Consumer Credit Reports – equifax experian score

John Mcfadden asked:


You should dispute a credit report when there is anything inaccurate, misleading or unfair that may lead you to beging a poor credit risk in the eyes of any credit provision service. In the long run, by disputing your report, you can improve your overall chances of getting better and cheaper access to such services, including home loans and credit cards.

To get started, you will need to get your hands on a copy of your credit report. That is pretty easy as all of the three major consumer reporting companies are required by law to provide you with a free credit report each year, if you ask for it. You can even contact them online or you can use a credit reporting company to get a combined report on your behalf.

Once you have your credit report, you will need to assess which of the items on it you can dispute. You will need to identify each and every item that is either inaccurate or misleading. Each of these items gives you a chance to improve your overall credit score, item by item.

Once you have that sorted, you need to write to the consumer reporting company that was responsible for reporting those specific items. You will need to clearly state why you are disputing each item and you will also need to provide documentary proof of your claims, if applicable. State this all in an easy to read list in order to masmize your chances of a postive result.

Once you have written to the relevant consumer reporting company they will investigate each claim you have made and make adjustments to your credit report. They are legally required to do this (as long as your claim is not considered frivolous).

Lastly you will receive an updated version of your credit report which you will need to check again. Many of the items you disputed should be changed, but it also gives you a chance to start the process again.

As you can see the process of disputing a credit report is not that difficult, but it is very time consuming and boring. Many people choose to take on the services of a credit reporting company, many of who have very reasonable rates and some of who guarantee results with a standard money back guarantee.

This will save you a lot of time and hopefully money in the long run. These companies will also know exactly which of the items on your credit report have the greatest chance of being changed by a dispute (it’s probably more than you think!)

They are usually well worth checking out!



REGINALD

Girl gamer! ^_^ asked:


My husband and I bought a TV from Circuit City. We qualified for a Circuit City reward card (this was in 2007) and did 18 months with no interest. We paid off the full balance with our income tax refund we got in March of this year and were able to pay it off before any interest kicked in.

I just checked my credit report (I try to check it once a year) and it is showing a $1.00 balance from Chase, but does not say anything about a late payment.

Why is it showing a $1.00 balance? It was paid in full (I called to verify this after paying it off online) and I closed the account. It even says on the credit report, “account closed at consumer’s request”.

Can someone please help me. I would call Chase, but it is Sunday night and they are probably closed.

HUBERT

billytide asked:


I have filed for chapter 7 personal bankruptcy for all my debts excluding my car payment which is on time. I have managed to keep credit card account with low limits open and the rest were included in the bankruptcy filing. My next hearing is jan 30th to determine if my bankruptcy should be dismissed by the trustee for failing to file tax returns. My question is can is this:

1. can I keep the two open credit accounts?
2. would a dismissal of my bankruptcy be better on my credit files than a discharge?
3. Can a dismissal be removed from a credit report?

I dont really want to have 10 years ofbad credit if I can at all help it

Billy

**NOTE Please answer only if you are a bankruptcy attorney , or you work in the consumer credit lending industry or have professional experience or past personal experience with this specific problem, all other answers will be disregarded.** NOTE

GALEN

marco_dlt2003 asked:


FCRA – Fair Credit Reporting Act

MARCELINO

Bob asked:


This contact letter is in regards to my consumer loan accounts -01 and -02. I just recently checked my credit report because I am in the market to purchase my first home in Lexington Park, Maryland, and I noticed some disturbing information. It seems that your company reported my on numerous occations for being 30 days late on each loan account. This information is false, and your company is in direct violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The reason these accounts were reported as late, according to your customer service, is this is the time that I requested a one month grace period because my mother died in September of 2004, and I had to pay for the funeral service. My father passed on a few months later in February of 2005. I notified all my creditors and told them of the situation and was given a payment plan. The extention from your company was granted from the Branch Manager in Brunswick, Maine. All the payments that I made after that were paying the previous month

DANE

The CreditLawGroup asked:


Involuntary credit inquiries, or soft inquiries, are credit inquiries made by a third party without consumers’ knowledge or consent. These involuntary credit inquiries do not affect our credit rating or score; however, these involuntary credit inquiries do indeed show up on consumers’ credit reports. An example of an involuntary credit inquiry would be a company pulling a consumer’s credit report to see if he or she qualifies for a promotional offer or to verify that a consumer has a solid enough credit report to be pre-approved for a product or credit line. Another example of an involuntary credit inquiry would be credit inquiries of a consumer that is an existing customer or client. For instance, after the initial credit inquiry that a credit card company makes, any subsequent credit inquiries after the consumer has been retained by the credit card company are recorded on the consumer’s credit report but are not counted against the consumer and factored into his or her credit score. Yet another example of an involuntary credit inquiry would be from a prospective employer and like the other credit inquiries discussed above do not affect our credit score or rating. The bottom line is if a consumer does not apply for credit or give a company permission to obtain a copy of his or her credit report, it is almost definitely an involuntary credit inquiry and will not be viewed as unfavorably.

Voluntary credit inquiries, or hard inquiries, are credit inquiries made by a third party with a consumer’s consent or authorization. These voluntary credit inquiries show up on consumers’ credit reports and affect consumers’ credit scores and histories. For example, if a consumer were to apply for a credit card, cell phone, private loan, mortgage, student loan, auto loan, or any other type of credit from a credit granting institution, the consumer’s credit report would reflect these inquiries. Numerous voluntary credit inquiries on a consumer’s credit report may appear unfavorable to credit grantors because it seems as though the consumer may be desperate in their efforts to obtain credit from anyone willing to extend it to him or her. Numerous voluntary credit inquiries may also make the consumer appear to be high a risk of default. A few credit inquiries may not affect a consumer’s credit history negatively because it may show that the consumer is responsible to manage numerous lines of credit appropriately. However, more than a couple of involuntary credit inquiries set up a red flag for the consumer as a risky borrower. Luckily, there are 2 rules in place aimed to protect consumers that shop around for the best deal on automobile loans and mortgages, and consequently, would have numerous voluntary credit inquiries.

1.  Within 30 days that FICO credit scoring takes place, all mortgage and automobile credit inquiries will not be factored into a consumer’s credit scoring.

2.  Within a 14 day period, all mortgage and automobile credit inquiries will be counted as only one inquiry. This rule, called de-duplication, is set in place to not punish a consumer that is responsibly shopping around for the best rate. Furthermore, if a consumer is shopping around for the best rate, it is wise to get estimates as close to each other as possible so that the rates that are offered on that particular day stay correlated with one another for matching purposes.

Personal credit inquiries are considered soft inquiries and do not affect your credit score negatively. In fact, personal credit inquiries are encouraged to be executed rather frequently as part of a responsible credit management regimen. In inquiring about one’s credit history very frequently, a consumer is able to realize if there are any inaccurate or misleading information contained in his or her credit report.



ALVIN

Allison May asked:


span lang=”EN-US”>

We often hear that a person’s credit report is very important because lenders, employers and even landowners check this document to measure one’s credibility and financial capability. But what really is inside your credit report? Do you really understand how it works? Let’s take a closer look on what your credit report is made of:

Inside Your Credit Report

Credit reporting agencies collect information from your creditors, debt collection agencies or from the court and compile all these information in one report. Everything listed here are considered to be accurate unless the owner of the credit report files a dispute about certain details in his report. However, if the information is correct –whether positive or derogatory – it will stay on your credit report for up to seven years.

Information that is contained in a credit report include a person’s full name, Social Security Number, date of birth, past and present home addresses, phone numbers, Driver’s license number, employment history and other personal details. If you do find any error, you must notify the credit reporting bureaus immediately and request that these details be corrected.

Liens, wages, foreclosures, bankruptcies and other public records are included in a credit report. It also contains a comprehensive summary of a person’s accounts from all his creditors or lenders regardless of what type of debt it is. It presents charges, penalties, date of payments, amount of debt, credit limit and everything that has to do with a person’s credit.

Credit Report and Inquiries

Each time a creditor or a company makes an inquiry about your report is also included. This is why consumers are warned against submitting too many applications from various lenders and banks all at the same time. Too many inquiries in your credit report can damage your score especially if you have been rejected by a lender.

However, personal inquiries are not regarded as negative and will not affect your credit score. In fact, it is recommended to inquire about your personal credit report at least twice a year so that you can be updated with the status of your credit history and score.

The three major credit bureaus are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Each of these agency works independently in reporting a person’s credit history. Thus, if you have any dispute about your credit report, see to it that you advise all three of these credit bureaus so that corrections can be made in your report accordingly.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act protects all consumers from fraud and ID theft by ordering all credit bureaus to do the necessary corrections immediately if a person claims a dispute in his credit report.

If you own a business, you can also apply for a separate credit history for your company from two major business credit trackers in the US- Dun and Bradstreet and Experian. The credit score for a business account is known as Paydex and this is the one used by lenders and financial providers in approving business loans.



MARVIN

jomay7 asked:


When I looked at my free credit report online I paid to get my credit score. It was around 850. That seemed really high to me. Do they give the consumer the same credit score they give to banks or creditors. They did not call it a fico score.

LANNY

expat999 asked:


Just curious. My fico is 744. I have a high credit balance and a student loan. I have 37% left of my max on my credit card. Just got back to the USA and looking for work. Also I noticed my employer was only listed as the university I attended when I worked for other companies. Please help me out, Im new to this employer consumer report thing. Thank you
what would be a score that disqualify you?

DANTE

Debi M asked:


Last Nov. I spoke to a rep over the phone to change my daughter’s billing address; THEY NEVER CHANGED HER ADDRESS, so she didn’t get the bills. We just got a call 2 MONTHS LATER THAT THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH HER ACCT.! they never sent her statements for 2 months. Meanwhile charged her LATE FEES, FINANCE CHARGES, ANNUAL CHARGES, YOU NAME THEY CHARGED HER. TODAY I ATTEMPTED TO PAY THE BILL OVER THE PHONE, THEY WOULD NOT ACCEPT MY PAYMENT! SAID THEY NEEDED TO SPEAK TO HER ON CONFERENCE CALL! If you’re having issues with them, FILE A RIP OFF REPORT OR TRY CONSUMER CREDIT AGENCIES IN YOUR STATE – I’m reporting them to my State.

LUIS