NGC - hard credit inquiries

[ohiorider]

Well, I started this thread, so I suppose I can comment.  The tech from ADT was very good, made the install painless, and explained the system's operation so I understood the basics.

But I must say, at the tender age of almost 75, it hurts to see a motion sensor mounted high in one corner of the living room, a couple of glass breakage sensors, and three doors equipped with sensors that'll show they've been opened when the system is on.

What happened to us, anyway?

................... ........ Bob

I must admit, if I hadn't taken these measures, and had come home from a long bike trip, only to find my personal stuff scattered around the floor, checkbooks missing, laptop missing, I would've kicked my arse for not doing 'something' to try to keep it from happening.  My measures may not keep this from happening.  But maybe they will.  Fingers crossed.

At the moment, I'm spinning a 35 year old Melissa Manchester album on my old but operable Pioneer stereo system, and sipping a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, and considering where we've gone as a people.

Update:  Just loaded an old Pat Benetar album.  And neither of these were my favorites. Torturing myself, I guess.
Update:  These 2 old albums are in good shape.  I think I do like listening to these 80's gals thru a pair of Epicure speakers.

No response necessary.

[Kev m]

Where have we gone as people... No where.

All of this has happened before, all of it will happen again.

There have always been places you can leave your doors unlocked, and others you needed to (or felt you needed to) have some security.

Sometimes places are both.

There have always been thieves and honest people, cheaters and righteous, addicts and the healthy.

I don't believe we have a higher percentage of either right now, just moving population densities of them.

[ohiorider]

Where have we gone as people... No where.

All of this has happened before, all of it will happen again.

There have always been places you can leave your doors unlocked, and others you needed to (or felt you needed to) have some security.

Sometimes places are both.

There have always been thieves and honest people, cheaters and righteous, addicts and the healthy.

I don't believe we have a higher percentage of either right now, just moving population densities of them.

Kev - yours is a thoughtful response.  I disagree re percentage of addicts, based on the current opioid situation we are experiencing in the USA.  Re the thieves and cheaters, you're probably right.

Bob

[Rick in WNY]

I received several e-mails in my spam and trash folder today after posting on this subject.  Several e-mails related to credit monitoring and credit reports.  Some bodies watching me?

It is even creepier when I have a discussion with someone about a topic and then adds and e-mails show up.

Big brother is alive and well... his name is Google....

All Hail our Silicon Overlords!

That aside, a "credit score" is simply a made-up number assigned by the money lenders to determine how easily you can be enslaved by them.

Had my bike wreck two years ago, and got a decent settlement a year back. Paid off most of my worldy debts, didn't open another account, and guess what? My score dropped 100 points! It's all a game, and those who make the rules aren't interested in being fair, they're interested in making as much money off the debt slaves as they can.

[HDGoose]

Monitored systems are only as good as the responding police. In today's world, no one needs a company like ADT, or any of the others. Those connections are easily disabled, wireless cameras hacked, and many wireless networks might as well be open. Want to see who did what? Want a video? Buy your own equipment and use cloud services for offsite video storage.

Alarms tell you something has happened. It is not additional security.

[Kev m]

Kev - yours is a thoughtful response.  I disagree re percentage of addicts, based on the current opioid situation we are experiencing in the USA.  Re the thieves and cheaters, you're probably right.

Bob

Perception is a funny thing. You're not under the impression this is the first time this country or the world has seen an opioid or other drug crisis are you? And let's be honest, alcohol can be just as bad, addiction:

https://drugabuse.com/25-great-writers-who-battled-drug-addiction-and-alcoholism/

https://drugabuse.com/20-genius-minds-and-the-drugs-they-were-addicted-to/

[toukow]

Are the three credit bureaus always fair and accurate? Nope.

It sometimes amazes me how much these bureaus rule our lives with what appears like little oversight (DOWN, down, anti-regulatory pitbulls!), then I take the blue pill (no, not Viagra, the Matrix pill) and go back into the usual prescribed American coma.....I liked John Oliver's review of them, and the long history of issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRrDsbUdY_k

[MotoChuck250]

We recently had a breaking and entering in our quiet little neighborhood.  I'd lived here for 26 years, friends have lived here for 35+ years.  No break-ins all that time.  However, I decided it was time to have a surveillance system installed.  I contacted ADT, and during the sign-up process, they indicated they were going to have to make a credit inquiry.  My credit is excellent, so I mentioned that hard inquiries can negatively affect credit scores.  Said they needed to do it.  It wasn't a catastrophe, but it did drop my score by 3-4 points.

Isn't it a pisser ............... that because a company makes an inquiry about your credit, the inquiry causes your score to drop.

Someone ought to bitch-slap these money grubbing sleaze-bags!

Well, sounds like the damage is already done and at some point will be reversed as time goes by.  The only thing I can say is that these companies will stop this practice if folks are willing to walk away from the deal and the company starts to lose money because or the practice.

[Lannis]

  The only thing I can say is that these companies will stop this practice if folks are willing to walk away from the deal and the company starts to lose money because or the practice.

The companies aren't going to lose money, because people aren't going to quit borrowing money or "renting" ISP routers, security equipment, etc.   Been about the same level of indebtedness for 6000 years, far as I can tell.   Matter of fact, the indebtedness of King John to the moneylenders was one of the levers that was pulled to get him to sign the Magna Carta, and so on down through the years....

Lannis

[blackcat]

Perception is a funny thing. You're not under the impression this is the first time this country or the world has seen an opioid or other drug crisis are you? And let's be honest, alcohol can be just as bad, addiction:

I don't know how bad it is in those states which are currently battling this opioid crisis, but the heroin and then crack epidemic from the 70's thru 1990's in NYC was really bad. At least with the junkies, they just did snatch and runs, got high and either passed out or died but with crack they were just flat out crazy and dangerous. I can't tell you how many times my car was broken into and then stolen from those days. My poor VW ended up stolen and then found stripped on Staten Island, which is a horrible way to die.