San Diego, CA -  "It's blessing or bane, depending on your credit record," said Skye McNeill of San Diego and a student at an area college, "It depends on how well student loans have been repaid. If you have a good repayment record, this move is a blessing, however, if you have missed several payments and even defaulted, this resumption of credit reporting on student-loans will be a big problem," she continued.

"Sally Mae, the nation's largest student loan company will resume reporting to all three major credit reporting agencies (CRAs), the debt and repayment histories of its seven million borrowers. This will have a huge impact on credit ratings and scores of these borrowers, some positive for the prompt payers and big problems for the late payers and defaulters" said Paul Richard, a registered financial consultant (RFC) and the Executive Director of the award winning, nonprofit Institute of Consumer Financial Education (ICFE) based in San Diego, CA. The ICFE is dedicated to helping consumers become better spenders, regular savers and wise users of credit.

About a year ago, Sallie Mae ceased its reporting of borrower's repayment history to Experian and Trans Union, however not to Equifax. Sallie Mae said its purpose to protect the borrower's privacy, however not reporting timely payments could depress credit scores, which is directly related to the type of loan a borrower might qualify for as well as the rate of interest she or he is charged.

According to Terry Clemans, the executive director of the National Credit Reporting Association, a trade group based in Illinois, some credit card issuers also intentionally fail to report customer's credit limits, which he contends, "significantly lower credit scores." He also stated flatly, "Sub-prime mortgage lenders report to no one, which keeps on-time payments, out of sight of the competition and artificially lowering scores."

As usual, it is up to the consumer to make certain that all relevant payment information, whether it's a student loan, a credit card or a home mortgage, is included in their own credit reports. The only way to be certain is for consumers to request a copy of their credit report from all three major CRA's and review each one both for accuracy and completeness at least once a-year.

For more information about a obtaining and understanding your own credit reports, visit the ICFE's Web page at: http://www.icfe.info.

To receive the same information by mail, please send $1 and a self-addressed, 60 cent stamped envelope to: ICFE, Credit Report Review, PO Box 34070, San Diego, CA 92163.

For information contact Paul Richard, RFC - ICFE Executive Director at 619-239-1401..
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