topic Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring in General Credit Topics

Bank of America Credit Monitoring

Anonymous — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:14:54 GMT

I first have to say WOW! There is soooo much information here that I am still soaking in. Lurked here forever then recently joined because wife and myself are workign on getting our scores up so we can purchase a home in about 24 months.

That said, does anyone have any experiance with Bank of America Credit Monitoring? I use them as my bank of choice and noticed that they offer credit monitoring service for (I beleive) $18 a month. Anyone have thoughts on this. I want to be able to pull my cores a few times a year to see where I stand.

Thanks and looking forward to being here!

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

haulingthescoreup — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:33:30 GMT

You can do a whole lot better with TrueCredit, and probably some of the others as well (CreditSecure, etc.)

The thing to look for is the ability to pull all updated three reports every 24 hours. (Some let you pull multiple times a day.) Ignore their scores and advice!!! ALL of these monitoring services have FAKO scores and advice, and they are completely unrelated to your FICO's.

The best thing about any monitoring service is being able to follow changes in your reports. So you want maximum access for minimal cost. I pay somewhere around $12/month for TC, although the price seems to wander around a bit.

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

Candice — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:30:19 GMT

So is the goal of these credit monitoring services to let you know when something changes on your report, so that you can know when to pull FICO to get updated scores?

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

smallfry — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:35:08 GMT

If you want or need to pull daily or a few times per week get ChaseIdentityProtection. 12 bucks each month unlimited updated 24+1 pulls. TC has the nicest and easiest to read layout. Credit Secure is another option for those with AMEX accounts. I would avoid all TU based products. Bank Of America does not update.

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

haulingthescoreup — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:13:38 GMT

@Candice wrote:
So is the goal of these credit monitoring services to let you know when something changes on your report, so that you can know when to pull FICO to get updated scores?

Well, it's probably more likely that they want you to buy your FAKO scores, if they're not already included.

Seriously, it's to keep track of the activity on your credit reports. Some people do it because they're worried about identity theft; others because they are working on their credit and want to see results of their efforts and just know what's going on; some are even fighting collection agencies and seeing when a new one pops up. (Fighting junk debt collectors can be like playing whack-a-gator at the arcade. As soon as you smack one down, two more pop up.)

And in the end, it's a nice additional revenue stream for the companies that offer them.

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

Anonymous — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:14:03 GMT

smallfry wrote:
If you want or need to pull daily or a few times per week get ChaseIdentityProtection. 12 bucks each month unlimited updated 24+1 pulls. TC has the nicest and easiest to read layout. Credit Secure is another option for those with AMEX accounts. I would avoid all TU based products. Bank Of America does not update.

TC is a TU based product, Chase Id also uses the TC engine.

Message Edited by dicej32 on 09-02-2008 01:14 PM

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

wmarat — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:14:03 GMT

BOA Privacy Assist has been my first monitoring service, though I paid $12/mos then. It allow to pull once in 3 months and provide FAKO scores. I found it to expencive and cancelled it.

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

smallfry — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:00:35 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

@smallfry wrote:
If you want or need to pull daily or a few times per week get ChaseIdentityProtection. 12 bucks each month unlimited updated 24+1 pulls. TC has the nicest and easiest to read layout. Credit Secure is another option for those with AMEX accounts. I would avoid all TU based products. Bank Of America does not update.

TC is a TU based product, Chase Id also uses the TC engine.

Message Edited by dicej32 on 09-02-2008 01:14 PM

CIDP is not TU based.

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 07:22:17 GMT

Okay so what I am hearing is that the Chase Identity protection is the best out there for me?

Basically I want to keep an eye on my score because I plan on purchasing a home in 18 months or so.

Thanks again

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 07:28:46 GMT

Sorry, one more question. Looking at the chase web site it indicates that it will give me unlimmeted access to my credit score. Is this an actual number score or just my report?

Thanks

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:40:42 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

Sorry, one more question. Looking at the chase web site it indicates that it will give me unlimmeted access to my credit score. Is this an actual number score or just my report?

Thanks

I have TrueCredit, and I'm perfectly happy with it, but let me jump in to warn you that any credit score from Chase, or Bank of America, or TrueCredit, etc will be a FAKO. It is a "credit score", in that it is somehow based on your credit report, but it's not a FICO score.

The scores and advice that come with these monitoring services, or that you buy directly from TU and EX, are FAKO's, and it's best to ignore them, as they will confuse the heck out of you. And following some of their advice can actually harm your FICO scores, which are the ones that lenders look at.

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

bubbles0605 — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:07:53 GMT

I have BofA privacy assist also. Are you saying they dont update scores or reports? I am paying 12/month, but right now its a free trial I am on. should i switch to True credit? I NEED one that updates, if it doesnt then whats the sense?

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:04:40 GMT

hawkster wrote:
Okay so what I am hearing is that the Chase Identity protection is the best out there for me?

Basically I want to keep an eye on my score because I plan on purchasing a home in 18 months or so.

Thanks again

I tried Chase ID recently. The report format is terrible when compared to TC. Just my opinion of course.

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

Anonymous — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:44:43 GMT

I have been using Amex CS for ages. Decided to try Chase ID (based on some posts here) and I prefer the format with Chase. So, I have cancelled CS and now use Chase ID. Personal preference...

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 05:34:51 GMT

I use BoA privacy assist too and although you cannot receive an updated credit report they give you a quarterly update which is not very helpful I will be trying the true credit one since it it highly popular here

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 07:32:12 GMT

Does the chase give you the updated FAKO scores as well? Can I go into the Chase ID and pull up to find out what my #'s are on all three listing agencies?

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:35:11 GMT

Yes, Chase ID gives you Fako scores. In my case the Chase ID Fako's were about 90-100 points lower than my real Fico scores. Really scared the hell out of me the first time I saw them!

hawkster wrote:
Does the chase give you the updated FAKO scores as well? Can I go into the Chase ID and pull up to find out what my #'s are on all three listing agencies?

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 03:22:44 GMT

Okay so based on what I am reading I think I will be going with Chase Identity then.

Curious though which FAKO score usually comes closest to the real FICO score?

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

haulingthescoreup — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:11:21 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

Okay so based on what I am reading I think I will be going with Chase Identity then.

Curious though which FAKO score usually comes closest to the real FICO score?

None of them. It just doesn't work that way. They all weigh your reports differently.

Some people find that one set of FAKO's is pretty close to their FICO's, and then a dozen others post back to say that that FAKO is the furthest one off that they have.

Re: Bank of America Credit Monitoring

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:42:15 GMT

Okay, wow, I just learned from you: that if I were to order scores/reports directly from TU and EX, they would be Fako scores. Is there a reason that you did not include EQ as a Fako too or do EQ scores match more closely to true Fico scores? I've ordered directly from all 3 agencies in the past- maybe not the best thing to do. I also recently ordered from MyFico.... which I will continue to do periodically, especially after hearing this news. Thanks for your info!!