Credit Repair services » Creditor

Understanding Frozen Credit

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:03:21 +0000

Credit freezes are often confused with fraud alerts, but they are really nothing similar. A fraud alert is when new creditors are alerted that you may have been the victim of fraud, and the creditor is required to take additional verification steps that prove they should be accessing your credit and opening an account for you before they can issue the credit. Fraud alerts also remove you from receiving prescreened offers for insurance and credit.

A credit freeze is something a consumer can place on his or her own credit report – depending on where in the country you live. Some states allow anyone to put a freeze on their credit; while others only allow the victims of identity theft to freeze their credit. Here are other tips that will help you understand the basics of a credit freeze:

Even if your credit is frozen, your report can be updated by your existing creditors. Don’t think that by placing a freeze on your credit report you can slide by with a few late payments that won’t get reported! A frozen credit will only prevent new creditors from accessing the information in your report. If your existing creditors want to check your credit report to see how you are paying your other creditors, they can. A freeze of your credit is made with individual credit bureaus. If you freeze your credit with Experian, it won’t be automatically frozen through TransUnion or Equifax. You have to freeze each manually if you want all access to be frozen. “Thawing” a credit freeze; in other words, removing the hold you have on your credit report, takes several days to take effect (unless you live in Utah where they’re able to unthaw in 15 minutes!) If you plan to apply for new credit or apply to rent an apartment or apply for a new job; you will want to thaw your credit a few days before you’ll need it to be sure that these authorized people will have access to the report. Freezing your credit does not prevent you from using your credit cards. It’s not like “freezing” the credit card or “freezing” a bank account. It literally only effects the ability of a new lender to look at your credit report. While the intent of a credit freeze is usually to prevent identity theft and fraud- there are still numerous ways around it that could result in you becoming the victim of identity theft or fraud, despite having a freeze on your credit. For example, in the event a lender doesn’t try to check your credit before issuing a new account, new credit could be opened in your name if the criminal had the right details to do so.

Hopefully, this list has given you some useful insight into what a credit freeze is, and what it is not. Using a credit freeze may help reduce your potential for being the victim of identity theft, but if you are hoping to end the prescreened credit card offers or have creditors alerted to possible fraud activity when they begin to open a new account for you; chances are you are looking for a fraud alert service and not a credit freeze.

By: Debbie Dragon

How Long Do Late Payments Stay on My Credit Report?

admin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:38:10 +0000

Late payments do affect your credit rating but what most consumers don’t know is that it also depends on how late your payment is made to the creditor. To start with, late payments that are made to creditors but are no later than 30 days late are not reported to the credit bureaus. So for instance, you have a credit card payment that is due on the 1st of January and you are not able to make the payment until the 27th of January.

This is considered late with the credit card company but will not show up on your credit report as a late payment. It will not show on your credit report until you are more than 30days late and it will show as a “1-time 30day late payment”.

These types of late payments usually affect your score and can have a lasting effect for about 12 months. The same goes with other types of accounts such as car payments, mortgage payments, personal loans as well as secured loans.

Even if the payment is a couple of days late, the best thing is to try and make sure it does not go beyond the 30-day point. It is also important to note that these late payments can cause your interest rate to rise on your credit cards.

This may be the case even if you are only 1 day late as opposed to 20 days late. This will vary depending on the credit card company you are dealing with. You want to check with the your creditor to find out their exact policy.

By: Tony Banks

The Perfect Credit Dispute Letter

admin — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 21:00:29 +0000

The key to repairing your bad credit is the Credit Dispute Letter. You’ve put so much effort (probably a lot of cash too) into eliminating old debts and creating good credit but if you want to rewrite history, credit-wise, you’ve got to convince the credit bureaus to take the eraser to your past. Getting the letter just right requires a lot more than perfect prose. As is so often true with life, success can come from what you don’t say, what you do, how you say it and never forget… timing.

When composing a Credit Dispute Letter remember the old adage: Less it more. Your letter isn’t meant to convince anyone but to point out errors. You are not saying “why” a debt is not listed accurately on your report, but rather “what” is not listed accurately. Start with a simple statement that will explain what you want the the credit bureau to do: On reviewing my credit report, I haved found these discrepancies. Please delete them from my credit report within 30 days as required by law and send me a report of the corrections” – that pretty much sums up everything, doesn’t it. The fact is you don’t need to beg them to remove old credit items, it is there legal responsibility to research anything you say is incorrect and IF they can’t prove it true they must delete it.

Now list virtually everything that could hurt your credit worthiness. It is up to you to decide if you want an item on your report but they probably won’t delete everything, so be aggressive. List the creditor, account number and amount of each item you would like gone. Use no more than three words of explaination: “account never late”, “duplicated account”, or “reported in error” should cover 90% of disputed items. Never say that a credit blemish is from fraud or criminal activity because you are saying that it is reporting true and you will have to prove you aren’t to blame. Say as little as possible.

It is the credit bureaus responsibility to act within 30 days but you want them to know when the clock starts. Send any Credit Dispute Letters certified mail with a signature required. From the moment someone signs for that letter they have 30 days to contact the reported creditors and get a written verification of the bad credit items. Time is on your side and you want the bureaus to know that.

By: Mitchell Torek

Credit Repair Advice – How to Improve Your Credit Score

admin — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 01:40:45 +0000

Our credit scores determine much about how we live our lives. We buy practically everything on credit. When applying for a loan, our good credit scores help us receive reasonable interest rates. In fact, from landlords, to insurance companies, to utilities, everyone looks at our credit scores, as they are a reflection of our financial health. A healthy credit score may determine what various agencies will charge for their services. Today, even employers check personal credit scores before offering a job.

Knowing more about our credit scores and the factors affecting them may help us build a positive credit history. But first, let’s look at how they are maintained by the various credit reporting agencies.

Three major credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – calculate credit scores. Though they use the same methods and formula to calculate scores, they sometimes come up with a different rating for various reasons. One agency may have more updated information about an individual. A creditor may have shared information with one agency only, but not with the others. Creditors, while checking on our scores, take the average of the three scores from these three agencies.

Credit scores range between 300 and 850. A score of 680 and above is excellent for obtaining mortgage financing at low interest rates. A credit score of 621 to 679 is an average score and you would have to pay a slightly higher rate of interest. A credit score of below 600 makes us potentially unreliable and harder to obtain credit. When a credit score falls below 600, credit repair steps should be taken immediately.

The following are factors affecting credit scores and basic steps to take to maintain an accurate credit score rating with the credit bureaus:

1. Routinely check payment history and the current credit debt held.

2. Credit history length is a determining score factor. Naturally, the longer a ‘good’ credit history, the better.

3. Do not close old or paid off accounts. These show the credit history length and contribute to higher credit scores.

4. Pay off debts to improve credit scores.

5. On-time payments. Delayed payments appear on credit reports and adversely affect it.

6. An individual’s race, sex, age, level of education, or marital status has no bearing on a credit score, nor does the fact that an application for credit was previously turned down.

Taking care to maintain a high credit rating enables us to receive credit and loans at good rates. Our credit score is a reflection of how we manage our finances and a determining factor for many aspects of our lives. Knowing early on how to have a healthy credit history is the best way to avoid bad credit and limited loan options in the future.

By: Sherry Frewerd

How Can a Credit Card Help Repair Bad Credit?

admin — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 09:19:14 +0000

In general, credit cards can do one of two things. They can either help your credit, or hurt it. The way in which you use your card will determine whether or not your card helps you.

Consumers who use their credit cards responsibly find that their credit score is higher. Why? Credit cards can boost your financial position when used correctly. However, when credit-cards are used incorrectly, scores take a nose dive.

If you have made some mistakes in the past and are trying to correct those mistakes, you need to become aware of a few credit card hints. Follow these hints to take your score from bad to good and from good to great. After all, a credit-card really can repair bad credit.

1. Spending. The majority of consumers somehow let their spending get out of control. Whether this includes buying things that you don’t really need or spending more money than you make, these habits can become detrimental to your credit-score. Keep a close eye on your all of your spending, but most importantly your card spending. Make sure that you are making smart decisions when it comes to spending your hard-earned money.

2. Due Dates. One thing that you must never mistake if you want your new card to help repair your bad credit is the due date. The more you make your credit cards payment on time, the more your score will increase. One little secret to ensure that you never miss a due date is to set your own due date several days before the creditor’s due date. Don’t let a missed due date bring your score down.

3. Payments. Why should you simply make partial payments? Consumers who have good credit scores realize that the secret to improving your credit score with credit cards is to pay the entire balance off each and every month. Again, this goes back to spending. If you control and limit your spending, you will have no problem paying off the entire balance in full every month.

4. Moderation. Having too many different cards can damage your credit score or prevent it from being repaired. The key is to have “a few” cards that help you reach your objectives. The goal is not to have every slot in your wallet taken up with a card. Only keep one or two credit cards. This will not only repair your bad credit, but it will be much easier to manage a few credit cards, rather than an entire pocket full of them.

Credit-cards can absolutely repair bad credit. The secret is knowing how to use a credit-card wisely. Control your spending. Never miss a due date. Pay off the entire balance in full every month. Keep the number of open cards to a minimum. Follow these helpful hints to ensure that your cards help repair your bad credit.

By: Amanda Sargent