Archive for the ‘Finance’ Category
September 3rd, 2010 | 
Author: 
Freddie Stewart asked:
Whether or not lending or financial institution will give you a loan or credit depends on your credit score. Your credit score is based on how you pay off your previous and existing loans. It gives lender a pretty good picture of how good you are at managing and paying off your debts.
While you are alive and functioning in society, your credit score changes. Your decisions regarding your debt will lower or raise your credit score. Making good financial decisions may help raise your credit score.
Here are some steps you can take towards improving your credit score:
Find out your credit report The 3 credit bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian have their own reports regarding your creditworthiness. They may have different reports because they may not have the same kind of information as creditors don’t need to report to each and every one of them. If you have been denied credit or employment because of your credit score, you are entitled to ask for a copy of that report from the credit bureau because the company you applied to is required by law to submit the name of credit bureau they got the report from. Study your reports from all 3 bureaus carefully The job of a credit bureau is to report on information supplied by you creditors. Since they don’t verify the information they receive there may be some mistakes in the information given. It may sound unfair but keeping your credit report a true reflection of your creditworthiness is your job. Be meticulous in making sure all information such as dates and figures are correct. Make a list of items you want to dispute and be ready to defend your claims. Dispute and Document, the Double-D strategy Be very thorough in documenting all mistakes you find in your credit reports. Identify which points of the reports are wrong and tell them why. A good stategy is to give the credit bureaus photocopies of their reports and encircling the mistakes. Don’t forget to supply the correct entries to the mistakes. Keep all documents and forms you send to the credit bureaus and keep note of the dates. The credit bureaus must look into and investigate all credit disputes within 30 days. If a dispute is not verified by a creditor, it must be automatically removed from the report. You can also go to the creditors themselves and try to resolve any mistakes directly. If any changes are made to your credit report, the responsible credit bureau will send you a free copy of the revised report. Negative entries that have been removed cannot be put back in the report unless the creditors can verify accuracy and completeness of the entry. They should also send you written notice that they are going to do so. Solve and Dissolve debt Find ways to finally get rid of your debts. Resolve all unpaid debts by negotiating for longer payment schemes and lower interest rates. Avoid getting a delinquent or bad credit standing. When you’ve paid off your credit debt, consider getting rid of your cards. Stabilize your credit file Make sure your credit records are updated and complete. Sometimes, creditors don’t report to credit bureaus so it’s up to you to make sure they do.
Try to re-establish good credit especially if you’ve had bad credit previously. You’ll improve your credit score faster if you keep your credit active and in good standing.
The best way to show creditors that you’re a good credit risk is if you have enough money in the bank to show that you save and that you’re able to pay them off.
Juanita
Whether or not lending or financial institution will give you a loan or credit depends on your credit score. Your credit score is based on how you pay off your previous and existing loans. It gives lender a pretty good picture of how good you are at managing and paying off your debts.
While you are alive and functioning in society, your credit score changes. Your decisions regarding your debt will lower or raise your credit score. Making good financial decisions may help raise your credit score.
Here are some steps you can take towards improving your credit score:
Find out your credit report The 3 credit bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian have their own reports regarding your creditworthiness. They may have different reports because they may not have the same kind of information as creditors don’t need to report to each and every one of them. If you have been denied credit or employment because of your credit score, you are entitled to ask for a copy of that report from the credit bureau because the company you applied to is required by law to submit the name of credit bureau they got the report from. Study your reports from all 3 bureaus carefully The job of a credit bureau is to report on information supplied by you creditors. Since they don’t verify the information they receive there may be some mistakes in the information given. It may sound unfair but keeping your credit report a true reflection of your creditworthiness is your job. Be meticulous in making sure all information such as dates and figures are correct. Make a list of items you want to dispute and be ready to defend your claims. Dispute and Document, the Double-D strategy Be very thorough in documenting all mistakes you find in your credit reports. Identify which points of the reports are wrong and tell them why. A good stategy is to give the credit bureaus photocopies of their reports and encircling the mistakes. Don’t forget to supply the correct entries to the mistakes. Keep all documents and forms you send to the credit bureaus and keep note of the dates. The credit bureaus must look into and investigate all credit disputes within 30 days. If a dispute is not verified by a creditor, it must be automatically removed from the report. You can also go to the creditors themselves and try to resolve any mistakes directly. If any changes are made to your credit report, the responsible credit bureau will send you a free copy of the revised report. Negative entries that have been removed cannot be put back in the report unless the creditors can verify accuracy and completeness of the entry. They should also send you written notice that they are going to do so. Solve and Dissolve debt Find ways to finally get rid of your debts. Resolve all unpaid debts by negotiating for longer payment schemes and lower interest rates. Avoid getting a delinquent or bad credit standing. When you’ve paid off your credit debt, consider getting rid of your cards. Stabilize your credit file Make sure your credit records are updated and complete. Sometimes, creditors don’t report to credit bureaus so it’s up to you to make sure they do.
Try to re-establish good credit especially if you’ve had bad credit previously. You’ll improve your credit score faster if you keep your credit active and in good standing.
The best way to show creditors that you’re a good credit risk is if you have enough money in the bank to show that you save and that you’re able to pay them off.
Juanita
L. Sampson asked:
Knowing what is on your credit report can help to keep your personal information safe, give you a chance to correct inaccuracies, and save you money on interest rates when you apply for a home loan. With the wide availability of free or low cost credit reports online, there is no reason to spend a lot of money to find out how credit worthy you really are.
Obtain a free credit report when you sign up for special services
If you are interested in signing up for credit monitoring or similar credit check services, take advantage of a company that offers a free credit report when you sign up for their program. If you are interested in a credit monitoring or counseling program, look for one that offers a free credit report instead of paying for this information.
Go straight to the source
According to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, everyone is entitled to receive a free copy of their credit report from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, once every 12 months. You can individually request a copy from each bureau or you can look for online companies that offer a free centralized request form that lets you fill out one form and receive your credit report from all three agencies.
Save money later by not being too thrifty now
While free online credit sites abound on the internet, it isn’t always as free as it sounds. Always thoroughly research any company you are about to request a free credit report from. Some are nothing more than fronts for identity theft scams. Ironically a consumer thinks they are getting a credit report to safeguard their credit, when in truth they are giving away valuable information to identity thieves. While it might seem wonderful to get a credit report for nothing, it won’t seem so wonderful if you have to go through the headache of cleaning up your credit report or if you aren’t able to secure a loan because of fraudulent information on your report.
Sandra
Knowing what is on your credit report can help to keep your personal information safe, give you a chance to correct inaccuracies, and save you money on interest rates when you apply for a home loan. With the wide availability of free or low cost credit reports online, there is no reason to spend a lot of money to find out how credit worthy you really are.
Obtain a free credit report when you sign up for special services
If you are interested in signing up for credit monitoring or similar credit check services, take advantage of a company that offers a free credit report when you sign up for their program. If you are interested in a credit monitoring or counseling program, look for one that offers a free credit report instead of paying for this information.
Go straight to the source
According to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, everyone is entitled to receive a free copy of their credit report from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, once every 12 months. You can individually request a copy from each bureau or you can look for online companies that offer a free centralized request form that lets you fill out one form and receive your credit report from all three agencies.
Save money later by not being too thrifty now
While free online credit sites abound on the internet, it isn’t always as free as it sounds. Always thoroughly research any company you are about to request a free credit report from. Some are nothing more than fronts for identity theft scams. Ironically a consumer thinks they are getting a credit report to safeguard their credit, when in truth they are giving away valuable information to identity thieves. While it might seem wonderful to get a credit report for nothing, it won’t seem so wonderful if you have to go through the headache of cleaning up your credit report or if you aren’t able to secure a loan because of fraudulent information on your report.
Sandra
Gary Gresham asked:
Every consumer in America has the right to a free credit report once every year by law as of September 2005. But since that law has passed there has been nothing but confusion.
The web sites that say they are offering this so called free credit report, are asking us to give them our credit card information. Does that sound like a free credit report to you?
You may have even given your credit card number to these companies to sign up for a thirty day trial for a credit service that has almost nothing to do with getting your free credit report.
In all fairness, you can cancel this service after thirty days. But how many people do you think forget and end up with monthly or even annual credit card charges?
In fact, these companies are counting on you forgetting about the thirty day trial and charging that fee on your credit card. But if the law says you get a free report, what’s the deal?
A lot of people are confused about these free credit reports because of how some companies are marketing the free credit report. Hopefully, this information will clear a few things up for you.
For people who just want the bottom line, a free credit report is available at http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com and this is the only official site that helps consumers to obtain their annual free credit report.
This site’s security protocols are excellent with physical and technological security and encryption. That’s important for identity theft purposes because the information on your credit report should be seen by your eyes only.
So if this site is readily available and anyone can get a free credit report once a year, what’s the catch? Here is the catch: the credit report you get from http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com does not have any credit scores.
Now you may be asking, “Then what good is getting this free credit report without a credit score?” There are a few good reasons why you may want to look at your credit report even without a credit score.
Did you know that more than forty percent of all credit reports have errors? If you spot these errors, you can get them cleared up before it affects your credit score. If you contact a credit bureau about an error, they have to clear it up or remove it after thirty days by law.
If you monitor and review your credit report, you can check to be sure that you are not a victim of identity theft. If someone takes over your accounts and charges up thousands of dollars in debt, they can destroy your credit score in a matter of hours.
These are just a couple of good reasons why you want to get your free credit report once a year and inspect it just to be sure everything looks like it should. You can get your free credit report online at http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com or by phone or through the mail.
So where do you get your credit score from? This is where the confusion comes in and here is the answer. The law Congress passed did not say anything about a credit score just one free credit report a year per consumer.
You have to pay a service to get your credit score and some companies are confusing people with the way they are marketing this. They offer you a free credit report and score and many consumers believe it’s their annual free credit report.
But if you have to sign up for a credit service they offer for a 30 day trial period, does that sound free? What these companies are counting on is you forgetting about the 30 day trial and charging a fee on your credit card once that trial period is over.
It’s in the fine print, but how many people actually read that. So here is a good common sense rule of thumb. Any time you have to give your credit card information, ask yourself, “is this really free?”
Many of you probably know this is happening because you have been trapped with this kind of marketing tactic. But for those of you that just want your annual free credit report, you can at least be aware as to what is really going on and have a no nonsense way to get it.
Copyright
Every consumer in America has the right to a free credit report once every year by law as of September 2005. But since that law has passed there has been nothing but confusion.
The web sites that say they are offering this so called free credit report, are asking us to give them our credit card information. Does that sound like a free credit report to you?
You may have even given your credit card number to these companies to sign up for a thirty day trial for a credit service that has almost nothing to do with getting your free credit report.
In all fairness, you can cancel this service after thirty days. But how many people do you think forget and end up with monthly or even annual credit card charges?
In fact, these companies are counting on you forgetting about the thirty day trial and charging that fee on your credit card. But if the law says you get a free report, what’s the deal?
A lot of people are confused about these free credit reports because of how some companies are marketing the free credit report. Hopefully, this information will clear a few things up for you.
For people who just want the bottom line, a free credit report is available at http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com and this is the only official site that helps consumers to obtain their annual free credit report.
This site’s security protocols are excellent with physical and technological security and encryption. That’s important for identity theft purposes because the information on your credit report should be seen by your eyes only.
So if this site is readily available and anyone can get a free credit report once a year, what’s the catch? Here is the catch: the credit report you get from http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com does not have any credit scores.
Now you may be asking, “Then what good is getting this free credit report without a credit score?” There are a few good reasons why you may want to look at your credit report even without a credit score.
Did you know that more than forty percent of all credit reports have errors? If you spot these errors, you can get them cleared up before it affects your credit score. If you contact a credit bureau about an error, they have to clear it up or remove it after thirty days by law.
If you monitor and review your credit report, you can check to be sure that you are not a victim of identity theft. If someone takes over your accounts and charges up thousands of dollars in debt, they can destroy your credit score in a matter of hours.
These are just a couple of good reasons why you want to get your free credit report once a year and inspect it just to be sure everything looks like it should. You can get your free credit report online at http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com or by phone or through the mail.
So where do you get your credit score from? This is where the confusion comes in and here is the answer. The law Congress passed did not say anything about a credit score just one free credit report a year per consumer.
You have to pay a service to get your credit score and some companies are confusing people with the way they are marketing this. They offer you a free credit report and score and many consumers believe it’s their annual free credit report.
But if you have to sign up for a credit service they offer for a 30 day trial period, does that sound free? What these companies are counting on is you forgetting about the 30 day trial and charging a fee on your credit card once that trial period is over.
It’s in the fine print, but how many people actually read that. So here is a good common sense rule of thumb. Any time you have to give your credit card information, ask yourself, “is this really free?”
Many of you probably know this is happening because you have been trapped with this kind of marketing tactic. But for those of you that just want your annual free credit report, you can at least be aware as to what is really going on and have a no nonsense way to get it.
Copyright
Frank Bruno asked:
Once a charge off was declared by your creditor, they would consider it as bad debt and would be allowed to include it in the Profit and Loss section of the debtor’s financial statement. This would allow your creditor to treat your bad debt as a business expense and the Internal Revenue Service would not demand any taxes on these items.
Although it is considered to be a bad debt, it does not mean that it would not be uncollected. Your creditor would still be doing necessary steps in order to collect their money including filing a lawsuit if hiring an outside collection agency does not work.
According to the Fair Credit Report Act, these charge offs could remain for as long as seven years unless your creditor asked the credit bureau to remove it. Of course, you will have to negotiate payment of your debt, whether in partial or full. Factors that your creditor will consider before agreeing to any negotiation include debt amount, offered settlement, and other policies that the creditor requires.
If you are attempting to settle your charge off, you should remember to document everything. Also important is to make arrangement with someone for the creditor’s office who has the legal authority to enter into such agreement. You should make sure that the agreement is legal and binding before you pay anything. If not, you will never have the chance to remove the charge-off record on your credit report.
When negotiating payment terms, you should make sure that you are doing so realistically. Do not make promises that you will have difficulties keeping. You will only make matters worse if you try to commit to paying more than you can afford. To deal with your charge-off troubles, you must be able to realistically face your financial situation. Determine what the reasons for your indebtedness were and how you can manage them. In most cases, a change in spending habits and bills management is in order.
Charge-offs can actually be avoided if you are just diligent in paying your bills or speaking with your lender. On the other hand, if the charge-off is already there in your credit history, then dealing with it should be your top priority. Although it would take some time, it is only the responsible thing to do. You should definitely learn from this experience and make sure it does not happen again.
Lonnie
Once a charge off was declared by your creditor, they would consider it as bad debt and would be allowed to include it in the Profit and Loss section of the debtor’s financial statement. This would allow your creditor to treat your bad debt as a business expense and the Internal Revenue Service would not demand any taxes on these items.
Although it is considered to be a bad debt, it does not mean that it would not be uncollected. Your creditor would still be doing necessary steps in order to collect their money including filing a lawsuit if hiring an outside collection agency does not work.
According to the Fair Credit Report Act, these charge offs could remain for as long as seven years unless your creditor asked the credit bureau to remove it. Of course, you will have to negotiate payment of your debt, whether in partial or full. Factors that your creditor will consider before agreeing to any negotiation include debt amount, offered settlement, and other policies that the creditor requires.
If you are attempting to settle your charge off, you should remember to document everything. Also important is to make arrangement with someone for the creditor’s office who has the legal authority to enter into such agreement. You should make sure that the agreement is legal and binding before you pay anything. If not, you will never have the chance to remove the charge-off record on your credit report.
When negotiating payment terms, you should make sure that you are doing so realistically. Do not make promises that you will have difficulties keeping. You will only make matters worse if you try to commit to paying more than you can afford. To deal with your charge-off troubles, you must be able to realistically face your financial situation. Determine what the reasons for your indebtedness were and how you can manage them. In most cases, a change in spending habits and bills management is in order.
Charge-offs can actually be avoided if you are just diligent in paying your bills or speaking with your lender. On the other hand, if the charge-off is already there in your credit history, then dealing with it should be your top priority. Although it would take some time, it is only the responsible thing to do. You should definitely learn from this experience and make sure it does not happen again.
Lonnie
Francine Denson asked:
There some confusion out there when it comes to free credit reports. You have likely seen the many articles that are floating around that state that you can get your free credit report, but just what does a free credit report consist of? In this article will will look at the differences in the 3 different types of credit reports advertised and learn more about which one is the most beneficial to have.
Type #1) Single Credit Bureau Report
One type of credit report is one where you can get a report from only one of the three bureaus. These three bureaus are Equifax, Trans Union and Experian; most of the time with this type of report you will have to choose one of these companies to get your report from. This may not help you very much because each of the three bureaus differs a bit in the content they report. You would probably benefit more from a 3-1.
Usefulness: C-
Type #2) 3-1 Credit Report
A 3-1 report would include a report from each of the three bureaus. The advantage to this is you get all three reports. The downside is that you get only one score from one bureau. It would be more sensible to receive all three of the bureaus scores. Mortgage companies look at the three scores and usually go by the one in the middle. I would only be logical to see what they see if you are attempting to get a loan.
Usefulness: B
Type #3) 3-1 Credit Report With Credit Scores
This brings us to the third type. This is the 3-1 credit report that included all three scores. This is the best offer there is due to the fact that this is what lenders look at. You will want to ensure that you know what you are getting when you request a credit report.
Usefulness: A+
Every consumer is entitled to one free report from each of the three bureaus annually, but this does not include a credit score. By using the services of on of the popular online free credit report sites, you can get instant access to not only your credit reports but your credit scores as well. You would be best off off obtaining a 3-1 with all three scores so you can have a clear view of what lenders are looking at when deciding whether or not to approve your loan.
Andre
There some confusion out there when it comes to free credit reports. You have likely seen the many articles that are floating around that state that you can get your free credit report, but just what does a free credit report consist of? In this article will will look at the differences in the 3 different types of credit reports advertised and learn more about which one is the most beneficial to have.
Type #1) Single Credit Bureau Report
One type of credit report is one where you can get a report from only one of the three bureaus. These three bureaus are Equifax, Trans Union and Experian; most of the time with this type of report you will have to choose one of these companies to get your report from. This may not help you very much because each of the three bureaus differs a bit in the content they report. You would probably benefit more from a 3-1.
Usefulness: C-
Type #2) 3-1 Credit Report
A 3-1 report would include a report from each of the three bureaus. The advantage to this is you get all three reports. The downside is that you get only one score from one bureau. It would be more sensible to receive all three of the bureaus scores. Mortgage companies look at the three scores and usually go by the one in the middle. I would only be logical to see what they see if you are attempting to get a loan.
Usefulness: B
Type #3) 3-1 Credit Report With Credit Scores
This brings us to the third type. This is the 3-1 credit report that included all three scores. This is the best offer there is due to the fact that this is what lenders look at. You will want to ensure that you know what you are getting when you request a credit report.
Usefulness: A+
Every consumer is entitled to one free report from each of the three bureaus annually, but this does not include a credit score. By using the services of on of the popular online free credit report sites, you can get instant access to not only your credit reports but your credit scores as well. You would be best off off obtaining a 3-1 with all three scores so you can have a clear view of what lenders are looking at when deciding whether or not to approve your loan.
Andre
Posted in Finance | 
Tags: Confusion, credit bureau report, Credit Bureau Reports, Credit Scores, Downside, Equifax, free credit report, Instant Access, Lenders, Mortgage Companies | 
No Comments »
David Kamau asked:
Your credit history is a record you’ve established with the 3 major credit bureaus by either paying or not paying your bills on time, or not paying at all. This history is recorded by all of your creditors on your three credit reports.
The 3 major credit bureaus are Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. They keep this information on file for you, your creditors, new lenders and other interested parties.
Parties that may require your credit history that are not lenders or creditors per se are employers and, more recently (and frightening), doctors and hospitals.
Your credit reports will reflect your payment history on all of your credit accounts you’ve had for the past.
This includes your student loans, mortgages, retail store credit cards, auto loans, telephone, and utilities (cable, gas and electric); although typically utility companies do not report until you fall into delinquency.
Federal law requires that child support delinquencies get reported.
This information can be reported for up to 7 years, or 10 years for bankruptcies. However, there is no time limit if applying for a loan of more than $150,000 or a job with an annual income of more than $75,000.
But aside from your credit history, the 3 major credit bureaus also store personal information about you, such as past and present addresses, social security number, and employment history.
The 3 major credit bureaus are for-profit businesses. They make money by selling your information.
You may be asking; how do the Credit Bureaus know if I pay my bills on time or not?
Well, the credit bureaus do not know if and how you pay your creditors. It’s your creditors that supply your information to them: it is your creditors that report your payment history to the credit bureaus; good or bad, they run and tell.
Have you wondered how debt collectors are able to find you when you move? One of the ways that debt collectors are able to track you down to your new address is through the credit bureaus.
When you apply for new credit, your information including your address is entered into your credit file. This process is called “lender reporting” where your creditors will send, typically, all three credit reporting bureaus the current status of your accounts utilizing an electronic tape.
Since lenders do pay to make reports they often do not report to all 3 major credit bureaus. This is one reason why your credit report will often differ from bureau to bureau.
Once the credit reporting agencies receive this tape, it’s loaded into their system and then unloads into their databases, hence, creating an updated record of all your accounts, address, and payment history.
In the perfect world, all your accounts should be paid on time; however, many of us fall behind. Doesn’t matter whether you were hospitalized or near-dead, all your timely payments, late payments, or missed payments are reported.
Accounts in good standing are noted as “paid as agreed.” This means that the creditor is reporting your account as being paid according to the terms of agreement you signed.
If your account is past due then your status rating changes and causes your credit ratings drop.
All the 3 major credit bureaus also indicate on your report the name of the creditor, type of account, account number and delinquency status (whether 60, 90 or 120 days late).
The worst notation on your credit bureau report is one that shows that an account is “in collection”. But even more devastating are judgments against you, bankruptcies and tax liens.
Leroy
Your credit history is a record you’ve established with the 3 major credit bureaus by either paying or not paying your bills on time, or not paying at all. This history is recorded by all of your creditors on your three credit reports.
The 3 major credit bureaus are Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. They keep this information on file for you, your creditors, new lenders and other interested parties.
Parties that may require your credit history that are not lenders or creditors per se are employers and, more recently (and frightening), doctors and hospitals.
Your credit reports will reflect your payment history on all of your credit accounts you’ve had for the past.
This includes your student loans, mortgages, retail store credit cards, auto loans, telephone, and utilities (cable, gas and electric); although typically utility companies do not report until you fall into delinquency.
Federal law requires that child support delinquencies get reported.
This information can be reported for up to 7 years, or 10 years for bankruptcies. However, there is no time limit if applying for a loan of more than $150,000 or a job with an annual income of more than $75,000.
But aside from your credit history, the 3 major credit bureaus also store personal information about you, such as past and present addresses, social security number, and employment history.
The 3 major credit bureaus are for-profit businesses. They make money by selling your information.
You may be asking; how do the Credit Bureaus know if I pay my bills on time or not?
Well, the credit bureaus do not know if and how you pay your creditors. It’s your creditors that supply your information to them: it is your creditors that report your payment history to the credit bureaus; good or bad, they run and tell.
Have you wondered how debt collectors are able to find you when you move? One of the ways that debt collectors are able to track you down to your new address is through the credit bureaus.
When you apply for new credit, your information including your address is entered into your credit file. This process is called “lender reporting” where your creditors will send, typically, all three credit reporting bureaus the current status of your accounts utilizing an electronic tape.
Since lenders do pay to make reports they often do not report to all 3 major credit bureaus. This is one reason why your credit report will often differ from bureau to bureau.
Once the credit reporting agencies receive this tape, it’s loaded into their system and then unloads into their databases, hence, creating an updated record of all your accounts, address, and payment history.
In the perfect world, all your accounts should be paid on time; however, many of us fall behind. Doesn’t matter whether you were hospitalized or near-dead, all your timely payments, late payments, or missed payments are reported.
Accounts in good standing are noted as “paid as agreed.” This means that the creditor is reporting your account as being paid according to the terms of agreement you signed.
If your account is past due then your status rating changes and causes your credit ratings drop.
All the 3 major credit bureaus also indicate on your report the name of the creditor, type of account, account number and delinquency status (whether 60, 90 or 120 days late).
The worst notation on your credit bureau report is one that shows that an account is “in collection”. But even more devastating are judgments against you, bankruptcies and tax liens.
Leroy
Posted in Finance |
Tags: Auto Loans, Credit Equifax, Credit History, Delinquencies, Delinquency, Equifax, major credit bureaus, Other Interested Parties, Profit Businesses, Transunion |
No Comments »
David Maillie asked:
Many people have and suffer from bad or marginal credit. This does not mean they are a bad person as bad credit can happen as a result of a sudden unplanned illness or emergency, a job layoff, etc… Many families do not have sufficient savings to ride out a serious and costly emergency or job loss. Actually, according to MSN, many families are living only one paycheck away from bankruptcy and this is not good. To stop this one needs to put reigns on all unnecessary spending, but we will talk more about this further on.
The first step anyone with possibly bad credit needs to take is to find out the exact extent of your credit. You may have only seen 1 credit report or only been told what might be on your record by a bank or loan manager or finance manager, but did you know there are really 3 separate credit reporting agencies and each has a different report and score? Just because one credit report shows as bad doesn’t necessarily mean the others do, and vice versa, if one is good the other two may be quite the opposite. Usually, as a rule, they are similar, but negative items or entries do tend to stay longer on some then others and some tend to have more errors in their entry reporting.
Go online to any of the three major credit bureaus (Just Google the names of Experian, Equifax, and Transunion) and pay to have your all three in one report with credit score pulled. You want all three as they can and probably will be slightly different. The report is necessary so you can actually measure and understand exactly how bad it is and what needs to be done to improve and fix it. A all three in one report is around $40 to $50 and worth it. Free reports which you can receive per recent federal laws will only give one credit bureau and no score (how do you know where you stand without a score unless you are a finance manager or work at a bank loan department?)
If your score is 600 and above your credit is marginal, but not bad. You won’t have too much to repair. If your credit is 500 or below you probably have a lot of negative entries, possible tax liens, judgments, repos (car repossessions), a possible bankruptcy, and/or other serious negative influences and entries in your reports. A low or bad credit score will take more work and effort, but you can still achieve a much higher credit rating and fairly quickly.
Now, that you have your credit report and scores, find out which is the most important credit reporting bureau for your area of the country (each bureau has a particular area of influence). The easiest way to do this is to contact your local new car dealer and ask the finance manager what credit report they most commonly use to establish credit. Usually it is only one and that is the one that will be most influential in your area and the first one you should repair.
Joanne
Many people have and suffer from bad or marginal credit. This does not mean they are a bad person as bad credit can happen as a result of a sudden unplanned illness or emergency, a job layoff, etc… Many families do not have sufficient savings to ride out a serious and costly emergency or job loss. Actually, according to MSN, many families are living only one paycheck away from bankruptcy and this is not good. To stop this one needs to put reigns on all unnecessary spending, but we will talk more about this further on.
The first step anyone with possibly bad credit needs to take is to find out the exact extent of your credit. You may have only seen 1 credit report or only been told what might be on your record by a bank or loan manager or finance manager, but did you know there are really 3 separate credit reporting agencies and each has a different report and score? Just because one credit report shows as bad doesn’t necessarily mean the others do, and vice versa, if one is good the other two may be quite the opposite. Usually, as a rule, they are similar, but negative items or entries do tend to stay longer on some then others and some tend to have more errors in their entry reporting.
Go online to any of the three major credit bureaus (Just Google the names of Experian, Equifax, and Transunion) and pay to have your all three in one report with credit score pulled. You want all three as they can and probably will be slightly different. The report is necessary so you can actually measure and understand exactly how bad it is and what needs to be done to improve and fix it. A all three in one report is around $40 to $50 and worth it. Free reports which you can receive per recent federal laws will only give one credit bureau and no score (how do you know where you stand without a score unless you are a finance manager or work at a bank loan department?)
If your score is 600 and above your credit is marginal, but not bad. You won’t have too much to repair. If your credit is 500 or below you probably have a lot of negative entries, possible tax liens, judgments, repos (car repossessions), a possible bankruptcy, and/or other serious negative influences and entries in your reports. A low or bad credit score will take more work and effort, but you can still achieve a much higher credit rating and fairly quickly.
Now, that you have your credit report and scores, find out which is the most important credit reporting bureau for your area of the country (each bureau has a particular area of influence). The easiest way to do this is to contact your local new car dealer and ask the finance manager what credit report they most commonly use to establish credit. Usually it is only one and that is the one that will be most influential in your area and the first one you should repair.
Joanne
Posted in Finance |
Tags: credit report, Credit Reporting Agencies, Credit Score, Equifax, Exact Extent, Finance Manager, Google, Layoff, Loan Department, major credit bureaus |
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Chris Rutherford asked:
Your credit score has a big impact on everyday financial situations such as: What interest rate you pay on a credit card, whether you can rent an apartment, whether you have to pay a deposit with your utility company, whether you can qualify for a home loan, and maybe even a potential employer’s decision to hire you. Going through life with bad credit can be very challenging.
Getting a Copy of Your Credit Report
You can’t fix bad credit without knowing what’s in your credit report first. You need to get a copy of your credit report from all 3 credit bureaus: Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax. You can request a copy of your own credit report for free once a year.
Reviewing Your Credit Report
It may not be fun, but reviewing your credit report line by line at least once a year is very important to identify any errors or issues that you may not be aware of. Pay special attention to “derogatory” (or negative) items such as late payments, collections, and charge-offs – they lower your credit score, sometimes significantly.
First, make sure your name, birth date, and current address are showing correctly on the report (in the “Personal Information” section). If not, make a note to correct them with the credit bureau(s). Make sure you check every account listed on your credit report:
Verify the account status is correct – you may discover old accounts you thought were closed that still show up as “open”. If you have accounts left open that you’re not aware of, they may be hurting your ability to apply for new credit or raise the credit limit on accounts you are using. Look at each account in detail (account number, credit limit, date opened etc.) and make sure it is really YOUR account. Someone else could have a similar name and their account might be mixed up with yours. Or worse, someone may be stealing your identity to open accounts in your name, leaving you with the unpaid bills. If you recently refinanced and/or paid off a mortgage or credit card account, check to make sure the account status (“paid, closed”) and current balance ($0) are reflected in the credit report. Note that there will be some delay (30-60 days) in updating your report.
Too many inquiries (requests for your credit history made by other people) can hurt your credit score. Review the “Inquiries” section in your credit report and make sure you know who asked for your credit file and why. You should either already have an account with the inquiring entity, or have authorized their credit check in some way (e.g. by applying for a new bank / credit card account or loan).
Understanding Your Rights
Remember, you have the legal right to know what’s in your credit file, and you have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. By law, the credit reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, outdated, incomplete, or unverifiable information from your credit history, usually within 30 days.
Therefore, reviewing your credit report at least annually is critical to maintain the accuracy of your credit information. You can raise your credit score by disputing any errors or outdated negative information (more than 7 years old, or bankruptcies more than 10 years old).
Ana
Your credit score has a big impact on everyday financial situations such as: What interest rate you pay on a credit card, whether you can rent an apartment, whether you have to pay a deposit with your utility company, whether you can qualify for a home loan, and maybe even a potential employer’s decision to hire you. Going through life with bad credit can be very challenging.
Getting a Copy of Your Credit Report
You can’t fix bad credit without knowing what’s in your credit report first. You need to get a copy of your credit report from all 3 credit bureaus: Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax. You can request a copy of your own credit report for free once a year.
Reviewing Your Credit Report
It may not be fun, but reviewing your credit report line by line at least once a year is very important to identify any errors or issues that you may not be aware of. Pay special attention to “derogatory” (or negative) items such as late payments, collections, and charge-offs – they lower your credit score, sometimes significantly.
First, make sure your name, birth date, and current address are showing correctly on the report (in the “Personal Information” section). If not, make a note to correct them with the credit bureau(s). Make sure you check every account listed on your credit report:
Verify the account status is correct – you may discover old accounts you thought were closed that still show up as “open”. If you have accounts left open that you’re not aware of, they may be hurting your ability to apply for new credit or raise the credit limit on accounts you are using. Look at each account in detail (account number, credit limit, date opened etc.) and make sure it is really YOUR account. Someone else could have a similar name and their account might be mixed up with yours. Or worse, someone may be stealing your identity to open accounts in your name, leaving you with the unpaid bills. If you recently refinanced and/or paid off a mortgage or credit card account, check to make sure the account status (“paid, closed”) and current balance ($0) are reflected in the credit report. Note that there will be some delay (30-60 days) in updating your report.
Too many inquiries (requests for your credit history made by other people) can hurt your credit score. Review the “Inquiries” section in your credit report and make sure you know who asked for your credit file and why. You should either already have an account with the inquiring entity, or have authorized their credit check in some way (e.g. by applying for a new bank / credit card account or loan).
Understanding Your Rights
Remember, you have the legal right to know what’s in your credit file, and you have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. By law, the credit reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, outdated, incomplete, or unverifiable information from your credit history, usually within 30 days.
Therefore, reviewing your credit report at least annually is critical to maintain the accuracy of your credit information. You can raise your credit score by disputing any errors or outdated negative information (more than 7 years old, or bankruptcies more than 10 years old).
Ana
Posted in Finance |
Tags: Apartment, Birth Date, Charge Offs, credit bureau, Credit Bureaus, Current Address, Interest Rate, Mortg, Trans Union, Unpaid Bills |
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Conleth Onu asked:
Disputing negative entries on your credit report is the most effective method to delete unfavorable information and improve your credit rating.
Many people in America have negative information on their credit report. These derogatory items can be detrimental to your ability to obtain loans, credit cards and other financial services.
You have the right to dispute any inaccurate or incomplete information that is contained in your credit report. There is no charge for this.
If an account is not being reported 100% accurately, by law the credit bureau must remove it from your report.
Here’s How The Process Works.
1. You get a copy of your credit report from the credit bureaus.
2. When you get your reports you carefully review them and note any negative accounts and inaccuracies.
3. You then dispute the negative accounts. Submit the dispute in writing, along with any supporting documentation. If the credit bureau cannot verify the accuracy of any item you dispute, they must remove the item within the alloted time.
4. When the investigation is complete, the credit bureau must send you a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change.
You can continue this process until you are satisfied with the outcome. Remember, if the negative item is not 100% accurate the credit bureau must remove it from your file.
Before you begin the process, it is essential that you have good information on how to go about restoring your credit.
Do you want to learn more about how to do it? I have written the ultimate guide to credit repair, “How To Clean Up Bad Credit And Establish AAA-1 credit Rating.” For free details, click the link below to visit my website.
Leroy
Disputing negative entries on your credit report is the most effective method to delete unfavorable information and improve your credit rating.
Many people in America have negative information on their credit report. These derogatory items can be detrimental to your ability to obtain loans, credit cards and other financial services.
You have the right to dispute any inaccurate or incomplete information that is contained in your credit report. There is no charge for this.
If an account is not being reported 100% accurately, by law the credit bureau must remove it from your report.
Here’s How The Process Works.
1. You get a copy of your credit report from the credit bureaus.
2. When you get your reports you carefully review them and note any negative accounts and inaccuracies.
3. You then dispute the negative accounts. Submit the dispute in writing, along with any supporting documentation. If the credit bureau cannot verify the accuracy of any item you dispute, they must remove the item within the alloted time.
4. When the investigation is complete, the credit bureau must send you a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change.
You can continue this process until you are satisfied with the outcome. Remember, if the negative item is not 100% accurate the credit bureau must remove it from your file.
Before you begin the process, it is essential that you have good information on how to go about restoring your credit.
Do you want to learn more about how to do it? I have written the ultimate guide to credit repair, “How To Clean Up Bad Credit And Establish AAA-1 credit Rating.” For free details, click the link below to visit my website.
Leroy
Posted in Finance |
Tags: Accuracy, bad credit, Credit Cards, Credit Rating, credit report, Inaccuracies, Many People, Rating People, Restoring Your Credit, Ultimate Guide |
No Comments »
Marc Sumner asked:
There are a number of ways in which you can have a collections agency reporting to your credit report. Most of the time it’s due to past due bills that were either overlooked or just never paid. You should know there are ways that you can try to fight this to attempt to raise your FICO score. This will in turn raise your buying power because you’ll be able to borrow more if you need to.
Every person has the ability to get one free copy of their credit report each and every year. All you have to do is make a request for it and it’s available to you either by mail or within a few seconds online. Most people don’t understand that you can dispute charges on your credit report.
What happens when you dispute these different collections charges on your credit report is that they will have 30 days to respond to the dispute, otherwise it’s marked as invalid. Most companies will respond to these disputes so all you will need to do is to negotiate with these collection companies and let them know you will pay off your debt sooner if they can remove this from your credit report.
What you should understand is that collection agency reps main goal is to get you to pay off the debt. So getting them to remove this shouldn’t be a problem if you can work out something with them to pay off what you owe.
Remember that 1 in 4 credit reports contain some sort of error that could be lowering your credit score without you knowing it!
Gladys
There are a number of ways in which you can have a collections agency reporting to your credit report. Most of the time it’s due to past due bills that were either overlooked or just never paid. You should know there are ways that you can try to fight this to attempt to raise your FICO score. This will in turn raise your buying power because you’ll be able to borrow more if you need to.
Every person has the ability to get one free copy of their credit report each and every year. All you have to do is make a request for it and it’s available to you either by mail or within a few seconds online. Most people don’t understand that you can dispute charges on your credit report.
What happens when you dispute these different collections charges on your credit report is that they will have 30 days to respond to the dispute, otherwise it’s marked as invalid. Most companies will respond to these disputes so all you will need to do is to negotiate with these collection companies and let them know you will pay off your debt sooner if they can remove this from your credit report.
What you should understand is that collection agency reps main goal is to get you to pay off the debt. So getting them to remove this shouldn’t be a problem if you can work out something with them to pay off what you owe.
Remember that 1 in 4 credit reports contain some sort of error that could be lowering your credit score without you knowing it!
Gladys
Posted in Finance |
Tags: Attempt, Collections Agency, credit report, Credit Reports, Credit Score, debt collections, Due Bills, fico score, mail, Main Goal |
No Comments »