Credit Tips

Secured Credit Cards Will Increase Credit Score After Bankruptcy

2010-12-19T16:27:00.001-08:00

Once someone files for bankruptcy they begin looking for ways to improve their credit standing. This is because bankruptcy is a negative mark on your credit report and will cause a significant decrease in your credit score.

The good news is that despite the fact that bankruptcy stays on your credit report for as long as 10 years, your credit score can start increasing immediately.

While it will be hard to qualify for a credit card let alone a loan for a little while there are systems in place to help build credit.

A great option to start improving credit is a secured credit card. The big difference between a secured and an unsecured card is that to obtain a secured credit card you will have to make a deposit to the company. This deposit is considered collateral for the purchases you will make. That is why it usually equals the amount of your credit limit.

Although you make an initial deposit this card does not act as a debit card. You will receive a monthly bill for the charges you've accrued and a payment will be due. Should you choose to pay the minimum and carry a balance then you will be responsible for finance charges on what remains unpaid.

Another option for obtaining a credit card is to apply for a store credit card. Store cards are typically issued from retail stores and the card holder is offered incentives such as merchandise discounts for signing up for the card. Store cards generally increase spending within the store itself as well as in outside businesses. This is a double incentive for the store, not to mention the marketing behind having your name and logo on someone's credit card. These factors make it common for stores to be more lenient on who can qualify to carry credit with them.

Once you've obtained a credit card make sure your payments are made on time. This says a lot about you are a borrower and will look good with creditors.

Before you know it your credit will begin to increase and you will be able to qualify with more lenders. It is important that as your borrowing privileges return you don't fall into the same patterns that led you to bankruptcy in the first place.

Should You Buy A Credit Score?

2010-12-19T16:26:00.000-08:00

You may have recently thought of buying your credit score online. If you have held off from making that decision, then you made the right move. The fact is that you don't have to pay for one. There are many online credit reporting services that can offer you your score for free. In fact, there are quite a few benefits of signing up to get your free credit score. Some of these include: credit report monitoring, identity theft insurance, and additional credit reports. Without these extra services, you will not be able to know exactly how your score came to be and how to protect it.

Credit report monitoring is an absolutely essential service for those concerned with keeping up with the changes to their credit file. The fact is, you never know when you might need great credit. There are many surprises in life that call for a good credit status. Unless you are keeping tabs on your credit reports, you will not know where you stand at any given time. Monitoring will alert you of any major changes to your reports that can have a significant effect on your scores. This will give you time to take the appropriate action to prevent any drops from occurring.

Identity theft is a growing concern. It is a good idea for everyone to consider getting identity theft insurance because this kind of theft can happen to anyone. Remember, don't buy a credit score, just sign up for free and you will be enrolled with this important service.

You will also have access to all of your reports. This is vital for having a true understanding of your scores. By analyzing the details that you can find in your reports, how your credit score was determined will become much more clear. Also take advantage of the many articles that you can find on your credit service website to get a better idea of what you can do with your credit report information to try to improve your score.

Steps You Can Take To Raise Your Credit Score

2010-12-19T16:25:00.000-08:00

Having a bad credit score can be expensive. Your score is not just an arbitrary number that you can ignore. Lenders use your score to determine if they will lend to you and, if so, how much interest you will pay on the loan. Employers may use your credit score to determine whether or not they should hire you, especially if your job requires you to handle money or personal information of customers. A car insurance company may even use your credit score to determine how much to charge you to ensure your vehicle. All of these situations require you to have a decent credit score, but what if you don't have one?

Although you may think that you have good credit, when is the last time you actually checked? Just because there is not a collection company hounding you does not guarantee good credit. As a matter of fact, it is not uncommon for a credit report to contain factual errors or erroneous accounts that weight its score down. Could you be a victim of these questionable credit reporting practices? Interestingly enough, most consumers are and do not even realize it.

The good news is that a poor credit score can be fixed. The first steps is to obtain your credit reports and go over them with a fine toothed comb, looking for information that can be weighing your score down. The second step is to correct any personal information and delete any old, non current, information. The third and final step is to alert the credit reporting agency and the reporter of the error. The reporter will have 30 to 45 days to correct the entry, or else the agency will have to remove it. Be careful, though, as you don't want to go around deleting good accounts!

Remember, a "good" credit score is not the final goal. The true goal is to get the best score possible. Each time your raise your score, you have the possibility of lowering your interest rate by several points, which can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars over time. You should check your credit report at least once a year to remove bad information and make sure that all of your accounts are reporting correctly. Doing so will improve your chances of getting a mortgage, a decent interest rate on any loan that you receive, the jobs that you want and even a good car insurance rate.

The worst thing you can do is nothing or assume that this will correct itself in time, because it won't.

5 Powerful Steps to Repairing Credit That Will Get You Results Fast

2010-12-19T16:22:00.000-08:00

Disputing your credit report is a very time-consuming process, but with knowledge, and education, you can get outdated, incorrect, and unverifiable information off of your credit report. First, you must write the credit bureau asking them to remove the damaging information on your report. The credit bureau will start an investigation and send you an updated credit report within 30 days indicating the changes if any. They will say one of the following:

The item has been verified and no change has been made.
Steps to take after verification
They consider the dispute frivolous.

If your disputed items come back verified, draft a new dispute letter and use one of the following techniques to prompt a new investigation:

Steps to repairing your credit part one

Verification method:

Ask the credit bureau for their method of verification using a standard dispute letter. Once you have been informed of the reasoning behind their rejection, you may develop a more fully formed picture of your credit history. With this new information, you can then repeat your complaint while bringing up different reasons for your dispute.

Steps to repairing your credit part two

Wait period:

Wait 60 days and try again raising a different reason for your dispute. You can also change the tone of your letter by re-verbalizing and highlighting how the dispute has been the most damaging to you. Use phrases like "I have been terribly stressed," and "I am very worried about my credit worthiness being damaged" due to their failure to investigate your disputes.

Steps to repairing your credit part three

Send Proof:

Send another dispute letter providing proof and sufficient documentation regarding why the negative mark should be removed. Write, with clarity and detail, explaining why the negative items are incorrect. This may especially be helpful if you have received a response asking for more information to continue the investigation.

Steps to repairing your credit part four

Dispute the E-Oscar method:

With the Oscar system, the credit bureaus take your dispute and convert it into a two to three digit code. These codes can represent actions like "item not mine" or "item incorrect." The credit bureau then sends these codes to the creditor through the computer automated Oscar system for verification. The creditor will respond back with a code stating whether or not the item is correct.

Aside from disputing the negative item itself, you may also have to write to the credit bureaus disputing their use of the Oscar method. They are required to follow FCRA guidelines, and not the Oscar method, when verifying the accuracy of a disputed item.

Steps to repairing your credit part five

Attach copies of other credit reports:

Advise the credit bureau that two of your credit reports from the other credit bureaus do not reflect this negative account, but on the disputed report, the negative item is still there. After you explain yourself, repeat your dispute and attach copies of the other two credit reports as proof.

As you can see there are many steps to repairing your credit. You just have to follow the techniques as stated. Credit repair takes time so be patient and take action if you want to see results.

3 Powerful Ways to get Get Fast Results while Conduct Credit Disputes

2010-12-19T16:18:00.000-08:00

When trying to conduct a credit dispute, there are a few steps you must take before starting the credit repair process. Please understand that restoring your credit takes time and patience. It can be frustrating at times, but it's possible to start rebuilding your financial life. Get a free copy of your credit report from annualcreditreport.com. Once you get your report, review it for accounts that are incorrect, not yours and misleading. After scanning your report, write out your credit dispute by hand or by using a word program. Ask the credit bureau to remove the negative information because it's incorrect. The credit bureau will send you an updated report indicating the item as being deleted or no change. If this happens and the item is not yours, you can apply the following three techniques to try to get the misleading account off of your report.

Step one to a credit dispute one:

Make the creditor prove that it's your debt

Challenge the debt with the creditor by calling them up and asking for proof that you owe the debt. Proof meaning a copy of the original credit application or loan application with your signature. Moreover, ask them for your payment history showing that you were late on that particular day. If the creditor can't prove the adverse information reported, then they must delete it according to the FCRA. Give them 17 days to respond to your letter. If they do not provide a response, contact the attorney general's office in the creditor's state. You want to let them know that the creditor is reporting negative information on your credit report when they can't provide you with evidence. This is a violation of Federal law and is grounds for a lawsuit.

Let them know that you have grounds to sue them for $5,000 per disputed item they refuse to investigate. Once you have informed them, you can then repeat your dispute. By sending this letter to their legal department, you are more than likely to get a response.

Step one to a credit dispute two:

Go straight to their legal department

Address a letter to their legal department asking them why they have updated some inaccurate accounts but not others. Also, request a copy of the completed verification form used and the contract information from the creditor who responded to the verification. You also want the creditor's name, title, and phone number, and a copy of the documents relied on as evidence of the debt.

Step one to a credit dispute three:

Advise an attorney

If necessary, let them know that you have contacted a lawyer and are considering a lawsuit for willful noncompliance (FCRA-616). This option should be considered once you have explored several of the previously listed alternatives. In the event that you file a lawsuit, you will need to have thorough documentation of your attempts to contact the bureau, dispute each negative mark, and explain your situation. Be sure to keep copies of each letter for your own records and orderliness as well.

As you can see repairing your credit takes skill and education. You must know how the system works in order to get results from a credit dispute. I have personally used these strategies to get negative incorrect information of my client's credit files. You can improve your credit picture if you take action.