FreeCreditReport.com Really Works
Posted by Mitch on May 27, 2008
Different kind of post today. I’m hawking FreeCreditReport.com because they really work. How do I know this? I’m a member, of course.
Here’s my story. I went to this site last September and signed up to get my free credit reports, just like the commercial stated. Then I went ahead and signed up for the monthly credit alert. This followed my wife and I being turned down for a line of credit at the bank where our mortgage is.
Then I started noticing different agencies looking at my report. I knew this because FCR (that’s what I’m calling them for now) sent me alerts each time there was an inquiry. Next thing you know, I started getting phone calls and letters from collection agencies, even though I knew I didn’t owe anybody. So, I finally took a good look at the report. I noticed that there were two derogatory reports on there, and I knew I had paid at least one of those for sure. I thought I’d paid the other one, but I wasn’t sure.
The one I was able to take care of fairly quickly, as I had something proving that the account had been settled years ago. The other one, in my heart I knew I’d settled it, but I wasn’t sure I could prove it. Credit agencies are wild, though. They don’t wait too long to decide to get to the escalation process. What’s also funny is that multiple agencies will be going after the same amount; I believe that’s fraudulent, but so be it.
Then I got a break. I found a letter that showed that I had set up the agreement to pay back an outstanding debt. I remembered the phone call and I remembered the guy, and I had his name on the letter outlining the agreement. Now I was set. I contacted Experian through FCR, and I also contacted the company that I’d paid this account to, back in 2004, of all things. Like the other company, they had never reported it as being satisfied, and, of course, now I know why we got turned down. Sheesh!
Now, here’s the upswing. Just by sending my request through FCR that I was disputing the derogatory statement, my credit score jumped up 60 points. I now have the letter proving that, indeed, the account is satisfied, though the weasels didn’t back date it because they said they didn’t have full access to records that old (yet we’re supposed to have everything if they happened to contact us, right?), so the letter is dated fairly recently. My credit score should jump up a bit more, as this will mean I have nothing bad on my report. Course, it would be great if their letter showed that it was taken care of four years ago, but hey, we take what we can get.
So, it’s been worth it for me to have FreeCreditReport.com following the activity on my account, and I can wholeheartedly recommend them. Of course, you don’t have to pay anything if it’s your first inquiry, or if the last time you checked was more than a year ago. Per federal law, we all get one free credit report a year. But these guys have done well for me; and there you go.
CBS Buys CNET; “No” Joy
Posted by Mitch on May 15, 2008
It was announced earlier today that CBS is buying CNET, one of the top internet media companies in the world, for $1.8 billion dollars, ending a potential hostile takeover from some outside investors.
At first glance, this deal doesn’t make any sense to me. It would seem that CBS has learned nothing from the failed AOL/Time Warner merger of the past or any of the other television media companies that have bought online companies before. The two mediums don’t even seem all that compatible, though I’m sure someone would beg to differ.
The purchase at this price comes from the same people who, a year ago, claimed that they weren’t going to spend big money on online companies, and balked at purchasing YouTube for the same amount of money. That one would have made more sense to me already being a video masterpiece, especially with the vast reserves that CBS has to have at its disposal. Instead, they’re buying a company that, while I’ve loved going to their site and reading their reviews and recommendations on both software and hardware products, has hit some hard times, recently announcing layoffs to come.
Of course, this isn’t their first foray into buying other companies, as they also picked up last.fm for around $280 million, but that one also makes sense, being another media company where CBS has vast reserves and many clients it could promote.
Frankly, I’m not sure I like where all of this is going. Big companies are buying up a lot of these independents and suddenly the thing that made them unique is gone. I still lament Dell buying Alienware and taking away what Alienware stood for, turning it into a milksop version of its former hip and wild self and allowing companies such as Falcon Northwest to replace them. Specialization that we have all enjoyed is going away, and very soon, like AM radio, it’s going to seem like we’re all listening to the same thing everywhere we go.
But don’t get me wrong; if someone offers me a million dollars for any of my websites, I’d sell in a heartbeat!
Watch Out For Secret Shopper Scams
Posted by Mitch on Apr 21, 2008
Just because some of us can spot a scam a mile away doesn’t mean everyone can. I’m usually pretty good, as in the case I’m about to tell you about, but I know I’ve been at least confused a couple of times by something. However, I’ll then do some research on it to figure out just what’s going on. For others,… well, if they know me, you know who they come to. 
Such is the case of the letter that came to a friend of my wife’s. She had applied to some people to become a secret shopper. For those who don’t know, some companies hire people to go shop in their stores, then report back to the company how they were treated, what the store looked like, or any other comments that are requested. This is an industry that’s estimated to generate nearly $600 million in revenue a year in the United States; ouch.
Anyway, the woman was suspicious for one reason, luckily; they sent her a check to start off with, for $3,850.00. I’m not exactly sure how much real secret shoppers get up front, or even if they get paid up front, but that certainly is an odd amount. So she showed it to my wife, who brought it home to me.
The first thing that struck me is that the business name and the corporation name weren’t the same. Also, the corporation address was listed as being in New York City, but I didn’t immediately recognize the area code, which, upon research, I learned was in Canada. Nope, that didn’t jibe.
Now it was time to look up the companies listed. The first one I looked up was Monster Market Place. And there is a company with that name, but it’s an online company that’s actually a shopping directory. Nothing about secret shoppers there, but a host of news stories come up talking about the topic of scams and what they term “monster market place”.
So, the scam had been outed, but I needed to make sure. So I looked up the second name, Lamarche Associates, and there is a company with that name; an independent insurance company with offices in 4 states, but none of those offices in NYC.
Oh yeah, I didn’t tell you about the letter. This was the “deal”. They wanted the shopper to go into a specific store to test out how well they handled the process of wiring money through Western Union. The amount they were supposed to wire was only $250, yet they were getting a check for the amount I mentioned above; very much overkill. And come on, a wiring money test? Who’d fall for that, right?
Well, it seems a lot of people all across the country are falling for that. One of the news stories highlighted a guy who got a check for $2,500, kept $250 and wired the rest of it to the number he was given; yup, bogus. And, unfortunately, you have to pay back the bank; this guy was already out of work, so he took a major hit.
Don’t fall for obvious scams, folks. As always, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There are a couple of websites you can go to in order to learn about legitimate secret shopping gigs. One is the Mystery Shopping Providers Association, and another is Volition. Secret, or mystery shopping, doesn’t pay well, but some people think it’s fun.
WISE Conference report
Posted by Mitch on Apr 2, 2008
My friend Jill Hurst-Wahl went to the WISE (Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship) conference in Syracuse yesterday, and wrote a report about it on their blog, which she posted here.
There were some high powered presenters at this event. Maxine Clark is the founder of Create-a-Bear, which is found in many malls across the country. Nancy Cantor is the chancellor of Syracuse University. Susan Taylor is the former editor in chief of Essence Magazine.
I thought about going to this event, even though it was mainly for women, but decided not to go at the last minute. To me, it seemed more important for the women to have their special day, to motivate them to break out and do great things, rather than for me to crash the party for whatever my own needs might be. I’m glad Jill had a good time; maybe next year for me.
Series On Leaders
Posted by Mitch on Mar 28, 2008
On Mitch’s Blog, there’s a new series that’s based on 5 interview questions of entrepreneurs. Some are sole proprietors, others own their own companies. It’s interesting seeing how different people answer the same questions on being in business for themselves. The first one is here, and then you can look for the rest of them.
It’s not easy trying to do your own thing, especially when you have to make a living at it. Trying to make money online is even harder because you don’t get to talk to your potential customers, and there’s a lot of people in the game. Some have better or worse products; some are better or worse at marketing. Still, one does what one can, and in a sense, it becomes its own community.
Anyway, check out the leader series; you might find it interesting.
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