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Last year, Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) introduced the Medical Debt Resolution Act (H.R. 2086), which would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require the Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) to remove paid or settled medical debt from a consumers’ credit file. The bill would require information related to a single fully paid or settled medical debt of $2,500 or less that had been characterized as delinquent, charged off, or in collection for credit reporting purposes, which, from the date of payment or settlement, antedates the report by more than 45 calendar days. As a general rule, expunging predictive information is not in the best interest of consumers or credit granters — both of which benefit when credit reports and scores are as accurate and predictive as possible. If any type of debt information proven to be predictive is expunged, consumers risk exposure to improper credit products as they may appear to be more financially equipped to handle new debt. It’s important to note that medical debts are never taken into consideration by the credit scoring company VantageScore if the debt reporting is known to be from a medical facility. The challenge, however, is knowing when a debt is medical related. For example, when a medical debt is outsourced to a third-party collection agency it is difficult to know the true origin of the debt. Collection accounts of lower than $250, or ones that have been settled, have less impact on a consumer’s VantageScore. The legislation also does not address medical bills paid with a credit card and there is risk that the current language could be interpreted to require that a credit card balance containing paid medical debt be expunged from a credit file. This is a growing issue as patients pay about $45 billion in medical costs with a credit card, according to a 2007 report by Mckinsey & Company. Share your thoughts … Congress Looks at Removing Paid or Settled Medical Debt from Credit Reports ex.pn/LTrVKn — Experian News (@ExperianNews) June 28, 2012 Photo: Shutterstock

 Experian Automotive today announced that there were 17.3 million more light-duty vehicles seven years and older on the road in the United States than there were three years ago. According to its Q1 2012 Vehicles in Operation (VIO) market analysis, Experian Automotive also found that there were more than 245 million vehicles on U.S. roads, and that the age of vehicles increased when compared to Q1 2011, up 1.9 percent to an average age of 11 years. “An increase of later-model vehicles on the road is a positive sign for the industry because it creates growth opportunities in the important aftermarket sector,” said Jeffrey Anderson, director of consulting and analytics for Experian Automotive. “With lower scrappage rates, historically large sales of older-model vehicles and an increase in incentives for maintaining vehicle ownership, aftermarket part manufacturers and retailers will see an influx of shoppers looking to extend the life of their vehicle.” Additional data from the report showed Ford as the most prevalent make on the road in Q1, followed by Chevrolet, Toyota and Honda for both Canada and the United States. At the model level, the U.S. analysis showed that the Ford F-150 had the largest volume on the road, followed by the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Chevrolet Silverado.           Other findings from the analysis showed that light trucks in the United States continue to grow and maintain a higher percentage of the total VIO than passenger cars. Light trucks made up 50.8 percent of the total U.S. VIO in Q1 2012, compared with 49.2 percent of passenger cars. Full-sized pickups make up the greatest percentage of VIO, at 14.6 percent overall, with General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and Toyota making up the greatest majority (98.7 percent) of those vehicles. Additional Q1 2012 findings for the United States include: Hybrid/Electric vehicles represent 0.9 percent of VIO in the United States 78.5 percent of all light-duty vehicles in the United States are 15 years old or newer The top five vehicle segments in the United States make up 50.1 percent of the VIO market Findings from the Canadian Q1 2012 VIO analysis include: More than 22 million vehicles were registered, up from 21.5 million in Q1 2011 The average age of all light-duty vehicles was 9.6 years The largest volume models were Honda Civic, Ford F-150, Toyota Corolla and Dodge Grand Caravan Passenger cars made up the greatest majority of VIO at 53.2 percent, and light trucks only encompassed 46.8 percent Small-economy cars were favored over full-sized pickups, with small cars encompassing 17 percent of the total VIO Hybrid/Electric vehicles represented only 0.4 percent of VIO 85.3 percent of all light-duty vehicles are 15 years old or newer The top five vehicle segments (small economy car, full-sized pickup, lower midrange car, standard midrange car and minivan) made up 60 percent of the Canadian market Click here to tweet this post.   Photo: Shutterstock

                    Experian Marketing Services’ CheetahMail® developed a new Pinterest email functionality late last year that has produced significantly higher both open and click rates for emails with the functionality, while also enabling retailers’ products to go viral. Several retailers, including Ballard Designs, have seen significant increases in click-to-open rates, Pinterest followers and pinboard activity by incorporating the capability into their email campaigns. Specifically, the Pinterest feature allows brands to incorporate “Pin It” functionality within their promotional emails, so that consumers can link products they like to specific pinboards. Email recipients are able to easily share the products featured within the body of the email with friends and followers simply by clicking on the “Pin It” icon — the power of which is word-of-mouth product awareness. The feature is easy to implement, and the CheetahMail team provides the strategy and guidance on how to integrate Pinterest into campaigns, as well as the kinds of campaigns that are best suited to leverage the channel. “We recognized the viral value of Pinterest early and recommended the ‘Pin It’ functionality to clients to help with customer engagement,” said Yara Lutz, vice president of Client Services at Experian CheetahMail. “The emails with the ‘Pin-It’ functionality have consistently delivered increased click-to-open rates and helped our clients, such as Ballard Designs, expand their presence on this valuable social networking site.” Ballard Designs “Spring Favorites Campaign” With the help of its Experian CheetahMail account team, Ballard Designs launched a Customer Spring Favorites promotional email to consumers. The email included six individual products with “Pin It” icons and delivered excellent results. Specifically, Ballard Designs saw: A 2.8 percent increase in click-to-open rates More than 15 percent increase in Pinterest followers within the first week of deployment A 33 percent increase in pinboard activity “Knowing our brand well, Experian CheetahMail proactively reached out to help us strategize and execute the new ‘Pin It’ in email functionality,” said James Pope, director of public relations and social media for Ballard Designs. “It was very easy, and we are extremely pleased with the results of our first ‘Pin It’ campaign, which enabled six products to be ‘pinned’ separately from within the email, increasing click-to-open rates, Pinterest followers and pinboard activity. The functionality has now become an integral part of our ongoing email campaigns.” Pinterest campaigns create higher open and click rates Looking at brands currently sending ‘Pin Us’ campaigns, Experian CheetahMail found that ‘Pin Us’ mailings are generating higher open and click rates when compared to other mailings from the same brands among Experian CheetahMail clients. Pinterest mailings overall are generating 11 percent higher open rates and 25 percent higher click rates than other email campaigns between January 2012 and March 2012. For more information about how Ballard Designs used the Pinterest feature to its advantage, please read the full Ballard Designs case study and view the Social Media’s Hot Trends Webinar.