wherein something is wrong with Liz's paycheck (and her credit card is still screwed up, too)

[edenfalling]

I got my paycheck for last week today, and while I expected it to be smaller than usual (I missed a day of work because I was sick), it was so much smaller I was a little suspicious. I checked the hours they claimed I'd worked, and got even more suspicious.

Normally I work 35-38.5 hours a week, depending on scheduling quirks. Last week I missed a 6.5 hour shift out of a scheduled 35.5 hours, so my final tally should've been about 29 hours.

My paycheck stub claims I worked not quite 24 hours. Something is obviously rotten in the state of STNC. :-(

I will report this to my manager tomorrow and hopefully get a corrected paycheck next week.

---------------

In other financial news, I am in the process of replying to the two credit card offers I've received since my current account had its credit limit slashed. I sent in to TransUnion for a copy of my credit report, to make sure I wasn't a victim of identity theft, and it turns out I'm safe there. My card company (Elan Financial) has simply decided that since I only have one card and have only had it for a year and a half, they don't have enough data to assess whether I'm a risky customer... and since I make less than $20,000 a year, I am obviously not worth keeping on their books.

Bastards.

So I also plan to call them tomorrow or Monday and (politely) rake them over the coals as the inconsiderate skinflints they are. *angelic smile*

...

You know, that credit report made me SO ANGRY. It kept saying that I had only one credit card, which meant I was obviously a bad credit risk -- even though I have never made a late payment, and only carried a balance once, when I had several big expenses in one month, and which I immediately paid off in full the next month! Let me quote you some of their idiocy:

Factors that impact your score:

1. You have too few credit accounts.
A healthy balance of credit and loan accounts is key to achieving a high credit score. It is important to build a record of responsible credit use over time with different types of accounts.

2. Time since oldest account opened is too recent.
Time is an important factor for a healthy credit score. Giving the accounts time to mature may allow creditors to better understand how you pay your debts.

3. You have no retail revolving accounts that can be used in determining a credit score.
A healthy balance of credit and loan accounts is key to achieving an high credit score. It is important to build a record of responsible credit use over time with different types of accounts.

4. You have no real estate accounts that can be used in determining a credit score.
A healthy balance of credit and loan accounts is key to achieving an high credit score. It is important to build a record of responsible credit use over time with different types of accounts.

Note: In addition to the factors listed above, the number of inquiries on your credit report has adversely affected your credit score.


So basically TransUnion is saying that because I'm not up to my eyebrows in debt with a mortage and six credit cards -- because I only use one credit card and pay the balance in full every month -- because I didn't need any credit until 2007 -- because they are too lazy to look at my years of timely and unproblematic rent and utility payments -- because (and this last one is the one that really makes me steam) various companies have inquired about me and then decided I was a good enough credit risk that they sent me credit card offers! -- I am not a good credit risk.

Unprintable bastards.

Whatever planet they get their definition of 'healthy credit' from is not Earth, that's all I have to say.


This post edited slightly when I came back to my senses and noticed how much I'd been cursing. *headdesk* I should not post in a blinding rage; anger does unfortunate things to my vocabulary.

Comments

[lasultrix.livejournal.com]

Argh!

Same thing happened to treehavn with Halifax. She had an emergency credit card she'd never, or rarely, used, and she got a letter saying that because she wasn't using it, its limit was being slashed. I think it was £3000 to £500 or something crazy like that.

I'm still using my student credit card I got ages ago, which has a max of €600. I have never once not paid it off in full by the end of the month. I wonder if that's going to impact me when I leave university permanently this year and want a grown-up credit card. *mutters*

[edenfalling]

Theoretically paying your balance in full each month is good behavior. In practice, though, it means the credit card company is only earning interchange fees from you; they would much prefer to earn interest. That's actually the other reason I was willing to let $50 slide on my balance that one month, despite the 17% interest rate -- it was throwing a bone to Elan to show willing, you know? On the other hand, if you've had your card for more than three years, that's probably long enough to establish your trustworthiness, so you're in a better situation than I am.

Anyway, they cut my limit from $1,400 to $300, which is rage-inducingly insulting -- it's nearly an 80% drop! Also, the only reason I got a credit card was so I could rent cars. In order to do that, you put down a $200-$300 payment upfront, and then they do a refund or an additional charge at the end of the rental period, depending on what your actual costs are. So if I wanted to rent a car with my current credit card (and I will definitely need a car in July when I visit my grandmother, and probably again over Thanksgiving), I couldn't use that card for anything else that entire month -- which means either I'd have to pay cash for everything or I'd have to use my debit card.

And the thing about debit cards? A lot of stores have started charging transaction fees for the use of a debit card instead of a credit card. My grocery store, for instance, charges 50 cents for each purchase, which, since I buy groceries about twice a week, would come to over $50 a year.

So this is more than just insulting. It's a genuine imposition.

[snaegl.livejournal.com]

Don't get me started on the state of "credit" in this country. Scrambling to keep up with debts=good credit, for some insane reason that I can't understand. I had a similar situation when were were applying for mortgages--low 700s because there "wasn't enough data."

Meanwhile, a friend of mine who fried her credit back in college is considered a "good" risk because she paid it off 10 years later.

And people wonder why our economy is in the tubes? Try taking some frackin' responsibility for one's finances, f*cktard.

/rant

[edenfalling]

Yeah, I am currently at about 750. *sour face*

To a certain extent I can see that it's hard to make a reliable calculation of lending risk without a lot of data, but you know, there are other sources of data beyond past credit card records. Rent and utility payments, annual income, and an average bank account balance are probably good places to start when doing an initial credit risk assessment, but apparently that would be too time-consuming for TransUnion.

Bah.

[uminohikari.livejournal.com]

The way credit score is calculated is completely ridiculous :|

[edenfalling]

It really, really is.