On-line method and system for monitoring and reporting unused available credit

• US 8,060,424 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2008
• Issued: 11/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Consumerinfo.com Incorporated (Experian plc)
• Original Assignee: Consumerinfo.com Incorporated (Experian plc)
• Inventors: Kasower, Sheldon
• Primary Examiner(s): MaGuire; Lindsay M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fu; Hao
• Application Number:
  US12/265,249
• Publication Number:
  US 20100114747A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,105 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35- 38
• 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 computer system that allows an end user to access the system by 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; and

the system reconfiguring the credit information for presenting the total amount of unused available credit, wherein reconfiguring the credit information includes;

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

the system determining total amounts of debts owed for respective debt categories;

the system determining total credit limits allowed for respective debt categories; and

the system determining total amounts of unused available credit for respective debt categories based on the total amounts of debts owed and the total credit limits allowed for respective debt categories.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein reconfiguring the credit information further includes determining total minimum payments due for a given time period for respective debt categories.

3. The method as set forth in claim 2, the system presenting the total debts owed for respective debt categories and the total minimum payments due for a given time period for respective debt categories to the end user in a summarized, easily readable and understandable format.

4. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the system periodically updating the total amounts of unused available credit for the respective debt categories.

5. The method as set forth in claim 4, further comprising alerting the end user of a migration of credit balance.

6. The method as set forth in claim 4, further comprising the system periodically notifying the end user of the total amounts of unused available credit for the respective debt categories.

7. 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.

8. 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.

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

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

computer-readable storage having a plurality of executable components stored thereon;

computer system comprising processing hardware configured to execute instructions in accordance with the plurality of executable components;

an enrollment component configured to enable an end user to access the system by means of a computer;

a data request component configured to request and retrieve credit information of the end user from a credit bureau; and

a data presentation component configured to present total amounts of unused credit available for respective debt categories to the end user in a graphical or tabular format, the data presentation component further configured to;

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

determine total amounts of debts owed for respective debt categories;

determine total credit limits allowed for respective debt categories; and

determine the total amounts of unused available credit for respective debt categories based on the total amounts of debts owed for respective debt categories and the total credit limits allowed for respective debt categories; and

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

11. The system as set forth in claim 10, wherein the data presentation component further presents the total amounts of debt owed for respective debt categories and total minimum payments due for a given time period for respective debt categories.

12. The system as set forth in claim 10, wherein the data request component periodically requests updated credit information from the credit bureau.

13. The system as set forth in claim 10, 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.

14. The system as set forth in claim 10, wherein the system requests and retrieves credit information of the end user from the credit bureau via a secure data line.

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

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution on a system comprising computing hardware, cause the system to perform operations comprising:

receiving a request from an end user to access the system by a computer;

retrieving credit information associated with the end user from a credit bureau;

storing the credit information associated with the end user;

grouping credit line records in the credit information into one or more respective debt categories;

determining total amounts of debts owed for respective debt categories;

determining total credit limits allowed for respective debt categories;

determining total minimum payments due for a given time period for respective debt categories;

determining total amounts of unused available credit for respective debt categories based on the total amounts of debts owed for respective debt categories and the total credit limits allowed for respective debt categories; and

presenting, to the user, the total amounts of unused available credit for respective debt categories, the total amounts of debts owed for respective debt categories and the total minimum payments due for a given time period for respective debt categories.