Consumer credit falters in October

In recent years, consumer credit has experienced some of the most dismal ratings in history, as many individuals in the United States struggled to clear up outstanding debts racked up before the Great Recession. However, this year was marked by more significant improvements in overall consumer credit ratings, giving debt collectors a good opportunity to seek out money owed. The Los Angeles Times recently reported that higher defaults on first mortgages caused consumer credit ratings in S&P Dow Jones Indices to drop for the first time in nine months. According to the news provider, delinquencies increased among consumers in October, leading to the downgrading of overall credit ratings from the major reporting agencies. However, the source noted that credit card defaults did improve in October, dropping from 3.7 percent to 3.68 percent, which is also the lowest such total since before the recession. The chairman of the index committee for S&P Dow Jones Indices said that overall, consumer credit is still at a healthy level, the Los Angeles Times added. Some analysts believe that alternative credit reporting will become more necessary this year, as many of the major providers of these scores have been challenged on account of their legitimacy.