Consumer finance companies...

[InfinitiG35]

I read somewhere that consumer finance company accounts look bad on your credit report. How can you tell if a lender is considered a "consumer finance company?" Is there a list of them somewhere?

[Anonymous]

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InfinitiG35 wrote:
I read somewhere that consumer finance company accounts look bad on your credit report. How can you tell if a lender is considered a "consumer finance company?" Is there a list of them somewhere?

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You can't really know for sure, but there are a couple of things to look for:

• If it's a CFL (consumer finance loan), then it's an installement loan, not a revolving account.
• If it's from Citifinancial (as opposed to Citi) or Wells Fargo Financial (as opposed to Wells Fargo), it's probably a CFL.  These are the subprime arms of otherwise prime lenders.
• If it's from Beneficial or HFC, it's probably a CFL.
• If it's a loan for consumer retail products, furniture and electronics in particular, it's probably a CFL.

Hope this helps.

Message Edited by cheddar on 04-02-2008 09:43 AM

[Anonymous]

Good post Cheddar. Thank you for putting it that way.

Would that apply to Dell also? I was under the impression that if you finance thru Dell then it's probably a CFL.

[Anonymous]

Dell's accounts are all revolving- (revolving accounts are never considered CFL's)

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Sylviatob wrote:
Good post Cheddar. Thank you for putting it that way.

Would that apply to Dell also? I was under the impression that if you finance thru Dell then it's probably a CFL.

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[InfinitiG35]

Thanks cheddar! One more quick question...auto loans are okay though, right? Or would an auto loan from, say, Citifinancial Auto Finance be considered a CFL?

[Anonymous]

As far as Auto Loan's I think it depends.  I had an auto loan that was supposed to be with a dealer's finance company then a few days after purchasing the vehicle I got a letter in the mail from my "new" lender stating they purchased the loan from the company.......this account was a CFL on my credit report.

Thank goodness it is gone now!

[Anonymous]

Thank you Timothy.