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Holidays and Credit Repair

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’Tis the season, for: Christmas trees. Office Christmas parties. Christmas gatherings with friends and family. But ho! ho! ho! The holidays wouldn’t be complete without your maxing out your credit cards, would they? It’s true; like drinking too much eggnog, our natural inclination to overspend during in December will force many of us to focus on credit repair in an Unhappy New Year …

Yes, Virginia, your credit score determines if a lender will extend you credit and at what interest rate, aka Who’s been naughty and Who’s been nice. Even an average score in the 600s today struggles just to qualify for a loan from conventional mortgage and auto lenders. A leading contributor to a sliding score is credit card debt, and another is late or missed monthly payments. Overspending during the holiday season feeds this situation … which leads to high credit card balances … then when January and February roll around, too many shocked consumers realize that they can’t make their monthly payments on time. And then they wish they had asked Santa for credit repair.

Credit repair is a reaction. The one sure way to escape this seasonal predicament, of course, is to not spend so much on the holidays. We ARE in the throes of the worst recession in generations, with double-digit unemployments and foreclosures and bankruptcy on everyone ‘s mind, and no one will fault you for cutting back this Christmas. Make the commitment to not abuse your credit cards to fill your stockings this year.

If it’s too late, make credit repair your New Year’s resolution. Repair starts with paying bills on time, paring down the credit card debt, and cutting up those cards you no longer use. Credit repair: the gift that keeps on giving. Credit Repair.

Credit Repair For Loan Scam

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This Credit Repair Scam claims to clean your credit fast and use our contacts to get you a mortgage (or credit card or loan).

This is possibly one of the more recent credit-repair scams — and one of the most costly to their consumers. Con artists target the hard pressed, dangling the promise of much needed money or loans in front of desperate consumers as an incentive to pay, pay and pay. Some credit repair scam outfits mimic credit counseling agencies, while others imitate mortgage companies. All they ever seem to do is hit you up for more and more money, then leave you with nothing but an even lighter bank account.

Since there are genuine community nonprofit groups and credit repair companies that help educate consumers and help with affordable housing issues, scammers may also try to imitate that business model. The best advice I can give to my readers is hold onto your wallet tightly and be wary of any big promises and fast fixes.

Above all do your own credit repair research, find out who it is you are really working with and be prepared for bad news.

“The In” with credit bureaus scam

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Credit Repair Scams: We have an in with the credit bureaus, speak their language or know some super-secret regulation or handshake that will make them delete the unflattering citations from your file. What you should know is there is no such thing as “an in with the credit bureaus”.

The bureau may list the debt as disputed while it investigates. Debts may disappear during the short investigation (after which they will return), and the company will show this temporary “clean” report to collect its fee, she says.

Some companies take the money and run. Others will deluge the credit bureaus with frivolous disputes of the debts in your file, says Linda Sherry, director of national priorities for Consumer Action.

Or, if the bureau realizes what the company is doing, it may simply ignore what it recognizes as bogus requests, says Joe Ridout, of Consumer Action. Credit Repair.

In addition, the Credit Repair Organizations Act prohibits any company from taking money until after it does what it promised. So if anyone is trying to bypass that federal law (or banking on the fact that you don’t know about it) by getting you to send, charge or wire money, that’s a bad sign. “The crooks always ask for money upfront.” Credit Repair.

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Credit Repair

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coming soon…

Credit Bureaus

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Maybe you know that the national credit bureaus –Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – assign scores based on your creditworthiness. Maybe you didn’t know how they come up with that score. If you don’t, chances are your credit score is roller-coastering, and probably more down than up. The precise formula for FICO scoring remains a well-kept credit-bureau secret, it is known that payment history is biggest component of the scoring system. Late payments are lethal; miss paying a mortgage, car or card payment on time, and your score can take a triple-digit dip. Thus, the most direct route to credit repair involves making payments on time. An even more obvious way to repair credit: stop applying for credit. An apparent easy solution is applying for another credit card or loan. But: every time someone checks your credit and runs an inquiry, your score will take a hit. Likewise, those who charge up plastic, then receive a higher limit from the credit card are digging a new hole as they try to fill up and old one. The good news is that a FICO score doesn’t discriminate against age, sex or ethnicity. Bad news: people who don’t think before they ask for money will pay the penalty in a declining credit-bureau score. Until they find credit repair.

Credit Repair Blog

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Chances are if you need credit repair, you’ve got an underwhelming score. And you probably feel like a loser because of it. I did, although I wasn’t. Alas, in our contemporary economics, the credit agencies wield enormous power with that FICO score. At the dawn of the current recession, I felt particular helpless as my score kept tumbling. My middle-class life, balanced by consumption, debt and a steady job, once translated to an average score of 711. A few months later, after my employer trimmed salary and benefits, I was in the low 600s. Following my wife’s health scare and unexpected hospital bills, with more borrowing and late payment, I was down in the 500s and feeling lower. What to do? There is no Credit Repair Emporium at the mall, and when I asked for advice from creditors, their party line was: “You don’t want to dig a deeper hole.” Bankruptcy? That would be conceding defeat. Luckily, I elected to think my way out of the hole — accumulating information and learning everything about credit repair on my own. In less than a year, my score improved to 798, and it’s pushing the mid 800s today. Moral: When your score is bad, you’ll naturally feel bad, and there is no immediate fix … but if you do the homework and keep your wits while making tough decisions – you WILL repair your credit!

Credit Repair Letters

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An essential tool in credit repair is the dispute letter. The concept and objectives are simple – written correspondence to the consumer reporting company, providing information on what you think about your credit report is inaccurate, so your credit report and score can be improved. However, the myriad details required in a successful credit repair letter aren’t always so easy to compile. Including your complete name and address probably seems like a given. The credit repair letter should also identify each item in your report you dispute; state the facts and the reasons you dispute the information, and ask that it be removed or corrected. You’ll want to include copies (not originals) of any documents that support your position. It’s a good idea to enclose a copy of your credit report, and circle the items in question. And be sure to send your credit repair letter by certified mail so you can document that the consumer reporting company received it. Like most steps in the credit repair process, following these steps to the letter can seem be a time-consuming chore, but they’re important. And there’s no harm in seeking assistance from a credit repair company to ensure your dispute letter is complete. It’s smart!

Credit Report

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So you’ve decided to get your credit report. Now that you’ve got it, there are an awful lot of numbers, abbreviations and terms you’ve never seen before. Trade lines, charge-offs, account review inquiries — how do you read this thing? First off, there are three major credit-reporting agencies in the United States: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. You need to look at all three, as each will have different information and creditors subscribe to whichever agency they want. A credit report is divided into four sections.

Identifying information: Scrutinize the credit report for accuracy. It’s not unusual for it to list two or three spellings of your name or more than one Social Security number, usually because someone misreported the information. Those variations aren’t considered significant. Other info includes current and previous addresses, date of birth, telephone numbers, driver’s license numbers, employers and spouse’s name.

Credit history: Each account on the credit report will include the name of the creditor and the account number(s), listing such vital statistics as when you opened the account; type of credit (installment, such as a mortgage or car loan, or revolving, such as a department store credit card); single or joint account; total amount of the loan, high credit limit or highest balance on the card; amount owed; monthly payment; and status of the account (open, inactive, closed, paid, etc.). The Experian credit report history is in plain English — never pays late, typically pays 30 days late, etc. Other credit reports use payment codes ranging from 1 to 9; an R1 or I1 indicates good payment history.

Public records: Hopefully the next section of your credit report is absolutely blank. It doesn’t list arrests and criminal activities; just financial-related data, such as bankruptcies, judgments and tax liens. Those monsters trash your credit fast.

Inquiries: “Hard” inquiries on a credit report are ones you initiate by filling out a credit application or taking your child to the orthodontist. “Soft” inquiries are from companies that want to send out promotional information to a pre-qualified group or current creditors who are monitoring your account. Only a large number of inquiries can negatively impact on your credit report score.

Credit Repair Scams

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Boo! There are credit repair scams out there. No need to be afraid – just be a little cautious and a lot skeptical . In general, hold onto your wallet and be wary of any big promises or fast fixes. In specific,

1: A common credit repair scam involves boasting about an “inside relationship” with reporting bureaus and knowing about some super-secret regulation or handshake that will make them delete the unflattering items from your report. There is no such thing.

2. Another popular credit repair scam includes the con, “We can convince your creditor that you really don’t owe this debt.” It’s a nutty rap, like claiming the Internal Revenue Service is illegal or challenging the validity of U.S. currency.

3: Anyone who claims they can get you a new, clean credit report has a place on the repair scam all-star team. Should they try to convince you to apply for a new taxpayer identification number or Employer Identification Number (EIN) for the purpose of rebuilding or rewriting your credit, beware. That’s a felony.

4: A familiar credit repair scam also involves “Clean credit – fast!” or “We have the contacts to get you a mortgage (or credit card loan).” Don’t believe it. Con artists dangle those promises to desperate consumers as an incentive to pay them. Imitating credit-counseling agencies or mortgage companies is its own credit repair scam industry.

5: The Credit Repair Organizations Act prohibits any company from taking money until after it does what it promised. Anyone is trying to bypass that federal law (or banking on the fact that you don’t know about it) by getting you to send, charge or wire money upfront is perpetrating a credit repair scam.

Credit Repair Companies

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Credit Repair Companies: When it comes to credit repair assistance, it seems as though there are two species. There are good companies – those who will provide education and assistance to families with financial problems in need of credit repair. Unfortunately, there are probably more companies who will do more damage in the name of credit repair. Here are some significant telltale signs of legitimate credit repair companies: They don’t make any loans nor negotiate loans on behalf of debtors. They just provide bad credit repair services to help people negotiate their debts. Also, they don’t refuse counseling to anyone who cannot pay or is not interested in a debt management plan. A fee that they charge for debt management plans is usually reasonable. And the fees aren’t charged based on a percentage of the consumer’s debt, the consumer’s payments, or on projected or actual savings related to the debt management plan. Finally, look for credit repair companies that have attained positive ratings via independent online sites. Choosing a credit repair company wisely, again, shouldn’t be a snap judgment matter. Do your homework and take ample time before giving your completely trust to what will most likely be considered a complete stranger; a solid credit repair will simply say what they’ll do and do what they say.

Credit Repair Business

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At the risk of putting the cart before the horse: Can you see yourself employed in the credit repair business? It’s a comparatively new industry. But, of course, people have needed help in recovering from debt for decades and centuries. Today the numbers of people drowning in subpar credit scores are now at an all-time high. Which means there’s a bull market in the business of helping people understand and making credit repair. If the latest federal legislation governing the banking and credit industries seemed too confusing and complicated for many members of Congress to understand, you can imagine how many millions of mere citizens felt bamboozled. Actually, the credit repair business is no more multi-layered or tricky than the componentry of many other everyday industries. After achieving a better understanding of the basic rules of borrowing and payment, and applying the principles employed by creditors in today’s economics, basic knowledge will qualify you as a credit repair “mechanic.” You’ll be able to share your smarts and experiences with others in similar situations — friends, family and would-be business clients interested in paying for your expertise! Credit repair offers the potential for profit after you’ve learned how to save money. That qualifies it as a business.