topic Re: Experian Boost ---- Thoughts in General Credit Topics

Experian Boost ---- Thoughts

ForeverGardening — Mon, 31 Dec 2018 14:55:07 GMT

I called Experian this morning and the Robo Lady mentioned a new program called Experian Boost that will be rolling out in 2019.

A quick google search and I found this on their website. What's your thoughts??

"Through Boost, consumers can grant Experian permission to connect to their online bank accounts to identify utility and telecommunications payments. After a consumer verifies the data and confirms they want it added to their Experian credit file, an updated FICO® Score is delivered in real time. The whole process takes about five minutes, and the resulting credit score boost is immediate.

One of the most exciting things about Experian Boost is that it's a free tool designed to help those consumers who struggle most with building credit. According to Experian research, 75% of consumers with FICO® Scores below 680 saw an improvement in their credit scores with Experian Boost. And 10% of consumers who previously had a "thin file" (not enough credit history) became scoreable after taking advantage of Experian Boost.

What's more, the risk predictiveness of "boosted" credit scores—that is, its ability to allow lenders to accurately assess risk—remained the same."

Re: Experian Boost ---- Thoughts

Jnbmom — Mon, 31 Dec 2018 16:26:57 GMT

No way in hell I am going to allow EXP access to my banking accounts!!!!!

Re: Experian Boost ---- Thoughts

Anonymous — Mon, 31 Dec 2018 16:37:38 GMT

Are you interested in this program for yourself? If so, I'd forget it. It is designed to help people with thin profiles (i.e. extremely few accounts) and secondarily people with extremely young profiles. You by way of contrast have nine open cards, and quite possibly other accounts (either closed or installment) -- and your Age of Oldest Account is 9.3 years.

I would be slow to advise anyone to avail themselves of the EX Boost program, even those for whom it is designed, since it involves giving EX access to your bank accounts, and because whatever help it might give would apply only to EX.

Re: Experian Boost ---- Thoughts

Anonymous — Mon, 31 Dec 2018 16:38:33 GMT

PS. There are much better ways for you (the OP) to boost your score. Specifically the well known methods of:

(1) Applying for no more cards for at least the next 25 months.

(2) Getting or keeping your CC utilization to a very low amount (1-5%)

(3) Working with the people in the rebuilding forum to get all derogs removed from your reports.

If you have no open loans, the Share Secured Loan Technique would be a great fit for you. Navy Fed is a lender that works very well with that Technique.

Re: Experian Boost ---- Thoughts

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 02:20:36 GMT

Just another gimmick to make money. These rating agencies are proliferating all kinds credit gimmicks that use our own personal data to make money off us.

Re: Experian Boost ---- Thoughts

EW800 — Fri, 04 Jan 2019 00:55:31 GMT

I would not touch this program. And I agree with others, no way do I want Experian having access to my bank accounts. :/

Experian Boost - Bank Access?

tussking — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 02:19:39 GMT

What is it?

Experian Boost empowers Experian customers with the ability to immediately add non-traditional credit information, such as your utility and mobile phone bills, to your Experian credit file. Adding this record of your recurring payments for these accounts will build your positive payment history and your length of credit history. Over time, improving these two important aspects of your credit health can improve your FICO® Score 8 as well as other credit scores that consider this data. This information gives lenders a much better view of your overall creditworthiness so you can more easily qualify for credit.

How does it work?

After agreeing to let Experian have read-only access to your bank account payment history, you'll connect the bank account you use to pay your bills. By connecting Experian to your bank account, we can see a verified record of your electronic payments for your utility and telecom bills. With world-class encryption, Experian will look for at least three payments within six months and present the accounts found so you can verify the data and add it to your Experian credit file for an immediate boost. Experian can access up to 24 months of data to add to your credit file as determined by your bank. If you miss a payment, that negative data won’t be added to your credit file. If no data is reported for three months, then the account will automatically be removed from your credit file.

You have to give Experian access to your bank account via fincity.com

Is this worth it? I feel very uneasy giving big brother even more access to my financials...

Re: Experian Boost - Bank Access?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 02:24:42 GMT

Nope.

Re: Experian Boost - Bank Access?

Civil — Wed, 27 Feb 2019 05:22:52 GMT

I am not going to give anyone access to my bank...hard no for me

Experian Credit Boost Tool

vollmann — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 17:12:12 GMT

Experian has recently added a "Boost" tool that links to your bank account and searches for utility payments, which it then adds to your credit report. I got an instant 11 point boost (666 to 677 FICO 8) from it finding my last 17 payments to my local electric company. Sadly it does not report rent, but for five minutes of work this is the best return on my time for score increase I have found.

Hope this finds who needs it!

Re: Experian Credit Boost Tool

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 18:19:05 GMT

@vollmann wrote:
Experian has recently added a "Boost" tool that links to your bank account and searches for utility payments, which it then adds to your credit report. I got an instant 11 point boost (666 to 677 FICO 8) from it finding my last 17 payments to my local electric company. Sadly it does not report rent, but for five minutes of work this is the best return on my time for score increase I have found.

Hope this finds who needs it!

Its in Beta testing, so I am wondering if it works for a true report? I tried to do last week, didnt work on my bank account since its a business checking account and has my business name on it and experian said info didnt line up

Re: Experian Credit Boost Tool

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 19:21:14 GMT

Well, I use CC to pay my Utilities. Not a Bank account, plus I don't think I that want my Bank accounts linked to this type of data sharing.

Re: Experian Credit Boost Tool

Jnbmom — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 19:25:31 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Well, I use CC to pay my Utilities. Not a Bank account, plus I don't think I that want my Bank accounts linked to this type of data sharing.

+1 Yes I also pay my utilities with a 3% back credit card, but my main reason is I would never give them my banking data ever.

Re: Experian Credit Boost Tool

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 00:29:20 GMT

as mentioned i pay my bills with credit card so that makes us null. id be curious to try it though if it let us pick our CC

Re: Experian Credit Boost Tool

vollmann — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 14:31:48 GMT

My utility company charges a pretty high % fee to pay by CC, so this adds a nice perk to my payments. I also only really use my bank account for CC payments, rent, and utilities so it doesn't really bother me them having access to that information. To each their own!

Re: Experian Credit Boost Tool

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 18:46:17 GMT

This only boosts FICO8 and only for Experian. I don't see the value. It won't be used for the stuff that really matters (i.e., mortgages) and I don't think I want Experian to have all this extra data about me just to get a better credit card. (And in my particular case I already have the credit cards I want.)

Signed up for Experian Boost

vicky3vicky — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 18:35:41 GMT

I signed up about an hour ago. My verizon account was the only one they could hook up with. My fico 8 experian immediately went up 7 points. If you are eligeble to have more than one account that will hook up, the increase could be higher. Since I am rebuiding, each one of those 7 points made a difference to me.

Re: Signed up for Experian Boost

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 18:53:24 GMT

I still caution people about giving access to their bank account(s) with this. Definitely to each their own.

Re: Signed up for Experian Boost

Jnbmom — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 19:19:54 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I still caution people about giving access to their bank account(s) with this. Definitely to each their own.

Yes I so much agree, just thinking about a credit bureau having access to my bank account is very uneasy.

Now if they worked it out with the actual utility /cell phone companies I could see, but no way in hell are they getting access to my bank account! !!!

Re: Signed up for Experian Boost

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 22:20:50 GMT

@Jnbmom wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I still caution people about giving access to their bank account(s) with this. Definitely to each their own.
+1
Yes I so much agree, just thinking about a credit bureau having access to my bank account is very uneasy.

Now if they worked it out with the actual utility /cell phone companies I could see, but no way in hell are they getting access to my bank account! !!!

100% how I feel. I would like the concept if they accessed your utilities. Even if I had toprovide the log in. It should work that way. It’s just software. The software doesn’t care if it needs to access each utility individually.

But Experian and their fintech partner (a 3rd party company that actually powers the backend) wants access to your bank account. They download your data and you agree that they can keep it for some indefinite amount of time and there is some vague language about any permissible purpose. So basically you give them blanket permission to decide how they use your data. Which could be selling it off at some point.

I think it’s deceptive that they say you can turn it off at anytime. I reads like well they will not have access to my bank account anymore. The first time you turn it on they download all available data. That’s why they are giving away this product “free”. They are going to make much more money off your data than they could charging a fee for this.

its free drinks at a casino.