Thinking of Moving Off the Grid
- Thread starter upstatemike
- Start date
Squintz
Senior Member
Not at all, they already have the information and you are submiting it using a secure connection(ssl). I just ran my wifes last night because she is planing to finance her wedding dress (0% for a year). She was suprised to see that one mortgage company has ran her credit report 5 times now without her authorization. She is going to call the company to find out what the deal is today. Also, if it were not for me making her check it when we first got together she would be really screwed right now because she opened up a credit line with sears and montgomery wards back in 99 and had forgot about it. The charges were only like $16 originally and by time I got to it they were each up to $150+. She would have never known about them if she had not checked.Rupp said:
Also, you do not have to get the information online. You can call the major companys and request the report by mail. You will still need to provide the identification information so they know what report to send.
I just feel more safe having my report available for me to look over. I have been the victim of credit card fraud and know the possible outcomes. The lenders are not always on your side.
Rupp
Senior Member
But Squintz haven't you bought a house in the past. This information should have shown up on your mortgage applications shouldn't it? In addition, I have an SSL connection web site but I do not think you would want to give the amount of personal information that they request out blindly. Let's face it, nothing is free. They want to "help" you get your record clear and why not theres money to be made in paranoia. This is a good way to make money if you have access to this type of business. My take is if you buy a new car or or borrow any money you know what you credit record is.
Squintz
Senior Member
I have purchased a home only 2 years ago. However prior to that I had no way of knowing if something was going on with my credit. So when I applied for the loan if I had not done a credit check I would be applying for the loan blind. Sure they can tell me my credit is bad and I did not get the loan but I would like to know before I try to get the loan so that I can actually get the loan when I need it and not find out when I need the loan that my credit is screwed somehow.
The only data they required is not much more information than you shared when you signed up for cocoontech.
Name
Date of Birth
Current Address
Previous Address (if current was not more than 2 years)
SSN (This they already have anyways)
Once you provide that information they ask you a few questions to verify its you. They already know about the lines of credit you have open so they will try to ask you multiple choice questions about those loans. If you get the answers right they will show you you credit report.
Now if you have never applied for a loan and never gave anyone your SSN in your life then you may not have much to worry about. But if you have ever entered your SSN on the internet or even wrote it down for someone elses eyes to see on a credit application or applying for college then you are at a higher risk of idenity theft. Identity theft is a huge thing now days and it happens to people all the time. You are sharing your information with one of three of the largest credit companies who are well trusted. Its not like you are sharing the information with me and joe smoe.
Also, if you are afraid of sharing your information then you should be aware that social hacking is the easiest way to get someones information. I am sure if I did the right amount of research about a person that I could obtain the information in alternative ways such as calling the Department of Vital records and simply asking them to verify some information for me. I had to call them once because they had some data wrong that caused my wife not to be able to file taxes. I gave them her name and date of birth and they asked for the address that they can mail the updated information which included a single piece of paper with all the information they had on her including her social security number. The data that was screwed up was her birth date. The DOVR had her year off by one and while trying to e-file it was rejected saying we entered the wrong date of birth for her. Filing you taxes is another place where you probably put way too much information down in show your tax guy. So your SSN probably passes over 5 or 10 peoples desk each year. You place of employment needs to know the number so they can do their taxes also. Do you trust the people in your HR department?
The credit reporting company is there to help you and not to steal your indentity. I see no harm in getting your credit report.
The only data they required is not much more information than you shared when you signed up for cocoontech.
Name
Date of Birth
Current Address
Previous Address (if current was not more than 2 years)
SSN (This they already have anyways)
Once you provide that information they ask you a few questions to verify its you. They already know about the lines of credit you have open so they will try to ask you multiple choice questions about those loans. If you get the answers right they will show you you credit report.
Now if you have never applied for a loan and never gave anyone your SSN in your life then you may not have much to worry about. But if you have ever entered your SSN on the internet or even wrote it down for someone elses eyes to see on a credit application or applying for college then you are at a higher risk of idenity theft. Identity theft is a huge thing now days and it happens to people all the time. You are sharing your information with one of three of the largest credit companies who are well trusted. Its not like you are sharing the information with me and joe smoe.
Also, if you are afraid of sharing your information then you should be aware that social hacking is the easiest way to get someones information. I am sure if I did the right amount of research about a person that I could obtain the information in alternative ways such as calling the Department of Vital records and simply asking them to verify some information for me. I had to call them once because they had some data wrong that caused my wife not to be able to file taxes. I gave them her name and date of birth and they asked for the address that they can mail the updated information which included a single piece of paper with all the information they had on her including her social security number. The data that was screwed up was her birth date. The DOVR had her year off by one and while trying to e-file it was rejected saying we entered the wrong date of birth for her. Filing you taxes is another place where you probably put way too much information down in show your tax guy. So your SSN probably passes over 5 or 10 peoples desk each year. You place of employment needs to know the number so they can do their taxes also. Do you trust the people in your HR department?
The credit reporting company is there to help you and not to steal your indentity. I see no harm in getting your credit report.
Well if you are looking to cut costs, frankly I'd look at a low cost dsl line and cheap vonage service or the like. I think that runs about $15/mo each, which is probably about what the 1 POTS line would cost you.
Plus you keep all the other goodies and online access.
I would not consider severing internet access at this point if only for cost savings in general. I'd drop cable/sat and just use netflix before that happened.
Plus you keep all the other goodies and online access.
I would not consider severing internet access at this point if only for cost savings in general. I'd drop cable/sat and just use netflix before that happened.
huggy59
Active Member
When you are denied credit for any reason, you have the right to get a copy of the credit report used to determine that decision, whether or not you've had others pulled in the last year.
Many companies routinely access your credit periodically to make other offers to you, or to change their terms (credit card companies do this all the time - read the fine print - you agreed to it).
As far as living without Internet - the only time I can recall doing that is when the power goes out and the battery backups die... then it's REAL QUIET here... and usually dark, too.
I'd be interested in more solar-powered devices that were truly wireless so I could place them outdoors. I have an Oregon Scientific wireless weather station and though the remote units take batteries, they do have solar cells on them and have been working for a year+ now without a battery change. They report in via RF and it's great. I'd like to see things like motion sensors, gate or driveway sensors, etc. like this for HA in rural areas like mine. C'mon Elk!!!
Many companies routinely access your credit periodically to make other offers to you, or to change their terms (credit card companies do this all the time - read the fine print - you agreed to it).
As far as living without Internet - the only time I can recall doing that is when the power goes out and the battery backups die... then it's REAL QUIET here... and usually dark, too.
I'd be interested in more solar-powered devices that were truly wireless so I could place them outdoors. I have an Oregon Scientific wireless weather station and though the remote units take batteries, they do have solar cells on them and have been working for a year+ now without a battery change. They report in via RF and it's great. I'd like to see things like motion sensors, gate or driveway sensors, etc. like this for HA in rural areas like mine. C'mon Elk!!!
upstatemike
Senior Member
Quiet is good. Unfortunately I cannot do without the internet until my current project is over. hp is closing all of their offices in central NY so I have to have internet connectivity to do my job. I think I still want to pull the plug someday though....
Okay... our approach is different... but you asked (in the first post).
Keeping internet is a must for me. That's just me.
Television is out.
No cable, no satellite.
No monthly bill that climbs every year.
No antennae either; that's just our choice.
Netflix is $10 a month to have one movie; $18 a month for three at a time.
That's plenty of movies for us - plus the ones we buy and can watch any time.
Lots of books and computer time.
VoIP solutions are acceptable much of the time. If I were really interested in cutting back monthly bills, I'd lose my land line and stick to cell and VoIP. Part of that for me is that cell is a backup internet access - slow, but viable in most areas for basic functions.
I love your idea of getting - a little, at least - "off the grid".
I'd love to do it for energy and water purposes.
Good luck to you.
Keeping internet is a must for me. That's just me.
Television is out.
No cable, no satellite.
No monthly bill that climbs every year.
No antennae either; that's just our choice.
Netflix is $10 a month to have one movie; $18 a month for three at a time.
That's plenty of movies for us - plus the ones we buy and can watch any time.
Lots of books and computer time.
VoIP solutions are acceptable much of the time. If I were really interested in cutting back monthly bills, I'd lose my land line and stick to cell and VoIP. Part of that for me is that cell is a backup internet access - slow, but viable in most areas for basic functions.
I love your idea of getting - a little, at least - "off the grid".
I'd love to do it for energy and water purposes.
Good luck to you.
upstatemike
Senior Member
Definitely disagree here. Land lines are dedicated wires going to a local facility with battery backed power. My land line NEVER fails unless the actual lines are damaged. Cable always fails during a power outage. Cell service is also at risk from power outages plus it seems to have regular outages for additional unexplained reasons. I agree VoIP and cellular voice quality can be good at times but they are not good all the time. (and when they are bad , they are very bad). Just my experience with these technologies.
