bureaus enough to be very cautious of the content of your credit report.”

Strictly For Profit

One of the unfortunate underlying assumptions that people, like the above reader, have in their attitude towards the credit bureaus is that the bureaus have some form of official status. This could not be farther from the truth. They are strictly for profit businesses. Experian and Equifax are publicly traded companies and list their revenues in the billions of dollars. Trans Union is a privately held company with revenues estimated also in the billions. The three credit bureaus have maintained a consistently adversarial relationship with the government and consumers throughout their histories.

An Adversarial Relationship

An adversarial relationship with the public is not unusual for large businesses. All activities are chosen for the purpose of producing profits. The history of lawsuits brought against the bureaus over time paint a clear picture. The office of the Attorney General of Florida is currently pursuing action against Experian relating to misleading claims, deceptive advertising, a misleading domain name (freecreditreport.com), and failure to honor cancellations to their credit monitoring service offered through this so-called free credit report website.

A History of Conflict

The type of behavior described by the Office of the Attorney General of Florida is consistent with countless charges against the three bureaus. In the 1970s Equifax was charged with rewarding its employees for collecting negative information on consumers. This charge, which resulted in a consent decree, provides an interesting hint about the corporate culture.

Experian Gets an “F”

In 2006 a leading consumer advocate website rated the customer service offered by the three bureaus. The ratings were dismal including a grade of “F” given to Experian, who was sited for not even providing customers with a customer service telephone number. Credit repair is not on the priority list at the credit bureaus!

Nothing Has Changed

The above mentioned consumer advocate site has a current post that says, “With the 2003 amendments to the FCRA, and the introduction of the FACT Act, millions of consumers will see the quality of their credit reports degrade even further. FACT stands for Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction ActHealth Fitness Articles, but in reality it is just our government trying to appease millions of consumer who complain about the current credit reporting industry.  But they are only appeasing us in name only…”

The Forces at Work

We have been assisting our customers with credit repair since 1989 and as such have dealt with the three bureaus on a consistent basis. There are two major forces at work that shape the behavior of the credit bureaus. The first major force is the need to maximize and protect profits which may result in decisions about operating policy that are not in the best interest of the public. The second force that conspires with the profit motive is the sheer bulk of data that the credit bureaus are trying to manage and maintain. The result has been widespread and serious errors on consumer reports combined with a horrible corporate bureaucratic resistance to fixing the problem. So check your credit reports regularly. Copyright © 2007 James W. Kemish. All Content. All Rights Reserved.

Credit Repair: The Truth About the Credit Bureaus / James Kemish

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jim Kemish is the president and founder of Power Mortgage, a Florida mortgage company based in Delray Beach, Florida. Power Mortgage Corp was established in 1989 and serves the states of Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Virginia. Jim is also the President of Sky Blue Credit, a national credit repair business. For great credit and mortgage tips visit the Florida Mortgage Blog. You’ll be glad you did!

Protect Yourself While Gaming

Tips to avoid eye strain and Proper sitting tips while playing games

Gaming means long hours at the computer. Self absorbent and an obsessive hobby, incorrect habits and posture are detrimental to health. Problems like musculoskeletal injuries, eyestrain, and disabilities of the hands and wrist like, RSI or Repetitive Strain Injury are common.

Bad posture causes: pain, stiffness of joints, weakness, bad circulation, as well as swelling.

Ensure that:

• The desk is designed especially for computers.
• While seated, the feet are flat on the floor; arms and thighs are parallel to the ground; back is straight; and the arms don’t have to stretch out to reach the keyboard or mouse.
• The keyboard height is such that the elbows are parallel to the ground and level with the keyboard. An ergonomic keyboard is recommended.
• The spine maintains its ‘S’ curve when seated, so use an ergonomic chair and if required, a footstool.
• The mouse is placed at the same height as the keyboard. Use your whole arm not just the wrist when operating the mouse.
• Typing is done with light fingers. The wrists should be flat and not angled to the left or right. To avoid nerve compression the elbow must not be angled more than 90 degrees.
• The arms are raised off the keyboard as often as possible.
• Tasks are alternated so that you are not typing or clicking the mouse continuously.
Another factor is eye strain. Extended computer use can cause: blurred vision, focusing difficulties, as well as headaches.

Reduce risk by ensuring that:

• The light source is angled from the side. The primary light source must not shine on the face or directly on the screen. Lighting should have a 10:3 ratio screen characters should be 10X brighter than background and room lights should be 3X the screen brightness. Use a shaded copy lamp to avoid screen reflections.
• Reflections and glare are eliminated by using an antiglare screen and by tilting the monitor slightly.
• The monitor must be centered so that neither the body nor neck is twisted when viewing the screen.
• The screen is of good quality. The text should be sharp and nor distorted. Change the resolution to a comfortable font size.
• The monitor is a suitable distance away.
• The screen is at eye level or lower.
• Brightness and contrast are reduced to suitable levels.

It is important to:

• Break concentration by looking away from the monitor at far away objects at least once every 15-20 minutes.
• Pause in between to blink your eyes rapidly. This will lubricate the eyes and prevent dryness.
• Schedule regular eye checks.
• Monitor blurred vision, headaches, red eyes, or watering eyes.
• Splash water and wash your eyes at least 3-4 times a day.

Tips:

• It is advisable to take frequent breaks, either do stretches or take a short walk once every hour for 10-15 minutes.
• Use a well ventilated room.
• Reduce emission in laser printers, photocopiers, and scanners.

Problems can be eliminated and the risk reduced by inculcating good posture and working habits.

Protect Yourself While Gaming / Submitted By: Paul Wilson

About Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson is the content manager for http://www.1888FreeOnlineGames.com , the premier website to play thousands of free online games including arcade games, action games, card games, flash games, strategy games, puzzle games and more. He also manages content for http://www.1888SoftwareDownloads.com

Texas Holdem Player Categories

A useful thought process or tool you should familiarize yourself with is placing opponents into categories, both for your current playing session as well as any future sessions against the same player. There are four broad categories of playing styles. By playing against an opponent and learning his or her tendencies, you can place them in a category and adjust your style when contesting a pot with them. I find that by putting names with categories it helps me remember how each opponent plays.

Here is a list of different playing styles followed by a suggested name for each. Feel free to use your own names if they are easier for you to remember. One note of caution, just because a player has been included in one category in the past does not mean that he or she cannot be in a different one today. Players play differently at different times for many reasons. Some tight/aggressive players change to loose/aggressive when drinking while others will tighten up after a bad beat. Always take a little time to reevaluate players you have experience with to make sure they haven’t changed their style.

Tight/Aggressive – Being this type of player should be your goal. This player doesn’t play many hands, but when they do, they play very aggressively. The tight/aggressive player will often enter the pot with a raise and bet and raise until they win or are clearly beaten. Every time that a player bets or raises, it forces other players to make decisions and whenever a player must make a decision, he/she may make a mistake.

The tight/aggressive player capitalizes on this by providing opportunities for his/her opponents to make these mistakes. The name I assign to these players is Solid. You must respect their bets and raises because they seldom enter a pot with a poor hand. Solid players maximize their intake with winning hands and minimize it with second best hands. When choosing a game, if I see too many solid players in it, I will usually find another game if one is available.

Loose/Aggressive – The loose/aggressive player plays too many hands, usually raises and is very hard to bluff. When playing against them it is important to keep your starting hand requirements tight so that you are often in the hand with better cards than them. Most loose/aggressive players are trying to play the correct way, which is tight/aggressive, but simply play too many hands. In the long run, loose/aggressive players tend to be losing players because they play too many hands. The name I assign to the loose/aggressive player is Semi-Maniac.

A player that is at the very outer edge of loose/aggressive is the Maniac. The Maniac plays many hands and always raises if they are in a hand. If you find yourself against a maniac, just sit back and wait for your very best starting hands. The maniac will pay you a very high price when you do have a great hand so you can afford to pass up the marginal ones.

Tight/Weak – A tight/weak player has a solid understanding of starting hand requirements and follows them, but doesn’t play well after the flop. This player doesn’t raise to protect their best hands, which often lets drawing hands catch-up without paying a high price. A tight/weak player much prefers checking and calling to see what is coming next. The tight/weak player may show a small profit in games full of poor players because of the proper starting hand selection, but will be eaten alive by solid players. I call the tight/weak players Sandstone, in reference to a weak rock.

Loose/Weak – The loose/weak player plays too many hands, calls when he or she should raise or fold and almost always will pay you off on the river with second, third and often worse hands. I call these players Calling Stations. These are the players that many poker players call Fish. I know that the loose/weak player will always pay off my good hands and I often try to isolate him/her to take advantage of this.

Texas Holdem Player Categories / Submitted By: Wes Young

About Wes Young
Wes Young runs a poker web site at http://www.pokermonger.com where you can find information about poker strategy, poker room reviews and unique poker articles. He also publishes a weekly poker column. For information visit thepokercolumn.com