The auto finance market is always a hot topic for discussion. After all, a vehicle loan is the second largest purchase that most consumers will ever make (the first being a home).
There are two sides to every story. It’s one of those old clichés you hear time and time again. When I think about the collections process, this is the first thing that comes to mind. You have the consumer or debtor who enters into an agreement to pay for something and at some point, makes the decision not to pay.
It could be a credit card bill or a car payment –or maybe they even forget to pay a library book fine (this actually happened to someone I know!). On the other side, you have the debt collector, who has the task day in and day out, of collecting on the debt the debtor has agreed to pay.
Small businesses are getting a lot of attention right now. With the presidential election, Affordable Care Act and talk of the looming fiscal cliff, small business health and survival concerns have been widely discussed across the United States.
Earlier this year, Experian’s Business Information Services and Moody’s Analytics, a leading independent provider of economic forecasting, joined forces to create a business index and detailed report that provides insight into the health of U.S. businesses. The Experian/Moody’s Analytics Small Business Credit Index is reported quarterly to show fluctuations in the market and discuss factors that are impacting the business economy.
Details from the Q3 analysis highlighted …
Do you love saving money?
Do you ever use apps or online tools to help you cuts costs and stay on budget?
In our continuing quest to promote financial literacy and help consumers live credit smart, we asked some of our favorite personal finance writers to share a favorite app that helps them stay on budget and save money.
Check out these frugal-living apps:
Whether you own the largest pickup or the smallest hybrid on the market, one thing remains clear – folks in the U.S. love their vehicles.
In the recently released Loyalty and Market Trends Report by Experian Automotive, we looked at several key trends that highlight who is buying what, and which auto makers received highest marks in loyalty in Q2.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has just issued its latest report to Congress on credit scores sold to consumers versus credit scores sold to creditors.
The 42-page report, which you can find here, provides an analysis of different scoring models, comparing credit scores sold to creditors and those sold to consumers by the national credit reporting agencies, including Experian.
Of particular interest, and of reassurance to consumers, are some high-level conclusions from the report:
In our busy lives, it is easy to miss paying a bill.
However, your lenders won’t accept excuses for why they you didn’t pay them as you agreed to do. For example, your bankcard company cannot make excuses for being late in paying the merchants where you made your purchases. When you don’t pay, they still have to pay on your behalf.
Missed payments can have a severe impact on your credit scores. And lower credit scores will often penalize you with higher interest rates – which can end up costing you tens-of-thousands of dollars throughout your life.
So here are five strategies to help you build the best credit scores . . .
Everyone seems to be keeping a closer eye on their finances these days and more people are becoming aware of how important it is to know what your credit report looks like.
In the recently released Experian 2012 State of Credit report, we found that the national average credit score is currently 750, which is up one point from 2011.
We also crunched some numbers in more than 100 cities throughout the country and ranked the top 10 and bottom 10 cities according to credit score.
Do you love saving money?
And are you looking for even more ways to keep more money in the bank?
Experian knows the importance of this in every person’s financial health.
So, as part of our overall commitment to financial literacy and in conjunction with our just released annual State of Credit report, we contacted some of our favorite personal finance writers and asked them to share one of their favorite ways to save money.
Check out these frugal-living tips:
A credit report is like a report card that provides lenders insight into how you use credit.
If you’re paying debts on time and keeping debts low on credit accounts, you’re building a great credit history that will help you earn lower interest rates on loans and will help you in a variety of other ways, too.
There are many myths going around about what hurts or improves your credit scores.
Here is a list of seven popular myths about credit scores and credit reports you should know about:
Unfortunately, many people have received poor credit advice and been taken advantage from credit repair companies. Many people don’t realize that there isn’t anything that a credit repair service is able to legally do for you that you can’t do yourself for little or no expense.
Experian Automotive today announced that midrange cars were the highest-selling vehicle segment in the first half of 2012, according to its latest vehicle registration analysis.
The analysis also showed that the Toyota Camry topped the list of best-selling vehicles for the first half, with the Ford F-150 coming in a close second. In the first half of 2011, the F-150 was the best-selling vehicle, with the Camry coming in second.
Experian Automotive today announced that loans to customers in the nonprime, subprime and deep-subprime risk tiers accounted for more than one in four new vehicle loans in Q2 2012.
Experian Marketing Services showed that email volume has increased 10 percent in Q2 2012 versus Q2 2011 according to the Experian® CheetahMail® 2012 Q2 email benchmark report. Experian CheetahMail also found that total open rates increased 1.5 percent in Q2 2012 versus Q2 2011.
While the runways boast couture and fashions that you rarely see walking down the street, some of the top cities in the U.S. are keeping comfortable in their sweats. For the second year in a row, the nation’s top per capita consumer of sweats is Philadelphia, PA while New York was seventh, Los Angeles ranked eighth, and Chicago was twentieth.
According to a new study by Experian Marketing Services, niche social networks significantly increased their market share of all visits to social sites, with Instagram and Pinterest leading the pack.
The following graph illustrates the global growth between July 2011 and July 2012, based on share of visits to all sites by country:
Other niche social networks that have experienced significant gain include Stock Twits in the US, Redidt in Australia, and FanPop in the UK.
Experian Marketing Services is hosting its annual Digital Summit (today through Friday) at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.
This premier digital marketing event, with the theme, “Customer Obsession: Empowering Meaningful Relationships,” features highly engaging and inspiring learning sessions, providing marketers with key insights and best practices for keeping their customers at the heart and center of everything they do.
Experian®, the leading global information services company, today announced that its Precise ID platform has achieved Federal Identity Credential Access Management (FICAM) recognition at Assurance Level 3 for identity proofing.
I talk with consumers almost every day, and one of the most common questions I get is how to dispute information you believe is being reported inaccurately. The process is very straightforward and simple as long as you follow this step-by-step process. I find that most people who are having difficulty skipped step number 1.
According to the Experian Automotive industry market trends and loyalty report, Toyota finished third in overall corporate loyalty, with 45.7 percent of their customers who returned to market during Q1 2012 purchasing or leasing another Toyota vehicle. Toyota’s corporate loyalty ranking had dropped to 41.8 percent in Q2 2011, the first full quarter after the earthquake and tsunami. Honda’s corporate loyalty was 42.1 percent in Q1 2012, after falling to 36.4 percent in Q3 2011.
“Today, the CFPB announced a final rule addressing its role in supervising certain credit reporting agencies, including Experian and others that are large market participants in the industry.
During a field hearing in Detroit, CFPB Director Richard Cordray’s spoke about a new regulatory focus on the accuracy of the information received by the credit reporting companies, the role they play in assembling and maintaining that information, and the process available to consumers for correcting errors. We look forward to working with CFPB on these important priorities.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is coming up on its one year anniversary, and the questions still persist around what it means for credit reporting agencies and other providers of data to the financial services industry. One major focal point has been the agency’s “new” authority to supervise and examine large market participants, like Experian.
What did you do with that envelope that used to arrive once a year with estimates of your future Social Security benefits? You might have reviewed the information. You may have even filed the statement away as a reference. Now, this powerful financial planning tool is as close as the nearest computer.
The Social Security Administration recently announced that in less than two months’ time, one million people have gone online, created a My Social Security account and viewed their Social Security Statement.
Experian Automotive today announced that it will offer National Motor Vehicle Title Information Systems (NMVTIS) Reports to California auto dealers, enabling them to stay in compliance with new government regulations.
