Archive for the ‘Finance’ Category

Consumer Credit Report – An Important Part of Your Financial Health

Posted in Finance on 03/30/2011 05:33 am by admin
W. M. Blake asked:




Your credit report can have a great deal of impact on your purchases and other financial transactions. Purchasing a new home, qualifying for loans, buying a car, applying for credit cards – even getting an education can be affected by your credit.

When you’re looking for any kind of loan or financing, your credit status will play a big part in how good (or bad) of a deal you’ll get. The better your credit report, the better rate you’ll get. Of course, the opposite is just as true – to the point where bad credit might prevent you from getting financing at all.

Your credit report includes a score that indicates how creditworthy you are – how much of a risk you’ll be, to look at it from the lender’s point of view. This score is determined by your financial history – do you make payments on time, have you missed payments, have you ever declared bankruptcy, etc.

The FTC mandates that all consumers are entitled to one free credit report each year. This gives you the opportunity to review your report for errors and correct any mistakes that you might find. This free credit report can be obtained online at no cost to you. There are many services and websites that offer credit reports, but often for a fee.

Your credit report includes information such as your place of employment, birthday, a list of all your creditors, credit applications (approved or not), foreclosures and bankruptcies.

This information comes from a variety of sources, so there is always a chance an error can find its way onto your report. Reviewing your report annually will help to ensure that these errors are caught and can be corrected to keep your credit report clean.

Wilma
 

Experian Study Proves That Credit Repair Services Are Needed

Posted in Finance on 03/30/2011 05:01 am by admin
Kyle Sugerak asked:




A growing number of consumers need credit repair services, even if they live in Minneapolis.

Experian, one of the three national credit bureaus, recently released its State of Credit report, in which it highlighted the average Vantage credit scores across the nation. The Vantage credit score, along with the more popular FICO credit score, is used by mortgage lenders and financial institutions to judge the creditworthiness of borrowers. Those borrowers with low credit scores, caused by missed payments, bankruptcies, and other financial missteps, will struggle to obtain loans at solid interest rates.

The residents of Minneapolis, with an average Vantage credit score of 787, topped the Experian list. Midwest cities, in fact, scored well: The residents of Madison, Wis., had an average Vantage score of 785, coming in second place.

Overall, though, most U.S. cities had Vantage credit scores that received grades of “C” or lower.

Falling Credit Scores

Another recent study, this one done by FICO, the largest provider of credit scores in the country, showed that the recession and its slow recovery has taken a toll on consumers and their credit.

The FICO study reported that nearly 25 percent of consumers had FICO credit rating under 600. Such a low score qualifies as a terrible one, and borrowers will struggle to earn approval for most loans from conventional lenders with such a weak score. Lenders of all type, whether they are passing out mortgage, auto, or personal loans, are taking a closer look at borrowers’ credit scores. They’ve learned important lessons during the Great Recession and its aftermath: It’s important to lend only to those consumers whose credit scores demonstrate that they have a history of paying their bills on time.

Banks and mortgage lenders have received significant criticism for their actions during the boom times, when they lent generous amounts of money to borrowers even if they had low credit scores, shaky employment histories, and high levels of debt.

Today, lenders and banks are more cautious when it comes to passing out money. Consumers need strong credit scores – and in many cases the help of credit repair services – to qualify for the best loans today.

Credit Repair Services

Plenty of companies offer credit repair help – but not all of these companies are trustworthy. The ones to avoid are fairly easy to spot: They boast in late-night TV commercials that they can raise consumer credit rating by 100 points or more in days. They may also claim that they can legally remove bankruptcy filings or foreclosures from consumers’ credit reports.

The truth is that there is no way to legally remove a correctly filed bankruptcy or foreclosure mark from a credit report. These reports just have to fall off after a certain number of years, seven or 10 depending on the filing.

Credit Repair Help

The best credit repair services are those that will help consumers through the process of searching your three free credit reports – consumers can order each of their three credit reports at no charge every 12 months from AnnualCreditReport.com – for errors. Correcting errors, such as incorrectly reported missed payments or open credit card accounts that consumers actually closed – can boost consumers’ credit rating fairly quickly.

The top credit repair services also help consumers set up a monthly budget that will prevent them from missing their payments. They’ll also provide credit counseling services to help consumers determine the reasons for their overspending ways.

Consumers today can no longer afford to overlook their credit scores. Lenders of all types rely heavily on them when determining who gets money and at what interest rates. Those consumers who fail to tackle their credit problems will find that life can be awfully stressful.

Steven
 

My Credit Repair Advice: Don’t Pay for Free Credit Reports

Posted in Finance on 03/14/2011 11:03 pm by admin
Kyle Sugerak asked:




When people ask for my credit repair advice, I always start with one important piece of information: Consumers should never pay for free credit reports.

Surprisingly, many consumers do unwittingly pay for credit reports that should be free. Sites such as the misleadingly named FreeCreditReport.com have come under fire from consumers and their advocates for ads that critics say are misleading.

Visitors to FreeCreditReport.com can sign up to receive their three free credit reports – maintained by the credit bureaus Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – from the site. However, they’ll first have to provide their credit card information. They’ll then be signed up for a free trial of the site’s credit-monitoring service.

If these visitors forget to cancel the service after their free trial ends, they’ll find a $14.95 charge on their credit card statement. That charge will pop up again for every month in which they forget to cancel their subscription to the service.

Critics say that it would be far more honest to require consumers to give their consent to sign up for the service when the free trial ends. Of course, Experian, the company behind FreeCreditReport.com, would then not receive all those extra $14.95 payments.

Free Credit Reports Should be Free

My credit repair advice is to order your free credit reports instead from AnnualCreditReport.com. This site is maintained by the three credit bureaus. Under federal law, you can order one copy each of your three free credit reports from here once every 12 months. There are no charges to do so.

Once you receive your credit reports, you can then check them for any mistakes. This is the first step in the credit-repair process. You don’t want your credit reports to state that you missed three car payments in 2008 when you know that you made every payment on time. You don’t want it to say that you have 10 open lines of credit when you know that you’ve closed most of your open credit card accounts.

These mistakes can lower your credit score significantly. And today, it’s difficult to borrow any money from conventional mortgage lenders if you have a weak credit score.

Credit Repair Basics

If you’ve found errors, correct them in writing. This is inefficient, but it’s the only way the credit bureaus accept corrections.

Removing incorrectly filed negative information from your credit reports will boost your credit scores. But if you need to put in more work, you’ll have to go through two more steps.

First, pay all your monthly bills on time – never miss a payment or make a late payment. Both actions will cause your credit scores to suffer. Secondly, don’t run up your credit card debt. Lenders consider borrowers with high amounts of credit card debt to be credit risks. Set aside whatever money you can to pay down your outstanding credit card balances. The less credit card debt you have, the better it is for your credit scores.

And, of course, avoid filing for bankruptcy. Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings remain on your credit report for 10 years, while Chapter 13 ones stay there for seven. During this time, your score will certainly suffer.

Good Credit Repair News

The good news is that this credit repair advice is so easy to follow. Boosting credit scores really requires only that you act like a mature consumer.

• Don’t overspend
• Pay for your purchases with cash instead of running up credit card debt
• Pay your bills on time
• Eliminate as much debt as possible.

These are all tips that will help you live a less stressful life. It’s an added bonus that they’ll help you improve your credit scores, too.

Nicole
 

Credit Report Repair

Posted in Finance on 03/12/2011 08:54 pm by admin
Rachel Altman asked:




Credit report repair is commonly referred to as the process of disputing negative items in a credit report. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, consumers have the right to request an investigation with the credit bureaus for any item on their credit report. The credit bureaus and the original furnisher of the information must investigate the claim within 30 days and report their results back to consumers.

It’s important to point out that the credit bureaus are for-profit organizations and possess no government affiliation. They profit off the sale of your private information and from selling your information to you. Only after the Federal Trade Commission came up with a set of regulations passed in 2003 were consumers able to receive one free credit report a year.

The FCRA also had to regulate how long negative information, such as late payments, bankruptcies, tax liens or judgments may stay on a consumer’s credit report. It’s typically seven years from the date of the delinquency. The exceptions: bankruptcies (10 years) and tax liens (seven years from the time they are paid). Unpaid tax liens can remain for up to 15 years. Although, 7 to 10 years is a long time to stay on a report, the credit bureaus would report it for much longer, if not forever, if it weren’t for the FTC stepping in.

When a consumer makes a dispute with the credit bureaus, the credit bureaus do not interact with information providers (typically creditors) directly. They use a system called E-Oscar. E-Oscar is an automated consumer dispute verification process. The credit bureaus demand that everyone who provides information to them be on this system. If you don’t get on the system, you CAN NOT provide information to a credit bureau.

The E-Oscar system allows credit grantors to resolve disputes in a timely manner; however the results are commonly inaccurate. In fact, a study by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group found that 79% of all credit reports contained errors. With E-Oscar the credit bureaus NEVER send the original creditor the information you provide them. Instead, an employee scans your letter along with hundreds of others.

The employee is given a very short amount of time to figure out what you are trying to dispute and then gives your dispute a code. It is then verified with E-Oscar. Any documentation that you sent which proves the information is erroneous or any information that you provided simply gets filed away, incase you should sue them. It’s rarely ever even looked at.

Under

 

How to Remove a Credit Report Collection

Posted in Finance on 03/12/2011 02:04 am by admin
Natalie J. Johnson asked:




A credit score report is the most important and key document for consumers. It determines the true and actual position of consumer’s worth in the world of finances. If your financial scoring report contains the positive marks then you are in the ideal position to apply for loans in the banks and in return banks would be pleased to offer you the required credits whereas if your credit report is piled up with negative marks or collections then it would be a tough task for you to get pass any loans or credits.

Collections would keep on bringing your credit score at minimum worst levels. It would be very difficult for consumers to maintain the same credit score after they become victims of collections made on their credit report. It takes a series of long span of years when your credit score report gets able to throw away the collection.

Fair Credit Reporting Act regulates credit bureaus and collection agencies to wipe out all collections from consumers credit history which reach the age of more than seven years. In case, credit collection agency tries to contact consumers after this period then consumers carry the authority to take collection agency in the court for creating any disturbances.

Many people believe in taking the services of law firms as it is the best way to get rid of this mess. These law firms usually carry the deep understating and expertise to address the issues related to financial disputes and collections. We find the stories of many successful consumers who were able to get rid of collections from their credit report after using these law firm.

Writing a dispute letter to credit bureaus could also be helpful. In case, your dispute letter is successful your financial worthiness via credit report would be updated with the new one without any collections. This means that you will now have an opportunity to claim and apply for any loans, mortgages, liens and credit cards. Always remember that life is only a bed of roses for those who strive hard to seed it for future bloom.

Janice
 

Consumer Credit Help

Posted in Finance on 03/07/2011 12:28 am by admin
Ken Marlborough asked:




Consumer credit help assists consumers to get control over their finances by implementing solutions like consolidation and debt negotiation. You can find such services in almost any town. If such a service is not available in your locality, you can contact a professional counselor using the phone or the web.

Prior to contacting consumer credit help, you should check your financial report to find if there is any error in the information. Mistakes such as address errors and incorrect charges are common. You can use the service of a consumer credit agency to correct the above errors. It is also important to become familiar with the FICO score. If your score is very low, then you are in desperate need of consumer credit help. Here, you need to start working at paying off the debts as quick as possible. Consumer credit counselors help you make it a simple process.

You can seek someone in your family or a friend who would be ready to sit down and make a budget plan. The need of consumer credit help normally arises when you overspend and are not keeping track of the money each month. You can easily improve your financial situation by paying bills on time, budgeting money, and charging less on accounts.

A professional counselor is often more useful than a family member or friend. He has thorough knowledge and experience in negotiating with lenders. There are several things to consider when looking for consumer credit help. You have to look for an agency that is well known and reputable. Next is finding a service that truly desires to assist. There are many agencies that assure you credit assistance, but actually only charge fees. Referrals from friends and family are good solutions, since these people may know of a local or national agency that is mostly helpful.

Joe
 

Your Consumer Credit Report is All Done Off of Basis of a Pie Chart

Posted in Finance on 03/04/2011 01:56 am by admin
Andy Zain asked:




Did you know that your consumer credit report will continue to follow you through every step of your existence? A lot more people are becoming aware of this vital score, with the present state of our global economy. A lot of people are trying to do all that they can in order to ensure that their consumer credit report is pleasing to spectators.

The three underlying agencies that offer the report are Equifax, Transunion as well as Experian. However, many consumers will not be able to get their Experian report as easily has they managed before. Experian actually has left the three amigo clan of credit reporting and has decided to go on its own.

You can still obtain the report, the only thing is you will have to take a few different steps in order to obtain the score as opposed to what you would have had to do prior in order to obtain the score. You may be curious to know exactly what the consumer credit score is all about in the first place.

Every time that you make an important purchase where you are not paying for something with cash, and even in some accounts when you do this score is pulled. You can expect to see this score pulled in situations where you are interested in purchasing a vehicle, or you are looking to buy a home.

It is imperative to know what’s on your consumer credit report, so you do not face any ailments when you are trying to purchase things to make your life substantially easier. Your credit score actually begins being kept in many respects when you reach the age of 18. However, some people have had a score tallying up for them at a younger age.

Your score is actually configured utilizing a specific pie chart that is split into different sections. All of the parts equal out to 100%. Being able to properly interpret this chart will allow you to gain a better understanding of how the consumer report is analyzed.

The pie chart is split into many different dimensions the first part of the chart is the biggest chunk, it accounts for 35% of your score. This part is all of your payment history. The next chunk accounts for 30% of your overall score and this portion is the amount that you owe to your debts. 15% of the chart makes up the overall length of time that you have had credit. While another 10% is for new credit. The remaining 10% of the chart makes up the type of credit that you have such as revolving and things of that nature.

It is imperative to know what factors are evaluated when your consumer credit report is being analyzed, now you know all of the secrets on how the companies arrive at a final score that consists of three consecutive numbers.

Sara
 

Understanding the Consumer Credit Report

Posted in Finance on 03/02/2011 05:03 am by admin
Alexander Wright asked:




A consumer credit report is a limited record of your personal information as it relates to your consumer credit activities. It is primarily used by lenders and creditors to determine your credit reputation or credit worthiness when deciding to extend you credit or grant you a loan. Although numerous smaller credit reporting agencies (CRAs) exist, there are only three major credit reporting agencies (CRAs) that are widely accepted; TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. The consumer credit report is separated into a few major categories with the most common being Credit History, Public Records, Collection Accounts, Inquiries, and Personal Information.

The Credit History section displays some of the most common information that you would expect to see on a consumer credit report such as real estate mortgages, credit cards, lines of credit, personal loans, and auto loans. While displaying some of the most common information that you might expect to see such as the account name and account number of each account, this section of the consumer credit report also displays the status of each account and whether it is current or past due in payment. This section of the consumer credit report goes into further detail by displaying the balance, minimum payment due, and payment history of each account.

The Collection Account section of the consumer credit report displays information on accounts that have been charged off by the creditor and sent to collection agencies. The collection name and collection number should be exhibited along with the original creditor’s information. It should also exhibit the date in which the account was charged-off and sent to collection along with the dollar figure the collection agency is seeking to recover.

The Public Records section of the consumer credit report is reserved for county and state court records & displays such items as foreclosures, bankruptcies, judgments, and tax liens. While numerous consumers do not have items that fall into this category, it is not uncommon for this section to be missing from the consumer credit report. Foreclosures, judgments, bankruptcies, and tax liens/civil liens are considered to be some of the most derogatory items that can be found on a consumer credit report. They have a very serious negative impact on the consumers credit score and a tremendous influence on a creditors or lenders decision to issue credit or grant a loan.

The Personal Information section of the consumer credit report consists of numerous items such as your full name, current and previous addresses, any known aliases, social security number, year of birth, current & past employers. If available and available, this section will also exhibit similar information about your spouse.

As some of the terms used in this article may be unfamiliar to you, I have listed numerous terms and their corresponding definition below in order to help you understand the common consumer credit report.

Credit Report: A complex report containing the credit history of a consumer. A consumer’s credit report is generated by a credit reporting agency and contains information provided by the consumer’s present and past creditors to be used in determining the consumer’s credit worthiness.

Credit Reporting Agency: Credit reporting agencies, often referred to as credit bureaus, are companies that collect, manage, and report information received from creditors and collection agencies regarding the individual consumer. The three largest and most commonly known credit reporting agencies are: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. Many consumers believe these companies to be official government entities, which is a common misconception. In fact, they are for-profit companies.

Collection Account: A debt that is considered to be a loss or expense by the creditor. The creditor will attempt collecting that debt through the use of an internal collection department, outsource the account to a contracted collection agency, or sell the debt to a third party for a reduced price.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: The most common form of consumer bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy typically releases a debtor from any and all liability for the credit accounts included in a bankruptcy. In exchange, the debtor must usually forfeit some personal property. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy remains on the debtors consumer credit report for 10 years.

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy: Although Chapter 11 Bankruptcy is normally used for businesses, it can be used by consumers in specific rare cases involving extremely large debt. However, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 can be much simpler and provide better protection for most consumers.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Chapter 13 is a type of consumer bankruptcy under which the debtor does not forfeit personal property. Rather, the consumer agrees to a three- to five-year wage earner plan to repay all or part of their debt. A Discharged Chapter 13 bankruptcy remains on a consumer credit report for 7 years from the date filed. An Open or Dismissed Chapter 13 bankruptcy remains on a consumer credit report for 10 years from the date filed.

Foreclosure: The legal process by which a creditor may sell mortgaged property to recover a defaulted mortgage.

Judgment: A determination by a court of law that, in the case of credit, may require a person to satisfy or pay a debt.

Tax Lien: A charge upon real or personal property for the satisfaction of debts related to taxes.

Civil Lien: A charge upon real or personal property for the satisfaction of some debt or duty ordinarily arising by operation of law.

Inquiry: An instance in which all or part of your credit file is accessed by a company or individual. Inquiries stay on your consumer credit report for not more than two years.

Aaron
 

Free Annual Credit Reports

Posted in Finance on 02/27/2011 09:40 pm by admin
Ken Marlborough asked:




Checking your credit report is an efficient tool in battling identity theft. You can order a free credit report once every twelve months from any of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies.

All the information available regarding your credit history like your address, transaction profile and any government offenses are listed in the credit report. Consumer companies nationwide sell your credit report to creditors, insurance companies, possible recruitment agencies and other businesses that need to assess your request for, employment, insurance, credit, or renting. That’s why it is helpful to make sure the information on your report is accurate, complete and up-to-date before you apply for a loan.

You can visit a credit report site to get your free report online. Sites can also offer a toll-free number to order their free annual credit reports, or you can download a form and send it to their website.

Consumers can order all three reports at the same time, or they can stagger their requests over a period of a year. Consumers are eligible to order a free credit report any time. They are not required to submit their request within a certain period of time.

Banks will remind you if they are giving you credit at a higher interest based on your credit score and warn you if they have divulged any negative information about you in other credit agencies.

Scrutinizing your own credit report once a year should be a habit that you do frequently, especially with the rise of identity theft related crimes. Be aware of other sites that claim to provide free credit reports and any e-mails that claim to be from a consumer reporting agency. Seeing if it’s free has its own warning sign, so keep this in mind as numerous fraud schemes pop up.

Bernard
 

How Do I Qualify For the Best Credit Report?

Posted in Finance on 02/26/2011 01:45 pm by admin
Hector Milla asked:




It is your responsibility to keep your credit report clean as much as possible since this will make you benefit from the best services. Consumer reports are what banks, credit unions, employers, mortgage companies and other lenders look at to determine who qualifies for what loan and on what terms and conditions. They are allowed to make inquiries but you can always know them when you get your report because they are listed there.

The best thing to do is to know what is on your report. This means ordering for them from time to time in addition to the one you get annually from the agencies. You need to know what your credit score is and what makes a consumer have a higher or lower rating so you can know what to do. Understanding the information on your report is important and you should find someone to make you understand if you have difficulties.

To qualify for the best report, you need to keep your debts in control. Pay your debts as required and your report will not have anything negative about your credit history. You also need to get rid of credit cards you don’t frequently use and remain with the ones you need only. Poor payment history makes you untrustworthy and you cannot blame the lenders for denying you loans.

The other is to make sure any incorrect data in your report is corrected as this bears on your report negatively. As soon as you get your reports, take the time to go through them carefully to ensure everything is as it should be. Make sure you inform the agencies immediately about any errors through writing. Cleaning up ensures you have the best report that impresses the lenders and employers and you could get a pay rise anytime.

Monitoring your credit report is the other way to ensure the best report. You can sign up with a credit monitoring company online to track down any illegal activities with your credit cards since someone can use your credit card to incur huge bills and this is not good for your credit score either.

Nathaniel
 
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