ON-LINE METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MONITORING AND REPORTING UNUSED AVAILABLE CREDIT

• US 20100114747A1
• Filed: 11/05/2008
• Published: 05/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Consumerinfo.com Incorporated (Experian plc)
• Original Assignee: Mighty Net, Inc. (Experian plc)
• Inventors: Kasower, Sheldon
• Granted Patent: US 8,060,424 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

The present invention generally relates to monitoring and advising consumers of their outstanding credit balance by category of debt (i.e. including, but not limited to, the category of all credit cards, all real estate loans, all automotive loans, all revolving credit loans, etc.) and all minimum payments due by category of debt, and more particularly to an on-line method and system for monitoring and reporting total credit used by category of debt, total minimum payments due by category of debt and total unused available credit by category of debt, and alerting the consumer on a periodic basis via email. Since the credit report is the basis of most credit scores this invention is meant to provide the consumer with debt categories that are used in calculating their credit score, which is critical to future borrowing especially when the borrowing is approved or disapproved based only on the user'"'"'s credit score.

Claims

1. A method for on-line monitoring, reporting and summarizing unused available credit, the method comprising:

providing an on-line system that allows an end user to access the system by means of a computer;

the system requesting and retrieving credit information of the end user from a credit bureau;

the system storing the credit information that includes information relating to the total amount of unused available credit for a debt category in a storage database;

the system presenting the total amount of unused available credit for the debt category to the end user in a graphical or tabular format.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1, the system reconfiguring the credit information for presenting the total amount of unused available credit, wherein reconfiguring the credit information includes:

grouping particular credit information for each credit line into one or more respective debt categories;

determining the total amount of debts owed for each debt category;

determining the total credit limit allowed for each debt category;

determining the total amount of unused available credit for each debt category based on the total amount of debts owed for each debt category and the total credit limit allowed for each debt category.

3. The method as set forth in claim 2, wherein reconfiguring the credit in formation further includes determining the total minimum payments due for a given time period for each debt category.

4. The method as set forth in claim 3, the system presenting the total debts owed for each debt category and the total minimum payments due for a given time period for each debt category to the end user in a summarized, easily readable and understandable format.

5. The method as set forth in claim 1, including the system periodically updating the total amount of unused available credit for the debt category.

6. The method as set forth in claim 5, alerting the end user of a migration of credit balance.

7. The method as set forth in claim 5, including the system periodically notifying the end user of the total amount of unused available credit for the debt category.

8. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the credit information includes information relating to one or more of:

revolving credit balances, limits and minimum monthly payments;

credit card balances, limits and minimum monthly payments;

auto loans, limits and minimum monthly payments;

term loans balances, limits and minimum monthly payments; and

mortgage and bank lines of credit balances, limits and minimum monthly payments.

9. The method as set forth in claim 1, including the system requesting and retrieving credit information of the end user from the credit bureau via a secure data line.

10. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the system is accessible to the end user via the Internet.

11. A system for monitoring, reporting and summarizing unused available credit on-line, the system comprising:

a non-membership portion that includes;

an enrollment component that allows an end user to access the system by means of a computer;

a membership portion that includes;

a data request component that requests and retrieves credit information of the end user from a credit bureau; and

a data presentation component that presents the total amount of unused credit available for a debt category to the end user in a graphical or tabular format;

an alert and monitoring component that periodically provides the end user with an updated total amount of unused credit available for the debt category and alerts the end user of a migration of credit balance.

12. The system as set forth in claim 11, wherein the data presentation component reconfigures the credit information into the total amount of unused available credit for the debt category by:

grouping particular credit information for each credit line into one or more debt categories;

determining the total amount of debts owed for each debt category;

determining the total credit limit allowed for each debt category;

determining the total amount of unused available credit for each debt category based on the total amount of debts owed for each debt category and the total credit limit allowed for each debt category.

13. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein the data presentation component further presents the total amount of debt owed for each debt category and the total minimum pavement due for a given time period for each debt category.

14. The system as set forth in claim 11, wherein the data request component periodically requests updated credit information from the credit bureau.

15. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein the credit information includes information relating to one or more of:

revolving credit balances, limits and minimum monthly payments;

credit card balances, limits and minimum monthly payments;

auto loans, limits and minimum monthly payments;

term loans balances, limits and minimum monthly payments; and

mortgage and bank lines of credit balances, limits and minimum monthly payments.

16. The system as set forth in claim 11, wherein the system requests and retrieves credit information of the end user from the credit bureau via a secure data line.

17. The system as set forth in claim 11, wherein the system is accessible to the end user via the Internet.

18. A method for on-line monitoring, reporting and summarizing unused available credit, the method comprising:

providing an on-line system that allows an end user to access the system by means of a computer;

the system requesting and retrieving credit information of the end user from a credit bureau;

the system storing the credit information of the end user in a storage database;

the system reconfiguring the credit information, reconfiguring the credit information includes;

grouping particular credit information for each credit line into one or more respective debt categories;

determining the total amount of debts owed for each debt category;

determining the total credit limit allowed for each debt category;

determining the total minimum payments due for a given time period for each debt category;

determining the total amount of unused available credit for each debt category based on the total amount of debts owed for each debt category and the total credit limit allowed for each debt category;

the system presenting the total amount of unused available credit for each debt category, the total debts owed for each debt category and the total minimum payments due for a given time period for each debt category to the end user in a graphical or tabular format.