Fix Credit Now
There are four ways to fix your credit, and here they are, from worst to best:
Worst: Credit Repair Services
It’s tempting to simply pay a company to “do the work for you,” but all credit repair services (that includes law firms) have two dirty little secrets they don’t want you to know.
First, because they charge monthly for their service, they make more money–up to $2,000– if they deliberately drag out the process, which is why they often take two or three years.
Second, you actually wind up doing MORE work than if you did it yourself. In addition to dozens of forms, the credit repair service requires YOU to personally choose which items to dispute, how to dispute them, and you have to constantly send them information that the credit bureaus send you.
Better: Follow Instructions From The Credit Bureaus.
This is like the wolf instructing the sheep. The credit bureaus are NOT your friends. This approach costs nothing, but you get what you pay for. Don’t do it.
Better Still: Do-It-Yourself Programs (Typically A Printed Book, An E-Book, Or An Audio Program).
There are hundreds of these programs available, but they’re out of date. If you are very organized and have lots of free time available, the process these books
Best: Credit Repair Software
There are several companies that offer credit repair software (not just an e-book
Better quality credit software ranges from $97 to $1,000 or more, but there’s no reason to spend the higher amounts. Look for satisfaction guarantees and a professional-looking website.
Fix Credit Now
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The best credit repair solution for the money is Credit Repair Magic, available at CreditRepairMagic.com. At only $97, it’s the fastest and most cost-effective credit repair solution we’ve ever found. Don’t waste your time with useless e-books or ridiculously overpriced monthly services. Download the best credit repair software anywhere
Fix Credit Now
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Credit is essential nowadays. If you have bad credit, it is often difficult to rent an apartment, purchase a home, or get any form of credit loans at all. Having good credit is important in today’s time.
Many of us believe that once we have bad credit that we have to live with for at least seven years. Rest assured that this is not true. If you have defaults on your credit report, it is possible to have them removed.
The first step is to obtain copies of your credit report from the three major Credit Reporting Agencies – Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax.
Your credit report is not just a record of how you are currently managing your credit accounts. Your credit report is a history of everything you are doing with your credit now, and everything you have done in the past.
The credit reporting agencies, also known as, credit bureaus receive your personal information through the same lenders who grant you credit. The credit bureaus list this information on your credit report, and then sell it to credit grantors who wish to review your credit history before they decide to grant you credit.
Once you receive your reports from all of the agencies, review each report carefully to make sure that all the accounts belong to you. If you see any errors on your credit report make sure to take care of it right away by disputing the error with the Credit Reporting Agencies.
By law, when you dispute an item, the Credit Reporting Agencies are obligated to investigate the error.
If the error or negative information is found to be false or unable to be verified, it must be deleted or changed to reflect the status that you claim it should be.
There are many resources available on the Internet. It is up to you to research the marketplace carefully to find the best guides and resources that would lead you in the right direction to fixing your credit report.
Credit repair specialists can be of help to you if you notice that there are inaccuracies in your credit report. It is important for everyone to review his/her credit report at least once a year to verify that the information it contains is correct. You can get the free report from one of the 3 major credit bureaus, or even all three if you wish. Once you notice a discrepancy that is detrimental to your credit, you have to take steps to repair it. This is where credit repair specialists can help you.
Before you contact a credit repair specialist about mistakes in your credit report, you have to make sure that you are correct when you say this is a bill you donít owe. The specialists cannot wipe out any unfavourable items from your credit report just on your say so. If you need credit repair help for your bad credit rating, then it is only you who can do that.
Credit repair specialists will take a look at your credit report. If the report says you have a bill outstanding, for example, you do need to provide proof that you have repaid the amount in full. You have to verify all your claims of mistakes. If the bills named in the report are legitimate, then they are your responsibility. In order to have an item removed from a credit report, it has to go through legal channels, but the specialists will help you with this.
You donít have to contact credit repair specialists if you do notice a mistake in your credit report. These people do take the work off your shoulders, but you can do it yourself. All you have to do is contact the credit bureau that supplied you with the report and notify them of the mistake. They will send you the appropriate forms to fill out and give you instructions as to how you should proceed. It doesnít cost any money to take this route and do your own credit repair. Help is readily available from the 3 major credit bureaus and is free for you to use. Although credit repair specialists are trained for this job, you do have to pay for their help. Why pay, when you can do it yourself?
Credit repair specialists can help, but you can do it all yourself.
Here are 5 tips to help improve your credit score.
1. Get copies of your credit report then make sure the information is correct.
Go to the Annual Credit Report web site. This is the only authorized online source for a free credit report. Under federal law, you can get a free report from each of the three national credit reporting companies every 12 months.
You can also call 877-322-8228 or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) web site and mail it to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
2. Pay your bills on time.
One of the most important things you can do to improve your credit score is pay your bills by the due date. You can set up automatic payments from your bank account to help you pay on time, but be sure you have enough money in your account to avoid overdraft fees.
3. Understand how your credit score is determined.
Your credit score is usually based on the answers to these questions:
Do you pay your bills on time? The answer to this question is very important. If you have paid bills late, have had an account referred to a collection agency, or have ever declared bankruptcy, this history will show up in your credit report.
What is your outstanding debt? Many scoring models compare the amount of debt you have and your credit limits. If the amount you owe is close to your credit limit, it is likely to have a negative effect on your score.
How long is your credit history? A short credit history may have a negative effect on your score, but a short history can be offset by other factors, such as timely payments and low balances.
Have you applied for new credit recently? If you have applied for too many new accounts recently that may negatively affect your score. However, if you request a copy of your own credit report, or creditors are monitoring your account or looking at credit reports to make prescreened credit offers, these inquiries about your credit history are not counted as applications for credit.
How many and what types of credit accounts do you have? Many credit-scoring models consider the number and type of credit accounts you have. A mix of installment loans and credit cards may improve your score. However, too many finance company accounts or credit cards might hurt your score.
To learn more, see the Federal Trade Commission’s publication on credit scoring at their web site.
4. Learn the legal steps you must take to improve your credit report.
The Federal Trade Commission’s “Building a Better Credit Report” has information on correcting errors in your report, tips on dealing with debt and avoiding scamsóand more.
5. Beware of credit-repair scams.
Sometimes doing it yourself is the best way to repair your credit. The Federal Trade Commission’s “Credit Repair: Self-Help May Be Best” explains how you can improve your creditworthiness and lists legitimate resources for low-cost or no-cost help.
If you’ve ever applied for a loan or credit card, chances are your lender acquired and examined a copy of your credit report before deciding whether or not to grant you credit.
Your “Credit Report” is a record of your credit history and it’s prepared by agencies called “Credit Bureaus”, or “Consumer Reporting Agencies.” These are private organizations and have no affiliation with the United States (or any) government. There are 3 major credit bureaus in the United States (2 in Canada) and their names are Experian, EquiFax, and Trans Union.
Did you know that credit reporting is a multi-billion dollar a year industry? It’s true! The credit bureaus are for-profit organizations that generate billions of dollars in revenue each year from selling copies of credit reports to creditors and mailing lists.
Your credit report affects more than your financial life. It could affect your education, career, and even your relationships. Your credit report is used not only by lenders and creditors, but also by auto, life, and home insurers, future employers, and even some educational institutions. It affects the interest rates you’ll pay on everything!
So as you can see, your credit report can have a critical impact on many facets of your life. For example, because of a bad credit report you could be forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars MORE in loan interest over the life of your home mortgage. This is no exaggeration!
Since the credit bureaus prepare and distribute your credit report to lenders, they clearly wield a great deal of power over both your financial and personal life. But it would be a grave mistake to be intimidated by them, or to think that you have no choice but to live with the negative effects of a bad credit report.
In fact, there’s plenty you can do!
Always remember; Knowledge is power! There’re a few facts the credit bureaus would rather you don’t know. Let’s take a look at them, and you’ll see why.
1. Credit reports are filled with errors!
It will probably astonish you to learn the percentage of credit reports that contain errors. While there seems to be some disagreement, estimates range from 1 out of every 3 (on the low end) to as high as 90%! Here’s a “run down” on error estimates.
Percentage of Credit Reports Than Contain Mistakes
Attorney General of NY 1/3
Consumers Union 48%
US Congress 1/2
Charles Givens Organization 90%
So no matter who you believe, it’s clear that way too many credit reports have errors. So even if you think you have good credit, it might be well worth your while to get a copy of your credit report and take a careful look at it.
2. The law is on your side!
In 1972 Congress passed the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to curb abuses by the credit bureaus. The FCRA is the governing federal law on the issue of credit reporting.
Under the FCRA, you have the right to dispute negative information in your credit report. The credit bureaus then have 30 days to verify the disputed information with the creditor. If they cannot (or do not) verify the disputed information within 30 days, it must be deleted from your credit report.
3. Even accurate data in your credit report must be deleted if it’s not verified.
If you’ve done any research into credit repair you’ve no doubt run across statements to the effect of “Negative data in your credit report that is accurate cannot be removed.” As stated above, the FCRA stipulates that any disputed information must be verified within 30 days, or it must be deleted. The “burden of proof” (in a manner of speaking), is on the credit bureaus.
4. Credit repair DOES WORK in most cases!
You’ll hear all kinds of opinions as to whether “credit repair” (i.e. efforts to improve your credit report) can be successful. The truth is, credit repair doesn’t always work perfectly. But in almost every case the process of credit repair will result in at least SOME improvement in your credit score, and most often that improvement is substantial. So credit repair does work!
Now you may be wondering why repairing your credit score would be of any concern to the credit bureaus. After all, don’t they make money by compiling and distributing credit reports regardless of whether those reports are negative or positive?
Well, yes they do, BUT…they also make money (a GREAT DEAL of money) selling names of people with poor credit, to creditors who have a specific interest in those people.
So why would some creditors want to bother with people who have poor credit? Because they know they can charge higher interest rates to those people, because the “bad credit risks” have no choice but to pay those exorbitant rates or forgo credit altogether!
Besides, investigating disputed information costs the credit bureaus time, manpower, and money. They have nothing to gain, and plenty to lose, when people take the initiative and dispute negative information on their credit report.
5. It’s perfectly legal to hire third party help to repair your credit.
There are plenty of “Credit Repair Agencies” who will help you repair your credit. But if a credit bureau even suspects you’re using such an agency, it’s likely they’ll try to discourage you from doing so. In some cases they’ll even go so far as to send you a letter stating that use of such agencies is illegal.
Such statements are (to put it as politely as possible) garbage! In fact there are laws that regulate such agencies. Now laws don’t exist to regulate illegal activity, except to ban it! When was the last time you saw laws that regulate what cocaine dealers must do to operate within the law?
Once again, repairing a bad credit report just isn’t in the best interest of the major credit bureaus. But unless you happen to be the CEO of one of those bureaus, the most important question as far as you’re concerned is “What’s in MY best interest?”
First of all, get a copy of your credit report and examine it. You can get a free copy of your report at http://www.annualcreditreport.com.
Secondly, take steps to improve your credit report. You can go about it in one of two ways.
1. Hire third party help.
If repairing your own credit report sounds too intimidating, there are plenty of credit repair agencies that will do it for you. But if you take this approach, there are three things you need to know.
First, they’re not cheap. Expect to pay from $2,500 to $5,000 for an attorney or $795 to $2,000 or more for a credit repair agency. Secondly, they don’t always do it right! Some will manage to get the negative data on your credit report removed while actually doing damage to your “credit score” (a calculated number used by creditors to evaluate you credit worthiness.) Finally, many are outright scams!
That’s not to say you shouldn’t hire third party help. If you do your “home work,” ask for references, and carefully select a reputable credit repair agency, you’ll be much better off than if you had done nothing. Still, if you’re willing to do a little work, there’s a much better alternative.
2. Repair you own credit report.
Anyone can fix their own credit report. If you can write a few letters, address, stamp, and mail them you can repair your own credit. There’re plenty of good books
Bad credit will cost you many thousands of dollars and limitless anxiety. Even if you have fair credit, fixing you credit could still save you thousands in interest payments over the years.
Credit repair software is an excellent way to repair your credit. Get started today!
First and foremost myth related to credit score improvement is ‘If I have a credit card I no longer use, I should close it.’
Reason why I call it a wrong notion is since you already have a credit card open for some time now; it would have been taken into consideration by the credit score FICO algorithm. Since Length of credit history is one important component of your credit score rating , it would have given you an overall higher rating as you have a very high utilisation for some time now nor are you maxing out the credit limit.
Second credit score myth is ‘I have a negative of 500 $ on a credit card, and it is been there for almost 5 years, should I pay and close it’
Since you are thinking of paying for deletion you should have the negative deleted from your credit score report. But DO NOT CLOSE YOUR ACCOUNT. Reason is once you close your account after paying; the history would no longer be that beneficial to you for a higher credit score as much as if it were open.
Third credit score myth is if you want to increase your credit score, you should open a new account. This is the worst affecting myth. Your current credit behaviour is most observed in your credit score. Your current enquiries for new credit card will be prominent in all these credit reports. So if your strategy was to open a new credit line thereby increasing the credit limit and improving your credit score, the harm caused by recent enquiry would be much more than any nominal benefit you could have got by this activity.
Fourth myth of credit score improvement is you can put your name on the credit card of an unrelated person as Authorised user, whereby you don’t access his card but since you are mentioned as an authorised user you will benefit from any positives accrued on the credit card over last two years. Reason why I call it a myth is because you are no longer going to get benefit. This is considered as a malpractice as a lot of credit repair companies have unduly exploited it and from 2009 onwards, the FICO scores have devised ways to identify such activity. So no use having your name as authorised user on someone else’s card.
Fifth myth is that credit score is all that you need to get good credit. No, this is not the case. You need to have the paying capacity for the amount of loan you apply for. Credit score determines that you have a good credit record but your loan capacity would be determined by your sources of income, your employment history and your declared taxable income. There have been cases when people have been rejected a loan based on the criteria that their taxable income was not up to the mark to get that huge loan.
One thing you should avoid is using short cuts to increasing credit score. In the short run you might get some leverage but in the long run it would only affect your credit score adversely. Nothing can be more devastating than finding your used strategy and extra hours of work put to improve the credit score has been wasted.
One advise would be to talk to similar people with similar issues and a unique place would be the forums or boards where people help each other and share their success stories and ideas. Here you would also find that the common myths of negatives on your credit score and the ongoing controversies are addressed by some key experts.
Myths related to credit score are immense. Some feel that people who are not having a credit score are the ones without any bank ready to pay them. That is not the case. Some people who do not prefer to take loans and buy on their own accounts, especially the Business community are the ones who are having no credit files.
Some feel that if there are some negatives on your credit score, the existing employer might ask you to leave. This is not the case, there haven’t be any such cases till date.
Please do not fall prey to identity theft because of some myths that you have to reveal your personal details for a particular transaction. Only banks tend to ask for certain particulars from you. Please do not reveal your passwords or credit card details to anyone else who might misues it.
Gladwyn Riggs is a well known expert in the specialised field of Credit Score improvement. He has come up with an amazing Hand Holding Guide for Rapid Credit Score Increase.
