correction policy, Philadelphia Inquirer

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From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@pagea2.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2012 10:14 PM
To: Bill Marimow, editor, Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Media Network Inc.; Reid Kanaley, columnist, Philadelphia Inquirer
Cc: Laura D. Adams, personal finance expert, Quick and Dirty Tips; Stacy Johnson, CPA, executive producer, publisher, president, journalist, Money Talks News; Jeff Gelles, columnist, Philadelphia Inquirer; Gail MarksJarvis, personal finance columnist, Chicago Tribune; Sam Zell, Tribune Company
Subject: correction policy, Philadelphia Inquirer

Mr. Marimow, please forward this message to Robert Hall of Interstate General Media L.L.C.

See this message and your response at https://www.pagea2.com/correction-policy-philadelphia-inquirer/

You published, “The Money Girl website includes this post by Laura Adams, with tips for raising a score.”

Your link leads to a page on which Adams states, “Your score indicates your creditworthiness to potential lenders, banks, landlords, insurance companies, and even to some employers, for instance.”

Your link to MoneyTalksNews goes to a page that states, “Much like your final grade summarized your command of a course in school, your credit score is the distillation of everything in your credit history,” Stacy [Johnson] wrote in 5 Reasons We Need Free Credit Scores Now.”

The link in that sentence leads to a page where Johnson claims: “It’s no exaggeration to say your credit score can change your life. This single number can determine whether you get a job or own a home.”

In another article, your reporter wrote, “There’s no simple answer, because lenders and others who use credit scores – such as insurance companies and employers – use the data differently.”

And finally, you also published, “Because employers and landlords have access to the scores, they can determine who gets an apartment or even a job.”

Employers do not use credit scores because they cannot even get them.  Who is your source regarding credit score use by employers?

What is your correction policy?

—
Greg Fisher
Page A2
pagea2.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

 

U.S. News blog errors and corrections

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From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@pagea2.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 10:29 AM
To: Kimblery Palmer, reporter, U.S. News & World Report
Cc: Mortimer B. Zuckerman, chairman, Executive Committee, editor-in-chief, U.S. News & World Report (via Liz Putze)
Subject: credit score, employers, CFPB, U.S. News

You wrote, “In a speech in Detroit Monday, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray pointed out the importance of access to credit: The ability to take out loans makes it possible to get a college degree, buy a home, use a credit card, or buy a car, he said, adding that employers also increasing[SIC] use scores to determine whether an applicant is eligible for a job.”

Previously, you quoted TransUnion as saying, “As part of a hiring process, some employers may utilize information such as an employment report, but those reports do not include a credit score.”

What are the exact words in the CFPB director’s speech that indicate that employers use credit scores?

—
Greg Fisher
Page A2
pagea2.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

Chicago Tribune’s uncorrected errors

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From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@pagea2.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2012 1:38 PM
To: Sam Zell, Tribune Company; Sam Zell, Tribune Company (alt); Corrections desk, Chicago Tribune
Cc: Jane Hirt, vice president, managing editor, Chicago Tribune; CTC-YourMoney; Margaret Holt, standards editor, Chicago Tribune; Anthony Sprauve, US Consumer / FICO Score Public Relations, Fair Isaac; Craig Watts, Fair Isaac; Northwest Chicago Film Society; Nina Metz, reporter, film, TV and theater, Chicago Tribune; Daniel Bortz, reporter/editor, Personal Finance, U.S. News & World Report; Mortimer B. Zuckerman, chairman, Executive Committee, editor-in-chief, U.S. News & World Report (via Liz Putze); Julie Diop; Ilyce Glink; Luke Knowles, FreeShipping.org; Kate Forgach, blogger, FreeShipping.org; Felix Salmon, blogger, Reuters; Katie Leslie, reporter, Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Marcus K. Garner, reporter, Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Jane Scholz, editor, McClatchy Tribune Information Services ; Gary B. Pruitt, chairman, president and CEO, McClatchy Company (via E. Lintecum); Gerould W. Kern, senior vice-president and editor, Chicago Tribune
Subject: RE: credit score, utilization ratio, Chicago Tribune II, You can’t have it both ways

Not so fast, Mr. Zell.

The numbers you use for credibility are also your downfall.  While you may be satisfied with the column, you did not say that it is accurate.  Who was your source for that part of the column?

Now, here is the big question:  If 30 percent of the FICO score depends on the so-called credit utilization ratio (an inaccurate notion), then what percentage depends on the Number of accounts with balances?

A long time ago, I spent a year dealing with that issue and I am sure that the percentage is a positive number.  According to your logic, however, it is zero.

Same for Amount owing on specific types of accounts.

Same for Lack of a specific type of balance, in some cases.

Same for Amount owing on accounts.

So, your response fails to address a simple math problem.  The ratio accounts for something less than 30 percent of the score, so your statement is incorrect.

The impossibility of your utilization ratio claim notwithstanding, perhaps you could discuss with Fair Isaac (to whom you refer as FICO) your multiple inaccurate articles about employers using credit scores.  The company has no expertise on the matter (since, to my knowledge, it does not sell consumer reports to anybody but consumers), however, it has significant influence over media.  Fair Isaac certainly has Reuters snowed.  Asked to explain its public statement about pre-employment screening, Fair Isaac replied, “The mention you cited from the myFICO video clip was based on anecdotal information gleaned from public sources such as published articles.”

Perhaps they got it from you.  Years after the FICO score company stated that employers use credit scores, that claim—based on a silly rumor—has been debunked.  But it lives on at the Chicago Tribune.

In one place you published, “Because employers and landlords have access to the scores, it can determine who gets an apartment or even a job.”

On the contrary, in another place, you published: “Similar to the reports that a consumer can obtain for free each year through credit-reporting agencies, employers receive a report that lists debt. The reports do not, however, give an applicant’s credit score.”

Yet, in another place, you published, “When you decide to purchase a car or house, or even rent an apartment or apply for a job, your credit score matters.”

Consumer reporting agency Experian states: “Employers never get a credit score. Unfortunately, that is a very common misperception.”

There are other examples.  In one, a columnist made an honorable correction in a subsequent column (dated Independence Day, no less), but it doesn’t seem to have hit da Trib (the date of the correction ironic in light of your abuse of our First Amendment rights).

Who are your sources?

Based on information that you continue to maintain on your website, I might have caught one of the few trains that go through Ohio (and in the middle of the night) to Chicago to see the film “The Halliday Brand” only to find that tonight’s screening had been canceled.

You published your correction on another page.

What is your correction policy?

Consider the citizens.

—
Greg Fisher
Page A2
pagea2.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

 

 

From: CTC-YourMoney [mailto:YourMoney@tribune.com]
Sent: Monday, June 04, 2012 5:04 PM
To: Greg Fisher
Subject: RE: credit score, utilization ratio, Chicago Tribune II

Dear Mr. Fisher:

After discussing your concerns with FICO, we’re satisfied with Carolyn Bigda’s column. Thank you for writing.

Kind regards,

Pete Reinwald
Content editor
Consumer finance
Chicago Tribune
Tribune Newspapers

[previous email]

 

Credit score viral rumor published by Tribune furthered by credit score company, itself

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[next email]

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@pagea2.com]
Sent: Monday, June 04, 2012 11:33 AM
To: Sam Zell, Tribune Company; Sam Zell, Tribune Company (alt)
Cc: László Hajmási, DailyRumor.org; Barry Paperno, FICO; Craig Watts, Fair Isaac; John Ulzheimer, The Ulzheimer Group; Jane Hirt, vice president, managing editor, Chicago Tribune; Gary Weitman, SVP, corporate relations, Tribune Company; Elliot Raphaelson, columnist, Tribune Media Services, Tribune Company; Carolyn Bigda, columnist, Chicago Tribune; Gerould W. Kern, senior vice-president and editor, Chicago Tribune
Subject: RE: credit score, utilization ratio, Chicago Tribune II

Credit score expert John Ulzheimer calls the overstatement of the importance of credit utilization ratio a myth.  Now there is a copy of your inaccurate article on—get this—DailyRumor.org.

Oh, the irony.

And, there is even a link to your piece on the myFICO Facebook page.

Oh, the ultimate irony.

—
Greg Fisher
Page A2
pagea2.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

 

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@pagea2.com]
Sent: Friday, May 18, 2012 3:57 PM
To: Carolyn Bigda, columnist, Chicago Tribune
Subject: credit score, utilization ratio, Chicago Tribune

In error, you wrote, “Sixty-five percent of your score depends on just two things — your payment history and the amount you borrow compared with the total credit available to you (what’s known as a credit utilization ratio).”

That may be what Wikipedia says, but you are incorrect.  See http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/WhatsInYourScore.aspx.  The proportions of credit lines used and installment loan amounts still owing are only two of 6 items in the category that makes up 30 percent of the score.  Indeed, the number of accounts with balances is in that category, but has nothing to do with any ratio.

Where will the correction appear?

—
Greg Fisher
Page A2
pagea2.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

 

Presto change-o! – NPR corrections

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NPR corrected (see May 8) the error of a guest in one story, but merely changed the headline and online page copy of another.  Presto change-o!  It’s like magic.

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@pagea2.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2012 8:04 AM
To: Gary Knell, president and CEO, NPR
Cc: Michel Martin, host, Tell Me More, NPR; Edward Schumacher-Matos, ombudsman, NPR; Edward Schumacher-Matos, ombudsman, NPR; Ombudsman, NPR; NPR Corrections; Portia Robertson Migas, supervising senior editor, NPR; Alicia Montgomery, senior editor, Tell Me More, NPR
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, NPR, and poof! It disappeared

You changed the 2009 headline from “Low Credit Scores Affect Job Applicants” to “Bad Credit Reports Affect Job Applicants.”

Someone commenting wrote, “Using credit scores as part of Job Selection[SIC] is Wrong, Wrong, Wrong[SIC].”

Sorting the comments by the most recommend puts the catch-22 meme at the top: “Of course one reason to have a low credit score is unemployment or simply being a recent college graduate. It’s a bit of a catch-22.”

The NPR Ethics Handbook states: “We have a simple standard: Errors of fact do not stand uncorrected. If we get it wrong, we’ll admit it.”

Where do you admit it?

[previous correspondence]

 

FICO 8 credit score distribution, 25 percent, misinformation

Posted on by

From: Greg Fisher
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2012 11:02 AM
To: Rob Berger, Dough Roller
Subject: credit score distribution, Dough Roller

You wrote, “According to Fair Isaac, the creator of the FICO credit score, more than 25 percent of consumers who have active credit files (about 43 million people) have FICO scores of 599 and below.”

The chart you included indicates that less than 25 percent have scores of 599 or below.

However, there is a greater problem.

—
Greg Fisher
Page A2
pagea2.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

Comcast/Microsoft errors, corrections and clarifications

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From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@pagea2.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 10:52 AM
To: Brian L. Roberts, chairman and CEO, Comcast Corporation (via Adam Miller, EVP, Corporate Affairs, NBCUniversal, Comcast); Bill Gates, chairman, Microsoft (via Waggener Edstrom Worldwide)
Cc: Herb Weisbaum, The ConsumerMan, MSNBC.com (MSNBC Interactive News LLC), NBCUniversal, Comcast; Jim Bell, executive producer, TODAY, NBC News, Comcast; Charlie Tillinghast, president and publisher, MSNBC.com, Comcast / Microsoft
Subject: The ConsumerMan, MSNBC.com, errors, corrections and clarifications

You published: “Your credit score, which is based on your credit history, can have an enormous effect – positive or negative – on your life. That score is used by employers, lenders, landlords and insurance companies. A good score could save you thousands of dollars a year in interest. A bad score could cost you a job or a loan.”

Employers do not use credit scores.  Consumer reporting agency Experian states: “Experian’s Employment Insight report includes similar information about loans and credit cards that is listed in the credit report. It does not include year of birth, spouse reference, account number or credit score, which are irrelevant to hiring decisions.”

Where do your corrections appear?

—
Greg Fisher
Page A2
pagea2.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

New York Times, errors, corrections and clarifications

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From: Greg Fisher, Page A2
Sent: Friday, May 04, 2012 12:28 AM
To: Ann Carrns, Bucks, New York Times
Cc: Anthony Sprauve, US Consumer / FICO Score Public Relations, Fair Isaac
Subject: credit score, FICO, distribution

You wrote, “The report found, though, that just 15.5 percent of consumers had scores in the 700 to 799 range — the lowest that FICO has recorded since it began tracking such data in 2005.”

The number is 749, not 799.

However, there is a greater problem.

—
Greg Fisher
Page A2
pagea2.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

[5/21 UPDATE: Times follow-up]

NPR replies regarding headline error

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From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@pagea2.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2012 3:02 PM
To: Gary Knell, president and CEO, NPR
Cc: Michel Martin, host, Tell Me More, NPR; Edward Schumacher-Matos, ombudsman, NPR; Edward Schumacher-Matos, ombudsman, NPR; Ombudsman, NPR; NPR Corrections; Portia Robertson Migas, NPR; Alicia Montgomery, NPR; Vicki McIvor, Take 3 Management (representing Alvin Hall)
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, NPR, Tell Me More, the sooner the better, 2009-2012, CRA

Your host takes it incorrectly.  I don’t disagree with anybody about any alleged inappropriate use of credit scores by employers.  That is because employers do not use credit scores, inappropriately or otherwise; they cannot even obtain them.

According to national consumer reporting agency Experian: “Experian’s Employment Insight report includes similar information about loans and credit cards that is listed in the credit report. It does not include year of birth, spouse reference, account number or credit score, which are irrelevant to hiring decisions.”

The interview did not take place more than three years ago.

Consider the citizens.

 

From: Michel Martin, host, Tell Me More, NPR
Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2012 1:40 PM
To: ‘Greg Fisher’; Edward Schumacher-Matos
Cc: Portia Robertson Migas; Alicia Montgomery
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, NPR, Tell Me More, the sooner the better, 2009-2012

Mr. Fisher I’m good but not that good. i don’t remember this interview that took place more than three years ago,  I do not remember your objection  and i do not remember any interaction i may have had with you. I take it you disagree with Alvin Hall’s point that credit scores are being used by employers for reasons that he considers inapproppriate. I’ll leave it toour management team to determine whether this warrants a correction. it seem to me this is Alvin Hall’s opinion and he is entitled to it. but we’ll look ino it. a decision won’t rest solely on my opinion if that helps.

[previous correspondence]