Foo - How you can be a Credit Criminal with a score of 790+

So I apply for a no interest credit line with MacMall to finance this $2500 computer purchase I just made. I figure easier to pay it off over six months with no interest than pay cash now. The company REJECTS me. I'm non-plussed. I run my credit scores, get the complete report from all three bureaus, Equifax, Transunion and the other one. Lowest score is 785, highest 792, that puts me in better credit standing than 91-98.6% of Americans, depending on the rating agency.

So I just tell MacMall I'll pay cash, and I tell them I think that's crazy, then I think about it. If I were the credit card vendor in this case, I wouldn't WANT people with credit as good as mine. You know, people who ALWAYS pay it off in the term allotted, because I lose money on those guys. I'd want the people with OK credit, say scores of 650-700, because they are FAR more likely to miss one payment or be late, and that gives me the green light to charge THEM 25%+ interest retroactively to the start of the agreement. Yet those aren't the real credit criminals, they'll pay the balance all right, but I'll make a profit on those accounts.

That makes sense for the credit card vendor. But that will piss off MacMall's customers. I will forward my theory to MacMall, I think I'm correct on this. I even called Equifax (the alleged agency this credit card vendor used to check my credit) and they said, no, nothing derogatory on their credit report for me.

Go figure. It's a total friggin racket.

MacMall still exists? Wow. SmallDog too.

Go figure. It's a total friggin racket.

And you wonder why we are struggling out of an economic crash?

Did you tell them you're a fanboy, a shill and a stockholder? Have you tried calling Steve directly at his house?

Tell them your BF post count. That ought to tip the scales in your favor.

They want financially irresponsible people to be locked in debt for the rest of their life.


I have a friend who pays nothing but minimum payments on his credit cards. He gets credit card offers up the yin yang.


P.S., I believe Best Buy has 18 month no interest financing.

If I were the credit card vendor in this case, I wouldn't WANT people with credit as good as mine. You know, people who ALWAYS pay it off in the term allotted...

Go figure. It's a total friggin racket.
Correct. They had an article on NPR a few years ago where they interviewed someone who worked for a CC company. Apparently, in some circles, people who pay everything off without incurring charges are referred to as "deadbeats" because they don't make the company any money.

As far as I can tell, the first thing finance companies do when you apply for a loan is figure out if you're drowning in debt. If you are, they offer you a glass of water.

I doubt it will piss off MacMall's customers. For one thing, Apple fanboys don't care what they pay (which is partly why Apple's profit margins are some of the highest in the industry), so why would they care if the markup on the financing is also sky high?

In a former lifetime, I used to sell crap along with financing for the aforementioned crap. Even though our credit terms totally sucked and we disclosed them, selling credit was like shooting fish in a barrel. Most people who sprung for the financing weren't even interested in knowing what the credit terms were -- all they cared about was their monthly payment. One thing I never liked about it was that the people with the least ability to pay were getting charged the most.

Despite the fact we were screwing them over, these people were statistically our most satisfied customers by far (BTW, these people also bought extended warranties much more often than other customers). Pleasing the eggheads who actually think about things logically is much harder. I suspect that's partly why Apple customers are so highly satisfied as a group.

But then again, if you think you're happy you are. Who cares what someone else says is a good deal?

It's just another example of a system built on irresponsible behavior.

Go figure. It's a total friggin racket.

correct

Regardless, as a small business owner, your capital investment can be depreciated rapidly this year. Talk to your CPA about it.

I doubt it will piss off MacMall's customers.

Oh, incorrect.

I will not be doing business with MacMall again.

So I apply for a no interest credit line with MacMall to finance this $2500 computer purchase I just made. I figure easier to pay it off over six months with no interest than pay cash now. The company REJECTS me. I'm non-plussed. I run my credit scores, get the complete report from all three bureaus, Equifax, Transunion and the other one. Lowest score is 785, highest 792, that puts me in better credit standing than 91-98.6% of Americans, depending on the rating agency.

So I just tell MacMall I'll pay cash, and I tell them I think that's crazy, then I think about it. If I were the credit card vendor in this case, I wouldn't WANT people with credit as good as mine. You know, people who ALWAYS pay it off in the term allotted, because I lose money on those guys. I'd want the people with OK credit, say scores of 650-700, because they are FAR more likely to miss one payment or be late, and that gives me the green light to charge THEM 25%+ interest retroactively to the start of the agreement. Yet those aren't the real credit criminals, they'll pay the balance all right, but I'll make a profit on those accounts.

That makes sense for the credit card vendor. But that will piss off MacMall's customers. I will forward my theory to MacMall, I think I'm correct on this. I even called Equifax (the alleged agency this credit card vendor used to check my credit) and they said, no, nothing derogatory on their credit report for me.

Go figure. It's a total friggin racket.

You should have requested that MacMall provide you with a credit report. If you're denied credit, they HAVE to give you the report if you ask for it, rather than you running your report.

Also, you don't cost them money if you pay it all off on time... they still get the transaction fee. They just don't make any interest or fees on your account, but that's not a reason they'd deny you credit.

I'd request the reason from them... they have to provide it.

You should have requested that MacMall provide you with a credit report. If you're denied credit, they HAVE to give you the report if you ask for it, rather than you running your report.

Also, you don't cost them money if you pay it all off on time... they still get the transaction fee. They just don't make any interest or fees on your account, but that's not a reason they'd deny you credit.

I'd request the reason from them... they have to provide it.

They'll lose money on him just in administration costs.

You should have requested that MacMall provide you with a credit report. If you're denied credit, they HAVE to give you the report if you ask for it, rather than you running your report.

Also, you don't cost them money if you pay it all off on time... they still get the transaction fee. They just don't make any interest or fees on your account, but that's not a reason they'd deny you credit.

I'd request the reason from them... they have to provide it.

Why bother? I'm not concerned about my credit.

Because they have to pay for it for one.

And to know why they declined you for another. It's possible that you have something on your report that doesn't belong to you.

You should have requested that MacMall provide you with a credit report. If you're denied credit, they HAVE to give you the report if you ask for it, rather than you running your report.

Also, you don't cost them money if you pay it all off on time... they still get the transaction fee. They just don't make any interest or fees on your account, but that's not a reason they'd deny you credit.

I'd request the reason from them... they have to provide it.
Fighting with screwball outfits over crumbs is a waste of time even compared to BF

Because they have to pay for it for one.

And to know why they declined you for another. It's possible that you have something on your report that doesn't belong to you.

Nope. I got my Equifax report, nothing derogatory. Pay for it? Yes. It cost $30 for all three reports from Equifax, Trans Union, Experian. Worth it to me to make sure my credit wasn't whacked.

Fighting with screwball outfits over crumbs is a waste of time even compared to BF

Correct.

Nope. I got my Equifax report, nothing derogatory. Pay for it? Yes. It cost $30 for all three reports from Equifax, Trans Union, Experian. Worth it to me to make sure my credit wasn't whacked.
A sensible approach.

If you used to like this outfit and bought a lot of stuff from them in the past, you might ask why they turned you down. In my former life, one of our customers was once very unpleasantly surprised to learn he was denied credit. He did ask and when we followed up, it turned out that 2 digits in his SSN were transposed when the credit check was run.

It's possible you were a victim of sloppiness rather than asinine business practice. If it takes them more than a couple minutes to come up with an explanation and offer to rectify things, that would be a useful data point.

I never take the no interest deals myself -- some of them have fine print designed to snag people who intend to just pay up. Crap I've seen includes early payment penalties, auto subscription to something else after 6 months, and imposing the interest charges after 6 months (i.e. you don't have to pay interest for 6 months, but it accrues anyway)

You should have requested that MacMall provide you with a credit report. If you're denied credit, they HAVE to give you the report if you ask for it, rather than you running your report.

Also, you don't cost them money if you pay it all off on time... they still get the transaction fee. They just don't make any interest or fees on your account, but that's not a reason they'd deny you credit.

I'd request the reason from them... they have to provide it.

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