"Your credit score" commercials EVERYWHERE!

Or get a TiVo box and stop watching those commericials!

(I haven't watched commericials since I got mine)

[Frank]

The commercials are now on more than ever before. The rise of identity theft is definitely one of the reasons. The other is that now everyone can get a free copy every year. The CRAs need to make money and they do it by getting people to sign up for monthly plans.

I agree with Spartan....to a point. But there's a reason they're called "background" checks. To quote Dr Phil (not that I'm a big fan) "Past behavior is a good indicator of future behavior". The best thing you can do is to focus on saving money and rebuilding your credit. Eventually this whole thing won't be a big deal.

[BassBoy]

Three dollars, concealed weapons permit, and my chap 7 case #. Any more questions?

LOL....too funny ChainSmokin.

[Hopeless]

"Life takes Visa.."

You all are familiar with that ad, too, no doubt. It's a play on words, sure, but, gee, now I think, "If LIFE takes Visa, I am in worse trouble than I thought! Me & Visa aren't on speaking terms any longer..."

There is such a huge emphasis on credit and credit scores. I had one collection agency rep tell me I would "never make it without at least one credit card, so pay it..." I'd like to think we CAN survive this life without having credit cards. Either way, I'm finding out!

And, yes, the debt consolidation/settlement ads and what they offer are just amazing. I had looked into that at one point, really not knowing how it worked. I made a call and was told to just give them 70 grand and they would get the creditors to settle and the consolidation place would pay them monthly. My response was, "If I had 70 grand I wouldn't NEED debt consolidation!"

I love coming to this forum because not only is a great source of support and comfort, but more than a couple of laughs!

Thank you all for that.

[ChainSmokin]

Three dollars, concealed weapons permit, and my chap 7 case #. Any more questions?

[bige1030]

I like to point and laugh while making snide comments at those commercials.

Chase - You're free to do whatever you want! (At 29.99% APR that is!)
Capital One - What's in your wallet? (Money and not debt since I got rid of their card!)
Debt Professors - Avoid bankruptcy (Why? So you can get richer while I get more into debt?)

And yeah - the credit scoring algorithms are totally bogus! Throw responsible lending out the window and give people huge lines of credit so they're in wage slavery to you forever, hoping that they never decide to file for bankruptcy.

[ChainSmokin]

[BKTango]

I too noticed all of those commercials and like others I knew they were always there and just ignored them, just like I did our problem. Once we owned up to our financial situation the commercials seemed to jump out at me and at first I was like "Great we are those losers that end up in debt and have to result to this." Now I see them a bit differently. In a sense, with that many commercials for cc's, then a flood of "see what's in your cc report!", then all of the debt settlement companies and miracle worker commercials, well it just shows that there is a problem with debt for many people so we are not the only ones. But I also know that if the media is being flooded this much with commercials related to every aspect of debt, there's a problem that as a whole "we" need to correct.

[SinkingFast]

The commercials were there before. You just never keyed on them. And I know exactly what you mean.

When we were in the depths of it, seemed like every other commercial was "Credit Score" or "Consolidate your Debt" or "We can Stop the Tax Man" or,.......... you name it. Oh, and of course, the "Chase! You're free to do whatever you want!" and "American Express! Where life knows no limits!" And every one caught my attention.

Interestingly enough, now that we have no money problems,.............. The commercials are still there. Still a bit thorny, but still there none the less.

[Granny]

Commercials

The commercials that get to me are the American Express commericals. Oh how I miss that card

[lrprn]

Life is not about looking backward. Life is not about what you have done. Life is about looking forward. Life is about what you are going to do with the time that is given to you. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Whatever happened yesterday, is in the past. The future is unwritten. The best in life, is yet to come.

Very wise words, Spartan - thanks for reminding us about what REALLY matters. It's way too easy to get caught up in what *isn't* right in our world rather than focusing on what *is* right and celebrating that.

However, just like Hopeless, I have those "how could we have ever been so stupid???" pity-party days too. I just keep telling myself that beating ourselves up over our bankruptcy doesn't change a darned thing - we still get up bankrupt in the morning. Learning the hard lessons from bankruptcy so we don't repeat the same mistakes again.....that's where the real value lies.

[Spartan]

Life is not about looking backward. Life is not about what you have done. Life is about looking forward. Life is about what you are going to do with the time that is given to you. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Whatever happened yesterday, is in the past. The future is unwritten. The best in life, is yet to come.

[Hopeless]

Is it just me and what I am beginning to go through with this process, or is there an increased number of commercials about credit scores?!

I'm sure these ads have been abundant for a long time - it's one of those things - you don't notice or SEEM to hear about something until it is happening to you or a loved one. Then, suddenly, it's EVERYWHERE!

Truth is, I do not watch much television, but, I swear, I every time I do, at some point I hear...'do you know your credit score? do you know what it's in your credit report...' and the like.

I'm already completely depressed and preoccupied with the start of my bankruptcy and every time I see one of those commercials it's a constant reminder of FAILURE. I start feeling like pulling an Elvis and blowing out the screen

Sorry, I'm just venting I suppose. But I really was wondering if anyone else feels like the world reminds them at every turn about the IMPORTANCE OF THEIR CREDIT SCORE.

I am old enough to remember even pre debit card days! Hell, I had to CASH a check at a bank with a TELLER if I wanted cash...