Credit peddlers attacked

By Linda Hardesty
The Metropolitan

Auraria students tempted to apply for credit cards to score free T-shirts or candy bars should consider the implications.

The Student Government Assembly wants to ban credit card vendors from the Tivoli because of possible negative impacts on studentsā credit reports.

Each time a student applies for a card, inquiries appear on their credit reports, said Jim Hayen, who doubles as SGAās vice president of both Student Organizations and the Student Union Advisory Board.

Several inquires can lead to a negative credit rating, Hayen said. But a representative of a company that sends credit card vendors to Auraria said thatās not entirely the case.

Al Petticrew, a marketing manager for On Campus Marketing, said every application for a credit card shows up as an inquiry on credit reports, but all inquiries are not necessarily negative. Inquiries only start to look bad if people start applying for every credit card in the world and is continually turned down, he said.

ćIt enables students to establish credit while in school, and they donāt need a co-signer,ä Petticrew said, adding that students who want to buy new cars in the future will have established credit.

Maria Mendler, a spokeswoman for Citibank, said people need credit cards for things such as buying concert tickets by phone, renting a car or making airline reservations. Students are targeted as new clients because they have a high degree of purchasing power, but too many cards can cause problems, she said.

Mendler said it might be difficult to get a car loan if a credit report indicates the applicant has a slew of credit cards. A loan officer reviewing the car loan application might assume the applicant already has enough credit to buy a car.

Student clubs sponsor credit card vendors on campus for club fundraisers. Credit card vendors need student club sponsors in order to be on campus.

Trujillo said student government has been discussing banning credit card vendors from the Tivoli for about a year and a half. The ban would only apply to the Tivoli, and credit card vendors could still market at other locations on campus.

SUAB will meet Aug. 20 to discuss the issue. SGA member John Gaskell said SUAB will probably vote on whether credit card vendors will be allowed in the Tivoli at the end of August or at beginning of September.