San Diego, CA - "It's
blessing or bane, depending on your credit record," said
Skye McNeill of San Diego and a student at an area
college, "It depends on how well student loans have been
repaid. If you have a good repayment record, this move is
a blessing, however, if you have missed several payments
and even defaulted, this resumption of credit reporting on
student-loans will be a big problem," she continued.
"Sally Mae, the nation's largest student loan company will
resume reporting to all three major credit reporting
agencies (CRAs), the debt and repayment histories of its
seven million borrowers. This will have a huge impact on
credit ratings and scores of these borrowers, some
positive for the prompt payers and big problems for the
late payers and defaulters" said Paul Richard, a
registered financial consultant (RFC) and the Executive
Director of the award winning, nonprofit Institute of
Consumer Financial Education (ICFE) based in San Diego,
CA. The ICFE is dedicated to helping consumers become
better spenders, regular savers and wise users of credit.
About a year ago, Sallie Mae ceased its reporting of
borrower's repayment history to Experian and Trans Union,
however not to Equifax. Sallie Mae said its purpose to
protect the borrower's privacy, however not reporting
timely payments could depress credit scores, which is
directly related to the type of loan a borrower might
qualify for as well as the rate of interest she or he is
charged.
According to Terry Clemans, the executive director of the
National Credit Reporting Association, a trade group based
in Illinois, some credit card issuers also intentionally
fail to report customer's credit limits, which he
contends, "significantly lower credit scores." He also
stated flatly, "Sub-prime mortgage lenders report to no
one, which keeps on-time payments, out of sight of the
competition and artificially lowering scores."
As usual, it is up to the consumer to make certain that
all relevant payment information, whether it's a student
loan, a credit card or a home mortgage, is included in
their own credit reports. The only way to be certain is
for consumers to request a copy of their credit report
from all three major CRA's and review each one both for
accuracy and completeness at least once a-year.
For more information about a obtaining and understanding
your own credit reports, visit the ICFE's Web page at:
http://www.icfe.info.
To receive the same information by mail, please send $1
and a self-addressed, 60 cent stamped envelope to: ICFE,
Credit Report Review, PO Box 34070, San Diego, CA 92163.
For information contact Paul Richard, RFC - ICFE Executive
Director at 619-239-1401..