“Intended to injure or exploit others for personal gain or profit.” That’s one dictionary’s definition of “predatory,” and it fits “predatory lending.” Here’s the scene, according to consumer groups: Because your credit is injured, you’re vulnerable (which means you’re weak, and not able to fight back.)

Risk-based financing is illegal and cannot be used by companies. Because your credit rating is low, a company charges you more interest on a loan. But the interest rate is not directly related to your credit. This company charges you as much as it can, simply because they think you have no other choices.

Risk-based financing is a way that lenders determine your interest rate for a loan based on how likely you are to repay that loan.

Non-Discriminatory Lending This means it is illegal for a credit union to use the aforementioned reasons as a basis for refusing a loan to any member, discouraging any member from applying for a loan, providing different credit terms for members with similar creditworthiness situations, or closing member accounts.

What is the best way to hurt your credit rating? Make all your payments early except your credit cards. It’s OK to pay them late.

The 5 Main Factors That Impact Your Credit Score Amount of debt, also known as your credit utilization ratio. Age of credit accounts or history. Mix of credit accounts. New credit inquiries.

For security purposes, the credit report can be used to verify someone’s identity, background and education, to prevent theft or embezzlement and to see the candidate’s previous employers (especially if there is missing employment experience on a resume).

D Your financial institution will charge you an “overdraft fee” every time you overdraw your account, and may tell the credit bureaus you have overdrawn your account. The best way to get an accurate checking account balance is to call your bank or credit union directly.

Can You Use White Out On A Check? Put simply, no, you should never use white out on a check. Rather, you should cross out the mistake on the check, correct the mistake directly above it, and then initial the correction. When in doubt, you can void the check and write a new one.

It is OK to uses “white out” to fix a mistake when writing checks in pen. And you can at times forget to write down a payment you make with your checking account or debit/ATM card. so, you’re less likely to overdraw your account if you always keep a hundred dollar balance.

On AnnualCreditReport.com you are entitled to a free annual credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies. These agencies include Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Each credit report has four basic categories: identity, existing credit information, public records and recent inquiries.

Creditors. Current or potential creditors — like credit card issuers, auto lenders and mortgage lenders — can pull your credit score and report to determine creditworthiness as well.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) has a strict limit on who can check your credit and under what circumstance. The law regulates credit reporting and ensures that only business entities with a specific, legitimate purpose, and not members of the general public, can check your credit without written permission.

The credit bureaus use sensitive information to keep track of your credit history. If you don’t have a Social Security number, credit bureaus can access your credit history using the other identifiers like your name, date of birth, address, and employment history.

A: No, you can’t check your spouse’s (or ex’s) personal credit reports. In order to request a consumer report on someone else, you must have what’s called a “permissible purpose” under federal law, and marriage or divorce is not one of them. It’s illegal, and it sounds like your divorce is messy enough as it is.

In community property states, you are not responsible for most of your spouse’s debt incurred before marriage. However, the IRS says debt taken on by either spouse after the wedding is automatically a shared debt. Creditors can go after a couple’s joint assets to pay an individual’s debt.

Your Spouse May Have Had Credit Longer Than You: This may be the case if your spouse is older than you or your spouse started using credit before you. So, if you have a mix of credit cards and major loans, like a mortgage or auto loan, your credit score would be higher.

Marriage has no effect at all on your credit reports or the credit scores based upon them because the national credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) do not include marital status in their records. Your borrowing and payment history—and your spouse’s—remain the same before and after your wedding day.

Lenders collect credit scores for both spouses from the three credit bureaus, then focus on the median score for each spouse. The lower of those two scores determines the rate and terms of the loan, says Brad Sherman, a loan officer with Nationwide Mortgage Services, in Rockville, Md.

Relax: Changing your last name will not have any effect on your credit report. The accounts you had as a single person won’t be added to your spouse’s credit history, nor will theirs be added to yours. Your credit score will be affected only if you open joint credit accounts with your spouse.

Lenders don’t just average out your two credit scores or go with the highest one when evaluating your creditworthiness as a pair—they pay the most attention to the lowest credit score. If your credit is great but your spouse’s isn’t so hot, a joint mortgage application could be denied.

Both borrowers are entitled to the funds, both are equally responsible for payment, and both members’ credit and debt will be factored into deciding loan approval. Therefore, applying jointly may produce more assets, income, and better credit — which can result in more loan approvals and better terms and offers.

You can buy a house under one name, and most of the time couples do this because one partner’s credit is bad. However, there are advantages to joint mortgages. You should carefully consider the pros and cons of buying a house under only one partner’s name.

The only time an applicant’s spouse would have their credit checked for a car financing loan is if they are named on the application. Lenders need permission to run a detailed check of someone’s credit, and that permission comes in the form of a signed loan application.

How can your spouse’s credit score affect you? Your spouse’s credit history won’t hurt, change or erase your credit score or credit history. So if you have a glowing credit history, you won’t automatically be harmed by marrying someone with a poor credit rating.