Archive for July 2nd, 2010
Credit Repair Doesn't Work – Here's How To Get All Negatives Removed From Your Credit Report Legally!
Friday, July 2nd, 2010If you have tried to use “Credit Repair” companies or tied to repair your own credit then I don’t have to tell you that it doesn’t work. Right? You already know that. It takes forever to get negative items removed then a few months later they all come back. After writing hundreds of letters and spending hundreds of dollars mailing them out certified mail the credit bureaus simply send you out form letters telling you that all of the items that you are disputing are valid.
As you know, 2 or 3 negative items on your credit report can lower your score from a respectable 780 score to a below average of 580. The difference between a 780 score and a 580 score could easily cost you an extra $500 to $3,000 or more each month in higher monthly payments. A low credit score could prevent you from getting hired or getting the promotion you are counting on. You now have a legal way to fight back against Experian, Trans Union and Equifax from putting these negative items on your credit report.
GOOD NEWS! There Now Is A Way To FIGHT-BACK!
Federal Law requires all 3 Credit Bureaus to have “verifiable proof” of every account on file before they can report anything on that account. If they do not have the “verifiable proof” required when you request it from them then the law requires them to remove all of the negative items on that account from your report. It doesn’t matter if the reported item is correct or not. Before they can report the item on your report they have to have the verifiable proof on file.
The dirty little secret is that all 3 credit bureaus don’t have the “verifiable proof” on file that Federal Law requires them to have. What this means is that the Credit Bureaus are not complying with the law unless you force them to. To force the credit bureaus to comply with the law you have to send them a letter asking them to provide you with copies of the original documents used to set up the account showing your signature on it. The truth is, the original creditor might have this document on file but the Credit Bureaus never have it in their files. They don’t keep files! It is too costly for them to keep this documentation on file considering that up until now very few people know about the law that they do not comply with. If you request proof from them they will at best ask the original creditor to provide you with the document. That is not good enough. If they don’t have the proof in their files then the law requires them to remove the items that they are reporting on that account on your report.
You can get any type of negative credit item removed no matter how bad, how many or how recent. That includes foreclosures, bankruptcy, late payments, charge-offs, judgments, repos and collections. All of them can be removed.
Once removed these items can not be put back on. The law also states that once an item is removed or changed it cannot be re-reported without the credit bureau getting a fine of $1,000 per item for reporting information when the credit reporting agency knows they do not have verifiable documentation. It’s the law.
Bad Credit increases the cost of your car insurance and your home insurance. It increases your mortgage interest rate which means that your monthly mortgage payments will be hundreds of dollars higher each month. Your car payment will be $100-$400 or more higher each month when you have a low credit score.
It is even worse for some people. A low credit score will prevent some people from maintaining their required security clearance or their professional license which means that they may lose their means to earn a living. A low credit score may also prevent you from getting a job promotion or even from getting hired in the first place.
The bottom line is, Credit Bureaus get paid millions of dollars a year from creditors to report negatives on your report but there is a Federal Law that you can use to stop them from doing this. By doing it you will be getting a fresh new start. You can get rid of all those high interest loans and you will never get turned down again.
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About the Author:
Thomas Mathews is VP of the Legal Research Dept. at DebtEliminationTools.com the #1 Source of Tools & Resources Helping Consumers to Use Existing Laws to Deal With Debt Collectors, Get Lawsuits Dismissed, Eliminate Debt & Restore Your Credit Score Back Up to 720+.
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Banks adding credit card fees to counteract restrictions
Friday, July 2nd, 2010While the new Senate bill designed to protect consumers from credit card companies’ costly practices has taken away billions in revenue, lenders are looking to make that money back.
Most commonly, they will do so with old practices: annual credit card fees, monthly checking account fees and product bundling.
“What you’re essentially doing is squeezing the balloon, (so fees) are going to pop up somewhere else,” Bart Narter, senior vice president at bank research and consulting firm Celent, told USA Today.
Narter added that in response to the new laws, more of these fees will roll out in the coming months and will generally be viewed as more fair by regulators. Previously, he said, banks relied heavily on overdraft fees to drive revenues and keep checking free, but now that the mechanism has been taken away by regulations, this is how the banks will make up the lost money.
While this new policy is somewhat concerning to consumer advocates like Leslie Parrish of the Center for Responsible Lending, she said it’s not as bad as it might seem, noting that lenders having to disclose such fees is, “a good thing for consumers.”
But without a consumer protection bureau, banks will figure out ways to circumvent the new regulations at some point, say advocates. Gail Hillebrand of the Consumers Union told the newspaper there is nothing in place to prevent banks from clearing transactions from most expensive to least so as to empty accounts more quickly and in doing so get more overdraft fees.
According to an article on AOL News, under the CARD Act of 2009 paying more than the minimum on a credit card balance can not only eat away debt more quickly (and in doing so limit the amount of fees a lender can potentially charge), but can also boost one’s credit score.
Paying more than the minimum also eats into charges with the highest annual percentage rates on a card. One provision of the CARD Act states that all money paid above the minimum must be applied to charges with the highest APR first.
“We want Americans to know that the new law’s changes to credit card practices can work for them,” Joshua Frank, the CRL’s senior credit card industry researcher, told AOL. “We urge credit card customers to make the most of this new law by paying as much as possible above the minimum.”
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Inactive cards can still affect consumer credit scores
Friday, July 2nd, 2010Contrary to what consumers may believe, not activating a new credit card can still affect their credit score.
The reason for this is that credit card issuers and other financial institutions have, by giving a consumer a new card, increased their overall credit availability, and in doing so changed how their credit score is calculated, according to an article on the news site Huliq.
The article explains that a consumer’s score may go up because he or she is using a smaller percentage of the credit he or she has been extended. In some cases the increased credit limit could actually affect the credit score.
However, one move that may seem logical – canceling the card before activating it – also has a negative impact on a consumer’s credit score.
The best way to manage a credit score, the article says, is to request a credit report every four months so that a consumer can more effectively stay on top of the fluctuations in his or her score and therefore better manage and control it.
However, while the calculation of credit scores can be a bit confusing, there is one thing that, while popularly believed to hurt a consumer’s credit score, does not.
A new report in the New York Times found that placing fraud alerts on one’s credit file is in no way damaging to a credit score. The Times, fact-checking a report in another newspaper, asked several credit experts whether such alerts could damage a credit score, and the answer from all of them was no. In fact, a spokesman for FICO, which has one of the most popular formulas for credit scores, said that such alerts aren’t factored in at all.
The problem, the Times said, is that a years-old class-action lawsuit against one company that provided such warnings every 90 days, ostensibly to help prevent cases of fraud, alleged that these warnings were harmful to credit scores based on a number of reports from people involved in the suit. However, these reports were merely a coincidence.
The new belief is that these alerts may delay a consumer’s ability to get a loan, but not damage their credit score in doing so.
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Disputes with Lenders Can Damage Credit Score
Friday, July 2nd, 2010Disputes with credit card companies over charges are occasionally unavoidable, but not paying a bill is hardly the best way to deal with it.
Not paying the entire credit card bill over one or two disputed charges will ultimately accomplish nothing but severe damage to a credit score, according to a Bankrate.com article. While there are legal protections in place for the consumer that wants to dispute a charge, there are also certain steps that must be taken to keep the credit score protected.
The article states that under the Fair Credit Billing Act, a consumer must send a letter disputing any charge they feel is in error to the credit card company’s address for billing inquiries within 60 days of the disputed charge first showing up on a statement. From there the issuer has 30 days to acknowledge the dispute in writing and 90 days, or two billing cycles, to investigate and resolve the claim.
During the investigation, the article says, a consumer is allowed to withhold payment only on the portion of the statement that is being disputed, which the lender cannot report as delinquent, unpaid debt. The consumer must still pay at least the minimum amount or face a number of fees, a penalty interest rate hike and delinquencies on their credit report. The latter is what will negatively impact the consumer’s credit score.
However, the article cites a government website which states that, if the bank determines its has made a mistake, then it must correct the error, credit the account with the disputed amount and any other fees or other charges incurred on it while it was being disputed. It must also issue a correction notice.
Even if the lender investigation rules against the consumer, it must still send an explanation, the article said.
The article also notes that there are steps to protect consumers if the lender breaks the rules, most notably that they can be reported to a number of government regulators. Consumers may also take the lenders to a private arbitrator or judge.
A recent article in the New York Times highlighted a new government database website that hosts the terms and agreements of more than 300 credit card issuers to help consumers know just what they’ve agreed to and to help them work out whether or not they have the grounds to begin a dispute.
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What is Credit Score
Friday, July 2nd, 2010In today’s modern world, an individuIn today’s modern world, an individual’s financial status is one of the most vital aspect of human existence. Therefore, it is highly important to learn how to manage your finances well enough and manage to stay out of debt. A person’s credit score is one of the most vital pieces of information needed to accurately assess one’s financial status.
How Does Credit Score Work
A credit score is a simple three-digit number that basically summarizes your financial capacity and history. It is one of the most basic information used by creditors to determine whether you are a reliable enough person for them to give a loan to, or whether you can buy a new car or house with it. Since there are several variables involved in understanding a person’s credit status, this number representation will easily enable lenders to assess whether you are a risk to the company or not.
Nothing about this is exaggerated at all. Thus, it is very important for a person to learn about their credit score, understand how it is calculated, and work on improving credit score to make your financial rating desirable since you’ll never know when it might come in handy.
Computing Your Credit Score
You can check credit score online. Before you go deep into the actual process of Check credit report score, it is important to look into the formula used for computation first. The Fair Isaac Company is the one responsible for developing this concept of coming up with a credit score, which is aptly called FICO Score. This method of computing has been utilized by the top 3 credit agencies – Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian – since the 1980s. Before, this number was hidden from consumers but given the importance of this knowledge, it was therefore made known to the person involved. After all, knowing how bad your credit rating is will inspire you to do something to make it better.
The process of computation works just like obtaining your average grade in school, which follows a cumulative process. All of your individual scores in quizzes, oral presentation, homework, and exams are totalled in order to reach an average score. Only this time, it utilizes different factors to reach the intended score.
The formula is determined based on the following factors and their corresponding percentage:
*35 percent on your payment history;
*30 percent on outstanding debts;
*15 percent on length of your debts;
*10 percent on newly opened credits;
*10 percent on the type of credits applied for.
You can check credit report score using the formula, Each of the above listed factors will impact the calculation of your credit score in either the negative or positive way. Over the time though, the three major credit bureaus have also come up with their own unique method of computing, which is still largely based on the formula used on the FICO Score.
Now that you understand how your credit score is computed, you need to work on improving it. It begins with reviewing your credit report for any errors in order to make the necessary corrections immediately. Also, you have to maintain your credit balance such that it does not reach 25 percent from the allowable limit.
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The above steps on how to check credit Score is quite simple. If you follow the steps as indicated, then you should have no problem acquiring a copy and check credit report score.
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How To Check Credit Report
Friday, July 2nd, 2010Every consumer should be aware of the importance of regularly checking and updating their credit report, since this will impact your credit status. If you do not know the impact of performing this annual checking, then you can find several websites on the internet that will explain to you why you need to invest time for it. But for now, it is important to learn how to check credit report so you can perform this procedure correctly.
You must understand that it is your right to obtain a copy of your credit report. Experts even recommend that you perform this annual checking on a regular basis to ensure updated information and correction of misinformation. It is part of every consumer’s right as indicated in the FACT Act or Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. You can get your free copy of the credit report from any of the following major credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
You can also perform this procedure online by checking out the website AnnualCreditReport.com so you can get more extensive information on the step by step process on how to check credit report. You can also secure your own copy online but you will be prompted to provide personal information for identification. When you secure a copy, take time to carefully read through each item contained in the report. Give much focus on reviewing the details of the credit entries such that you can identify any wrong information contained in the report. In summary, it is important that all information contained in the report is reviewed since if no files are made for correction on the information found on the report, then it suggest that you agree that all contents are true. Although it might appear to some as standard procedure, a lot of people still fail to do this thoroug review and suffer in the end.
How to check credit report – Important thing to know
Your goal with securing a copy of the credit report is to validate the information it contains. After all, it reflects your credit status and will impact your ability to secure loans or make credit in the future. Your credit rating is something that lenders would often look at first since it indicates your ability to make on-time payments or reflect your overall personality as a borrower.
If during your review on the credit report you find false information, then make sure to report it to any of the credit bureaus immediately. Identify the specific information that was incorrectly placed on your credit report and provide evidence that will back up your claim. You can request to have the item removed or correct, whichever applies.
The credit bureaus will then check your credit information and the evidence you have provided before they can make their final decision. During any agreements reached after the information are corrected on your report, do not forget to secure the written agreements for evidence later on. You can also file for dispute claims on any clerical error that was spotted on your credit report.
The above steps on how to check credit report is quite simple. If you follow the steps as indicated, then you should have no problem acquiring a copy and checking your credit report.
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Many people check credit report free one doesn’t need to hesitate.The ability to obtain a copy of your free credit report gives you strategic advantage in ensuring all information in your credit history are correct. That way, you can improve your financial standing without causing you more debt.
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Benefits of Checking Credit Report For Free
Friday, July 2nd, 2010The importance of securing a copy of your credit report since it will enable you to check your credit history and correct any false information that might be contained in it, thus helping to improve your credit status. However, there is a way for you to check credit reports free to obtain a complete record of your financial history. The ability to maintain good credit standing for free is indeed a great advantage that every consumer need to maximize use of.
Although there are credit bureaus that charge their customers for being able to access their credit records and full report, you can also avail of these services for free. One way for you to do so is avail of a free trial version that enable you to go through free credit report check during a given period of time. If you are worried whether you can get only a limited amount of information from free credit report services, it is not true at all. In fact, you can obtain the same amount of information as any methods of acquiring your credit report.
Given that you are obtaining a copy of your credit report in an effort to improve your credit status and correcting financial information, there is no point in spending additional money in order to gain such record of information. After all, it will provide you with the credit score and learn about how you can improve your financial standing.
The free credit report check will enable you to understand any pattern in your credit history, spending habits, and overall financial behavior . But you need not focus solely on the credit information, but you must also correct identity information since it will be just as important in your credit report as well.
Now question arises how to check credit report free or how to obtain free credit report check facility. Nothing is impossible in the era of Internet. First of all, you need to open search engine like google or yahoo or any other search engine. Then place search phrase like check credit report free, free credit check report and free credit report check.You can search for free trial versions that enable you to obtain your credit report for free such that you can save money. But you need to choose carefully such services to ensure the credibility of the information that they offer. In addition to the validity of information, you must be extra careful since you will be required to provide detailed personal information when accessing your credit report and you would not want to give away such vital information to unreliable individuals or agencies.
The real benefit of free credit report check is to accessing your credit report for without spending dime and you can utilize the information it contains to the fullest. Take time to study the information and evaluate your spending habits. Then, commit into correcting any unpleasant habits you might have that is detrimental to your credit status. Some of the basic steps you can take to improve your financial status is to pay your bills on time, maintain your credit card balance as low as possible, avoid using your credit card or filing for loans unless absolutely necessary, and regularly check your credit report to correct any inaccuracies in your report.
Many people check credit report free one doesn’t need to hesitate.The ability to obtain a copy of your credit report for free gives you strategic advantage in ensuring all information in your credit history are correct. That way, you can improve your financial standing without causing you more debt.
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Know More about credit report and how to check credit report online for free.
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Improve Credit – Save More Money
Friday, July 2nd, 2010Is your credit card suffering from a low score rating? Is that stopping you to have all the benefits from your credit card? Unfortunately a large number of credit card holders today are suffering from the same problem which obstacles you to fulfill your needs any where any time. High score at your credit account saves your money by offering you cutting off your interest from your loan or insurance. There are some basic steps to improve your credit score and we promise you to help widely in your steps. First of all you should remember that your credit account is essentially your own responsibility to take care of. You should be aware of your credit history and don’t ever let your credit account lapse, this would affect your credit score. The best way to improve your credit score is paying at your accounts on schedule, but in case if you are hit with a financial crisis, you should not hide this from your lenders. A discussion would bring out some solution. You have to know what is showing on your credit report before you can take steps to fix the problems. There are three credit reporting agencies, and all three score on a slightly different scale. You should request your credit history from all three reporting agencies, a report containing all three bureaus is commonly referred to as a “tri-merge report.”
Don’t ever close your old accounts. Transaction through your old accounts would show your transaction stability and that would help you to improve your credit score. : One of the factors in your credit rating is your “available credit”. When you close credit cards with no balance you could be altering your available credit to balance ratio. If you’re your balance are over 50% of your available credit it will negatively affect your scores. These are the basic dos and don’ts which would definitely help you to improve your credit score.
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To know more Click on Improve Credit .
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