Mar
11
Don’t Be Fooled By The Credit Agencies – Restore Your Credit
Filed Under Finance | Comments Off
Gary T Thomas asked:
CREDIT RATINGS IN TODAY’S WORLD
In today’s economic climate, a growing number of Americans suffer from negative ratings in their credit file including delinquent payments, judgments, collections, foreclosures and bankruptcies. Not only do these items prevent consumers from obtaining new credit when they need it most, but it impact consumers in areas they never thought of before.
It’s also used to determine your interest rate, the amount of your down payment and the variety of mortgage types available to you if you’re buying a house, your ability to get a car loan, the premium on your auto or homeowner’s insurance, and even your ability to get a job. For example, some insurers are using low credit scores as indicators to identify individuals they believe are more likely to make claims against their insurance policies. If your credit score is on the low side, you’ll pay a higher interest rate on bank loans and credit cards, and may even see your credit limit decreased.
ABOUT THE REPORTING AGENCIES
There are three primary credit reporting agencies: TransUnion, Experian, Equifax and they track your credit information separately. These three reports tend to be slightly different and are used to derive the so-called tri-merge credit report.
Credit reporting companies are just that – companies. They are in business to make money, and they generate their income by selling credit reports to creditors. THEY ARE NOT PERFECT AND MAKE MISTAKES THAT CAN SERIOSLY IMPACT YOUR LIFE.
ABOUT THE CREDIT SCORES
720-850 – the ideal credit score
700-719 – access to favorable financing terms
675-699 – standard FICO credit
620-674 – access to financing with additional terms
560-619 – very limited financing options
500-559 – try to repair your bad credit score as soon as possible
The FICO credit score is computed from 5 different personal financial history (2 primary and 3 secondary) aspects with varying weightage of importance. These are given below:
Loan Repayment History – 35%
Total Owed Amounts – 30%
Loan Repayment Length – 15%
Inquiries or New Credit – 10%
Types of Credit Used – 10%
The two primary credit history details regarding payment history and total owed amounts to more than half of the total percentage. These two are the most crucial determinant of your final FICO score and it is important to pay more attention to them when trying to improve your credit standing.
MISTAKES AND CREDIT FILES
It is estimated that 80% of credit reports have some type of error, which can knock enough points off your score to cause you to be turned down for a mortgage or charged a higher interest rate.
Negative credit accounts, or trade lines, can remain on your credit report for up to 7 years, and bankruptcies and other public records for up to 10 years. Inquiries on your credit report may remain for 2 years. These are the maximum times that are permitted by federal law for reporting agencies to show negative items; however, these times are not mandatory. At any time, a creditor or credit bureau may remove a derogatory remark from your credit report if the consumer requests an investigation into remarks that they feel are incorrect.
CREDIT RESTORATION AND CREDIT SCORE IMPROVEMENT
Only the credit bureaus have the power to remove items from your credit report. But, as required by law, the credit bureaus must delete inaccurate, unverifiable, or outdated information. However, innaccurate, erroneous and obsolete information can be removed from your credit file including:
- Late Payments
- Charge Offs
- Foreclosures
- Judgments
- Repossessions
- Identity Theft
- Closed Accounts
- Bankruptcies
- Negative Settlements
- Liens
- Collections
Because your financial health revolves around your credit score, it is important that the information your credit report contains be as accurate and up-to-date as possible. Let my company help you.
Lewis
CREDIT RATINGS IN TODAY’S WORLD
In today’s economic climate, a growing number of Americans suffer from negative ratings in their credit file including delinquent payments, judgments, collections, foreclosures and bankruptcies. Not only do these items prevent consumers from obtaining new credit when they need it most, but it impact consumers in areas they never thought of before.
It’s also used to determine your interest rate, the amount of your down payment and the variety of mortgage types available to you if you’re buying a house, your ability to get a car loan, the premium on your auto or homeowner’s insurance, and even your ability to get a job. For example, some insurers are using low credit scores as indicators to identify individuals they believe are more likely to make claims against their insurance policies. If your credit score is on the low side, you’ll pay a higher interest rate on bank loans and credit cards, and may even see your credit limit decreased.
ABOUT THE REPORTING AGENCIES
There are three primary credit reporting agencies: TransUnion, Experian, Equifax and they track your credit information separately. These three reports tend to be slightly different and are used to derive the so-called tri-merge credit report.
Credit reporting companies are just that – companies. They are in business to make money, and they generate their income by selling credit reports to creditors. THEY ARE NOT PERFECT AND MAKE MISTAKES THAT CAN SERIOSLY IMPACT YOUR LIFE.
ABOUT THE CREDIT SCORES
720-850 – the ideal credit score
700-719 – access to favorable financing terms
675-699 – standard FICO credit
620-674 – access to financing with additional terms
560-619 – very limited financing options
500-559 – try to repair your bad credit score as soon as possible
The FICO credit score is computed from 5 different personal financial history (2 primary and 3 secondary) aspects with varying weightage of importance. These are given below:
Loan Repayment History – 35%
Total Owed Amounts – 30%
Loan Repayment Length – 15%
Inquiries or New Credit – 10%
Types of Credit Used – 10%
The two primary credit history details regarding payment history and total owed amounts to more than half of the total percentage. These two are the most crucial determinant of your final FICO score and it is important to pay more attention to them when trying to improve your credit standing.
MISTAKES AND CREDIT FILES
It is estimated that 80% of credit reports have some type of error, which can knock enough points off your score to cause you to be turned down for a mortgage or charged a higher interest rate.
Negative credit accounts, or trade lines, can remain on your credit report for up to 7 years, and bankruptcies and other public records for up to 10 years. Inquiries on your credit report may remain for 2 years. These are the maximum times that are permitted by federal law for reporting agencies to show negative items; however, these times are not mandatory. At any time, a creditor or credit bureau may remove a derogatory remark from your credit report if the consumer requests an investigation into remarks that they feel are incorrect.
CREDIT RESTORATION AND CREDIT SCORE IMPROVEMENT
Only the credit bureaus have the power to remove items from your credit report. But, as required by law, the credit bureaus must delete inaccurate, unverifiable, or outdated information. However, innaccurate, erroneous and obsolete information can be removed from your credit file including:
- Late Payments
- Charge Offs
- Foreclosures
- Judgments
- Repossessions
- Identity Theft
- Closed Accounts
- Bankruptcies
- Negative Settlements
- Liens
- Collections
Because your financial health revolves around your credit score, it is important that the information your credit report contains be as accurate and up-to-date as possible. Let my company help you.
Lewis
Mar
8
Does a Debt Consolidation Loan Hurt Credit in Any Way?
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Hector Milla asked:
A debt consolidation loan will not hurt your credit in any way. What will hurt your credit is having outstanding debt and maxed out credit cards. What will hurt your credit is over limits, late pays and delinquent accounts. A loan for consolidating your financial obligations can actually help your credit. A debt consolidator offering service to help pay off your debts is the best thing you can do for your credit score and current financial situation. A debt consolidation company will consolidate your debt as well as contact your debtors and try to reduce your total debts. A debt consolidation company will consolidate all your revolving and installment debt into one affordable monthly payment. Additionally, a debt consolidation company will try to negotiate with creditors to bring down your total amount owed.
If you have maxed out credit cards, or if you have ones that are near their limit or if you have several late payments on your credit cards a loan for getting your debt consolidated can and will help you. Maybe you are struggling to make your mortgage or rent payments so you aren’t foreclosed upon or evicted and this has you in financial dire straits. Maybe paying your mortgage or rent has you delinquent on your utilities and credit cards. Maybe you have been charging your gas and groceries. A debt consolidation loan can and will help in all these situations.
Each time you make a late payment on a credit card or other revolving or installment debt, this negatively affects your credit score. If you are 30, 60 or 90 days delinquent on paying credit cards or other revolving or installment debts your credit score will be severely affected. Times are very tough right now as our country is in an economic recession. Instead of allowing your credit cards to go over their limit and instead of paying your bills delinquent, consider a debt consolidation loan. This one will not only pay off your bills it will also help your credit score as your revolving and installment debt will no longer be delinquent or over limit.
Darryl
A debt consolidation loan will not hurt your credit in any way. What will hurt your credit is having outstanding debt and maxed out credit cards. What will hurt your credit is over limits, late pays and delinquent accounts. A loan for consolidating your financial obligations can actually help your credit. A debt consolidator offering service to help pay off your debts is the best thing you can do for your credit score and current financial situation. A debt consolidation company will consolidate your debt as well as contact your debtors and try to reduce your total debts. A debt consolidation company will consolidate all your revolving and installment debt into one affordable monthly payment. Additionally, a debt consolidation company will try to negotiate with creditors to bring down your total amount owed.
If you have maxed out credit cards, or if you have ones that are near their limit or if you have several late payments on your credit cards a loan for getting your debt consolidated can and will help you. Maybe you are struggling to make your mortgage or rent payments so you aren’t foreclosed upon or evicted and this has you in financial dire straits. Maybe paying your mortgage or rent has you delinquent on your utilities and credit cards. Maybe you have been charging your gas and groceries. A debt consolidation loan can and will help in all these situations.
Each time you make a late payment on a credit card or other revolving or installment debt, this negatively affects your credit score. If you are 30, 60 or 90 days delinquent on paying credit cards or other revolving or installment debts your credit score will be severely affected. Times are very tough right now as our country is in an economic recession. Instead of allowing your credit cards to go over their limit and instead of paying your bills delinquent, consider a debt consolidation loan. This one will not only pay off your bills it will also help your credit score as your revolving and installment debt will no longer be delinquent or over limit.
Darryl
Mar
7
Cheap Credit Report – Why Do I Need One?
Filed Under Finance | Comments Off
Randall White asked:
Getting a cheap credit report is a very useful and a lot of people are searching for it as well. Internet is the best source to search about a cheap credit report. Credit monitoring or any other credit checking services are very beneficial to a person in helping them qualify for loans, mortgages, and also protect their identity.
In a year every American consumer can get their credit reports from the three main companies or bureaus which are working under the supervision of the federal law for providing these reports. The three bureaus are Equifax, Experian and the last one is the TransUnion. If you want to get your report at any other time which is suitable for you then you can access the website and you can tell the company about it. One thing that you should know is that you will have to pay some money in order to get what you want. However, it can be very beneficial to get a report more frequently than once a year as many things can change with your financial history in a year.
Searching about a company before signing up for a free or cheap credit report is always a good idea. You will come to know about a lot of things regarding your credit and this report and you will also know that whether or not getting a cheap credit report from that company is useful to you. There can be fraudulent or fake information on your credit report so it is always best to get a report from all three bureaus. This allows you to compare each one and discover errors that can cost you later on.
When getting a cheap credit report or even a free credit report always remain careful and look for all the information as well. Once you get any wrong information on your report then there is no way that you will be able to receive a loan. These reports are done by human beings who are capable of making a mistake. Any incorrect information should be corrected immediately by contacting the agency and explaining the problem. You will most likely be instructed to provide photocopies of receipts or any other proof you can give to dispute the claim. As soon as they receive this information, they will investigate immediately and report back with their findings to you.
These reports are always utilized by lenders when you are looking to make a large purchase or request a loan. Companies will simply look at your credit score and determine whether you are a suitable candidate for this purchase or loan. They are not going to go through the entire report to see if any errors have been made. If one of the three credit scores is bad, that is enough to deny you. This is why it is incredibly important to stay on top of all three scores and dispute and errors immediately.
Eileen
Getting a cheap credit report is a very useful and a lot of people are searching for it as well. Internet is the best source to search about a cheap credit report. Credit monitoring or any other credit checking services are very beneficial to a person in helping them qualify for loans, mortgages, and also protect their identity.
In a year every American consumer can get their credit reports from the three main companies or bureaus which are working under the supervision of the federal law for providing these reports. The three bureaus are Equifax, Experian and the last one is the TransUnion. If you want to get your report at any other time which is suitable for you then you can access the website and you can tell the company about it. One thing that you should know is that you will have to pay some money in order to get what you want. However, it can be very beneficial to get a report more frequently than once a year as many things can change with your financial history in a year.
Searching about a company before signing up for a free or cheap credit report is always a good idea. You will come to know about a lot of things regarding your credit and this report and you will also know that whether or not getting a cheap credit report from that company is useful to you. There can be fraudulent or fake information on your credit report so it is always best to get a report from all three bureaus. This allows you to compare each one and discover errors that can cost you later on.
When getting a cheap credit report or even a free credit report always remain careful and look for all the information as well. Once you get any wrong information on your report then there is no way that you will be able to receive a loan. These reports are done by human beings who are capable of making a mistake. Any incorrect information should be corrected immediately by contacting the agency and explaining the problem. You will most likely be instructed to provide photocopies of receipts or any other proof you can give to dispute the claim. As soon as they receive this information, they will investigate immediately and report back with their findings to you.
These reports are always utilized by lenders when you are looking to make a large purchase or request a loan. Companies will simply look at your credit score and determine whether you are a suitable candidate for this purchase or loan. They are not going to go through the entire report to see if any errors have been made. If one of the three credit scores is bad, that is enough to deny you. This is why it is incredibly important to stay on top of all three scores and dispute and errors immediately.
Eileen
Mar
5
The Truth About Your Credit Scores
Filed Under Finance | Comments Off
Tony Lorenzo asked:
Some of us just haven’t been lucky enough to have perfect credit scores, and some of us have been unluckier than others when it comes to credit. However, all’s not lost. Did you know there are ways to increase your scores? When you know all these little “how to’s” you can sometimes increase your credit scores by 100 points.
A lot of people think that paying off old, delinquent accounts will improve their credit, and the collection agencies certainly want you to keep thinking so. But paying a charge off or a lien after it’s over two years old can actually hurt your credit score. Although a charge-off will severely affect your credit, the software that scores your credit looks at the last activity on the credit report to determine what effect it will have on your score. The collection agency will update your report as “Paid Collection” whenever you pay off the account, making the software pick it up as “current”. If you’re going to pay off an old account, the best way is to insist that the collection agency send you a letter that they will delete the account from your credit if you pay it. Some collection agencies will and some won’t, but it will increase your score and is definitely worth the effort.
Past due amounts, however, will totally destroy your score. Any amount in the past-due column on your credit report needs to be paid, or, if it’s not owed, contact the creditor and get them to take the amount off. In fact, I would suggest that you pay off any past due amounts before paying a collection agency once your account has reached the charge off stage. Then the software can’t pick up any past due amounts. You can call your creditors that have reported late payments, and ask them to remove the late payments in “good faith”, but remember politeness is the key. If you’re antagonistic toward them, they won’t lift a finger to help you, and you want your credit score to increase.
If your credit limit is not being reported, make sure the credit bureau has that information, because an account being reported with no limit gets scored as though the account is at its maximum amount. And, furthermore, the software will penalize you even more when your balance exceeds various percentage levels of your limit on credit cards. These levels are at 30%, 50%, and 70% of your credit limit. If you can, bring your balances below the 30% level for the maximum benefit, and you get a higher score when you have all your cards below the 30%, 50%, or 70% mark, rather than to have a zero balance on two cards and one card over the 70%.
And, last, but not least, don’t close any credit card accounts, unless you absolutely have to. Leave them paid off, but open, and use them about once every 6 months. You are scored on the percentage of credit available versus the amount owed. When you close an account, it increases your debt ratio which will decrease your score, because it reports as having less credit available with the same amount of debt as before you closed the account. If you have too many department store cards, you can close the newest ones and leave the older cards open, because the older cards show a long history of credit, because 15% of the credit score is determine by the age of the file.
So don’t let your “less than perfect” credit get you down. There are ways to overcome bad credit.
Dan
Some of us just haven’t been lucky enough to have perfect credit scores, and some of us have been unluckier than others when it comes to credit. However, all’s not lost. Did you know there are ways to increase your scores? When you know all these little “how to’s” you can sometimes increase your credit scores by 100 points.
A lot of people think that paying off old, delinquent accounts will improve their credit, and the collection agencies certainly want you to keep thinking so. But paying a charge off or a lien after it’s over two years old can actually hurt your credit score. Although a charge-off will severely affect your credit, the software that scores your credit looks at the last activity on the credit report to determine what effect it will have on your score. The collection agency will update your report as “Paid Collection” whenever you pay off the account, making the software pick it up as “current”. If you’re going to pay off an old account, the best way is to insist that the collection agency send you a letter that they will delete the account from your credit if you pay it. Some collection agencies will and some won’t, but it will increase your score and is definitely worth the effort.
Past due amounts, however, will totally destroy your score. Any amount in the past-due column on your credit report needs to be paid, or, if it’s not owed, contact the creditor and get them to take the amount off. In fact, I would suggest that you pay off any past due amounts before paying a collection agency once your account has reached the charge off stage. Then the software can’t pick up any past due amounts. You can call your creditors that have reported late payments, and ask them to remove the late payments in “good faith”, but remember politeness is the key. If you’re antagonistic toward them, they won’t lift a finger to help you, and you want your credit score to increase.
If your credit limit is not being reported, make sure the credit bureau has that information, because an account being reported with no limit gets scored as though the account is at its maximum amount. And, furthermore, the software will penalize you even more when your balance exceeds various percentage levels of your limit on credit cards. These levels are at 30%, 50%, and 70% of your credit limit. If you can, bring your balances below the 30% level for the maximum benefit, and you get a higher score when you have all your cards below the 30%, 50%, or 70% mark, rather than to have a zero balance on two cards and one card over the 70%.
And, last, but not least, don’t close any credit card accounts, unless you absolutely have to. Leave them paid off, but open, and use them about once every 6 months. You are scored on the percentage of credit available versus the amount owed. When you close an account, it increases your debt ratio which will decrease your score, because it reports as having less credit available with the same amount of debt as before you closed the account. If you have too many department store cards, you can close the newest ones and leave the older cards open, because the older cards show a long history of credit, because 15% of the credit score is determine by the age of the file.
So don’t let your “less than perfect” credit get you down. There are ways to overcome bad credit.
Dan