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Posts Tagged ‘credit reports’

If you are reading this, you are definitely wondering what these two things have in common. Well, I will get to that in a moment, but first I want to clear up some common misunderstandings about fixing your credit.

If you are just starting your research for information about credit repair. I must warn you, a lot of the information you will find during your internet search will totally confuse you. I have been in the credit repair industry for a long time and I must say, I am blown away by things I have read on the internet.

I have found everything from, I can’t get in touch with the person who is repairing my credit, credit repair services are a scams, I can fix your credit in 37 days, you can’t remove negaitve items from your credit reports, why pay someone to repair my credit when I can do it myself.

Are these statements valid? I would love to give a simple answer, but the real answer is, NO and YES.

NO! These statements are not true, because some of those statements are made by people who don’t understand how credit bureaus work and/or misunderstand the laws. Also, There is a MLM credit repair company out there(This is the major reason why people complain). What happens is lot of people sign up to be a representive, then resign a three months later.

Unfortunately, these statements are true, because like any other industries, auto mechanics, attorneys, mortage agents. We have unethical people in the field.

If you are looking for more information about credit repair services. Please, keep a look out for articles by Tim Vanderbilt, Credit Repair (Rebuild) expert.

Ok, let tell you what new years and credit repair have in common. {When both of them are over you will have a! Both of them give you a} fresh start, once again. However, do not take it for granted that you have a new start with your credit, because unlike new year’s, fixing your credit is something you only want to do once in your lifetime.

A Free Guide: Simple Way To Get Your Credit Reports for FREE

The first thing you should do in repairing your credit is to get your credit reports from three national credit bureaus. Experian, Equifax and Trans Union are the most popular credit bureaus where the local and regionalbanks get most of their information from.

At this time, annual credit report is the one source to get your free annual reports. You can also get your FICO score with all three credit reports. Their

You should get your credit reports once every year and anything that they ask you to pay, even for processing fees should be examined closely.

It is much better to get your credit reports FREE from the site above but if you prefer to do it by mail for whatever reason, include your full name, current address (and previous addresses if you have been at your current adress less then three years) and social security number, and proof of address (Cable,Utility, phone bills cell phone bill won’t work) and send to the following addresses:

Experian
(800) 682-7654

P.O. Box 2104

Allen, TX 75013-2104

Equifax

(800) 685- 1111

P.O. Box 105873

Atlanta, GA 30348

Trans Union

(800)888-4213

P.O. Box 390

Springfield, PA 19064-039

After you receive your credit reports.Read then very carefully.

Check for inaccuracies, items that are older then seven years and items that don’t belong to you. The older, the account is, the less affect it has on your FICO Score. In order to request adeletion, you need to get a hold of a Credit Report Dispute Form or write a letter to all three credit bureaus ask them to investigate the items.

If you are having trouble disputing items on your credit reports. It’s always better to seek out a reputable Credit repair service and agency. One way to tell if the credit repair is reputable is to look for a FTC RED FLAG. This means that they are compliant with the rules and regulations of the FTC.

P.S Don’t dispute items on any of the three credit bureaus websites, because they only allow you to dispute an item once.

If you want to erase negative credit from your report, but thought it would be too difficult…you’re not alone. As many people assume that it is too difficult to do themselves, credit repair services and agencies earn literally millions of dollars a year in custom from those with financial problems.

However, the truth is you can repair your credit yourself rather quickly and for little or no money. Also, not only is it possible to do it yourself, but it is probable that you would be able to do a better job of it than a traditional credit repair clinic.

So, how can you repair your credit history yourself? Here are the three steps that you should take:

1) Obtain A Copy Of Your Credit Report

According to the law, you are entitled to one free credit report every 12 months. There are two ways that you can request one from annualcreditreport.com; either fill out and return (to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281) their request form, or call them on 1-877-322-8228.

Once you receive your report, go through it and write down every negative item you want to dispute. Oftentimes, your report will contain mistakes, out-dated information, and even completely false blemishes on your record.

2) Dispute Mistakes And Out-Dated Information

Write a simple dispute letter informing the credit bureaus of specific marks you wish to dispute. Keep it short and to the point. You’ll also want to send with your letter copies of documents that support your claims. On receiving your letter and any supporting evidence, the credit reporting agency will then evaluate your position. They will get back to you with their decision – either removal of the negative credit marks, or verification of them..

3) Add Positive Information To Your Report

This is something that you can do yourself, which even the best credit repair services wouldn’t be able to do for you. You can add positive marks to your report over time. By simply getting a secured credit card, gas or department store cards, or a small installment loan and paying them on time, you can build up a good recent credit history.

I recommend finding a good credit repair program or guide and learn how you can erase negative credit from your report yourself, before deciding to hire a service blindly. After all, it is your credit history at stake.

If you want to repair your credit, improve credit scores and actually build credit quickly, just go to http://www.creditbully.com for the latest strategies.

A few ways to obtain your credit files

Not sure by the numerous credit report services out there?. To begin with, your credit bureau files can be viewed for free annually from the three credit bureaus. Those are the rules. But most credit experts recommend that you check your credit reports at least once every six months. What to do? To check your scores more than once an year, you’ll have to pay a fee to each of the 3 credit agencies. Not to mention is the amount of time and trouble it takes going through each of their application process. But there is actually a method that you can use to conveniently view your scores without going through all that trouble. The method is also free. It’s by applying through the various free triple credit report offers out there. These are actually credit report monitoring services that provide a free trial and let’s you view your credit files at no charge. Just make sure to cancel during the free trial period otherwise you’ll be charged a fee. Free trial periods are different from offer to offer, so make sure to take note of that as well.

Three credit bureau reports are better than one

There’s credit report offers where you can obtain your information from a single credit agency. Some services allow you to obtain your credit score from all 3 credit bureaus. The 3 bureaus are Experian, Trans Union, Equifax. The fact you need to keep in mind is that information mentioned in one credit bureau file may not be the same with what’s on the other files. Certain information on your Experian credit file may be omitted on the others for example. Or we find cetain mistakes in one report that’s not included in the others. Various lenders may choose to obtain one or more of your credit reports. So it makes sense to utilize a credit reports free program where you can check all three of your credit files.

Don’t leave out your FICO score

Another thing you need to keep in mind is the importance of viewing your FICO score. A FICO score is not the same as your normal credit scores. It uses a different method for calculating your FICO report. Most lenders utilize your FICO report to determine your creditworthiness. Therefore it may be most wise to check your FICO report before applying for a mortgage loan. Unfortunately you have to pay a fee to get your FICO score. But there’s always some free deals out there. Once again check the various features of these free credit report online offers. There’s a very select few programs that do offer a free FICO score. And as reported earlier, be sure to cancel your free trial during the free trial period, or you’ll be charged a fee.

credit reports

There are many ways that you can put off having to deal with credit. You can rent a place to live, you can take the bus instead of owning a car to drive, and you can even go without health insurance. Of course that’s not advisable, but it is possible. People learn how to deal only with the cash they have and not rely on plastic to get them out of fixes. But in order to have the money to do all that they need something they cannot do without – a job.

It is important to know that the law prohibits an employer from denying employment to someone based on bankruptcy findings. However, the law does not prohibit an employer from denying an application, or even rescinding an offer, based on other credit issues. Some of these issues could be inquiries, foreclosures, or collection actions. More and more companies are using credit reports as a means of hiring, firing, and for promotional purposes. One survey that was taken by the Society for Human Resource Management showed that 35% of companies are now performing this practice.

The most common practice for employers still remains to be the background check, but studies have found that if a company is pooling resources in order to verify background, more often than not, they will go ahead and pull the credit report also. However, many employers have found that finding credit mishaps did not determine whether or not an employee was more likely to steal. The better predictor, most would say, is a full criminal background check, which would show things such as bounced checks. Employers will also use credit checks in order to make sure employment history is correct and that the Social Security numbers are valid. This is a measurement that is taken as a form of insurance for a company that is trying to hire new staff members.

Some of the best jobs are with the government. There is plenty of room for advancement and job security is usually better than with most jobs in the private sector. Governmental agencies do perform credit checks for security reasons, but don’t worry, the only time a credit report will be used as a means of denial is if the prospective employee will have direct access to cash.

There are rules that people have to follow, regardless of the position that is being applied for. For instance, an employer has to have your permission before they can run a credit check. The permission has to be obtained in writing, and any deviation from this method is against the law. Bankruptcy is not supposed to be considered a problem. Remember, they can take issue with you not paying your bills, but not if you have filed for bankruptcy. Finally, if your credit information is used against you in any way, the employer is required to tell you what the problem is.

When it comes right down to it, the best thing you can do for yourself is to stay on top of your credit. Credit affects people more and more with each passing year. During the time of our grandparents no one would have ever thought that they would be refused a job due to bad credit. Today, there are many people who lose their jobs due to bad credit and it is affecting us all in ways we never would have thought of.

Whenever you ask a lender for a loan or a line of credit, he will obtain a written credit report from one or more of the leading credit accounting authorities or agencies. The outcome of their summary report will, largely, determine whether the lender is willing to lend you the money or not. Your credit report also has major implications for those attempting to get out of credit card debt.So how does the whole process work?

If you live in the United States and have ever applied for a loan, and were approved, you have been assigned a credit rating by one or more of the many credit reporting agencies. What is a credit rating? It’s a written record of the loans that you have received along with your repayment history of those loans. Have you been late on your payments? Have you missed payments? Have you defaulted on loans? All of these acts will show up on your report.

But that’s not all. Any time that you fill in a loan application and the potential lender sends inquires of your credit worthiness to any of the credit reporting agencies, it will be recorded as an “inquiry” in their report. What you’ll find here is the name and request date of everyone who has asked to see a copy of your credit report for the last couple of years. The credit inquiry box may also show names of creditors who you have not even requested credit from, such as credit card companies who have checked your credit scores to determine if you are a prospect for one of their promotions.

You may be shocked to discover just how intrusive your credit report actually is. It will contain all kinds of extremely personal facts about you. Facts such as your social security number, your birth date, a list of your present and past employers, current and past home addresses, etc. If you have any outstanding loans, the report will also list information such as the date the loan was applied for, type of the loan, amount of the loan, history of repayment, and whether the account is still open.

If you have any loans that have been turned over to a collection agency, those loans will also be listed. If you have had any court judgments against you or property liens outstanding, those will be listed as well.

A creditor must subscribe to one of the credit bureaus for it to have access to this information. There are three major reporting agencies that lenders contact for credit information – Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. The relationship is a two way street. These agencies provide credit worthiness information to the various lenders. The lenders, in return, provide updated customer transactional information back to the credit bureaus. So, every time you make a payment on time, or alternatively miss a payment, the lender will transmit that information to the credit bureaus.

Based on the information in your file, the credit agency will rate you and assign a score to you indicating your credit worthiness. To various degrees, many lenders will base all or part of their decision to approve the loan based on this score.

Unfortunately, because of errors in the data collection and reporting process, much of the data in your credit report is probably not correct. Many people don’t find this out until they are turned down for credit and request to see a copy of their report. Some consumers never find out. The main cause of these errors happen at the point where the data is collected. For example, if, for some reason, the creditor makes a mistake in the information that they transmit to the credit bureau, your record will have incorrect information. This is how millions of pieces of false information ends up in credit databases and the most important reason why everyone should request a copy of their credit report from each agency at least once a year.

You have a very busy life. There are so many things you need to keep track of. Picking up your kids from school, going grocery shopping, paying your bills on time, getting enough exercise, are just a few examples of the complexities of life. How then are you supposed to do all that AND stay up-to-date with every aspect of your finances?

MyFico Score Watch helps you do just that by giving you one central and automated place to keep track of you FICO scores and your credit reports.
Score Watch Benefits:

• Score Watch automatically keeps track of your credit report on a daily basis and your FICO score weekly.
• Has the ability to alert you via email or even SMS when there is an unexpected change to your credit that would negatively affect your FICO score.
• You can set a target score you want to reach and MyFICO Score Watch will alert you when you’ve reached it. It will also alert you when you qualify for better interest rates
• Your membership with MyFico Score Watch® entitles you to two credit reports from Equifax yearly that you can review and save for future reference or to dispute incorrect data.

Why is it so important to keep track of your FICO Score?

Your FICO Score is how money lending agency like mortgage bankers and credit card companies rate you. Your FICO score is made up of a lot of different statistics and the score plays a major part on the interest rates you can qualify for. If your score raises you should be entitles to a better rate and if your score drops you many get penalized.

How is your FICO Score Calculated?

There are many different things your FICO score is made up of and that My Fico Score Watch® monitors but a few of the most influential ones are:

• Payment history for any previous debt
• Amounts owed on current loans and credit cards
• Length of credit history
• New credit received
• Types of Credit Used

With all these factors it’s clear that you need help keeping up with all this information. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just put all this reporting and tracking on autopilot? Well now you can with MyFico Score Watch®!

by Trent Goldenblum

In the current financial climate credit conditions have become very difficult, and many people whop have damaged credit are finding life even more difficult than usual. Over the past decade those with bad credit have been able to get finance pretty easily despite their damaged credit rating. However, for the past year even those with decent credit have experienced difficulties in getting affordable finance, so those with damaged credit face a very bleak future.

It is vital that you try and maintain good credit, as once your credit rating has been damaged it can be very difficult to get it back on track. Having good credit can make a huge difference to your financial future, so the cleaner you can keep your credit the better it will be for you. With good credit you can enjoy plenty of choice when it comes to getting finance, you can improve your chances of success when you are looking for finance, and you can enjoy better rates of interest on your borrowing

Because of the importance of your credit to your financial future it is vital to try and maintain your good credit in order to ensure that you do not experience undue financial difficulties in the future. These days it is difficult enough to get affordable finance, but for those whose credit rating is damaged the chances of getting any sort of finance is slim to none, and this can create real difficulties for many years to come and this is one of the reasons as to why credit repair is so popular at the moment

There are lenders that offer finance specifically for those with bad credit, such as credit cards and loans. If you are able to get one of these and you then make responsible and timely repayments on it you can slowly improve your credit. For example, you can get a bad credit credit card, use it on a regular basis throughout the month, and then repay the balance in full each month, which means that you can also avoid paying interest, which can be high on a credit card for those with damaged credit

{Another thing that you should do is check your credit report regularly, and you can easily do this by ordering it online or via the post or apply online for a copy of your