Credit repair can be an excellent method to getting your credit back on track. There are some things you need to know in order to do it properly.

Restoring Your Credit Using Credit Repair

By: Jordan FeRoss

If you are one to the thousands of people who have a low credit score and are ready to make the necessary changes to fix the problem then you can start the process with a credit repair program. Many companies offer credit repair services and can help you get your credit score heading in the right direction. These companies and their employees specialize in credit repair and know how to go about fixing your credit.

The credit repair company will have one of their counselors work with you making sure that all federal, state and local laws are followed. Most of the rules pertain to the release of information from creditors and the credit bureaus. Complying with the laws will allow the company to be more effective in helping you to rebuild your credit.

One of the first steps that a credit repair company will take is to contact the credit bureau and have any erroneous or outdated information removed from your credit report. So have your records and information ready so that you can dispute any debts or entries that are questionable. We trust in those that run credit bureaus to remove old information in a timely manner unfortunately this is not always the case. Using a credit repair company is the best way to get the information removed. Generally, the credit bureaus will not act on the word of a consumer unless you are persistent and your proof is rock solid.

If you provide the credit repair company with good proof to take to the credit bureau ninety percent of the time the bureau will remove the information. Once the bad information is removed from your credit history, you should see your credit rating start going back up.

Another option in the arsenal to rebuild your credit is a debt consolidation loan. This loan will allow you to pay off multiple debts and then make one payment generally at lower interest. Along with the lower interest, the payment on this loan should be considerably lower than the combined payments of the debts you paid off. Your credit repair company can help you to acquire a consolidation loan. A consolidation loan helps your credit in two ways. First, your credit score will raise when all those bad debts are shown as paid in full. Then making timely payments on the loan itself will raise your score.

Some credit repair companies will allow you to make payments directly to them and they will distribute your money to your creditors. Even though a third party is distributing your money, you are responsible for the payments but on the other hand, you also get the benefit of the payments being made on time.

Using a credit repair program administered by a qualified company is something many people need to take advantage of. If you faithfully stick to the program, you will se a major change in your credit score. A credit repair program could be the last line of defense between you and financial disaster.

About the Author

This article is brought to you courtesy of Jordan FeRoss and the credit repair team at MSI CREDIT SOLUTIONS. If you need additional information on credit repair services then please visit http://www.msicredit.com

(ArticlesBase SC #892636)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Restoring Your Credit Using Credit Repair

Credit bureaus are in the business of selling your information.  They don’t like people complaining about them or saying their information is wrong.

Did You Know We All Have a New Secret Credit Score?

By: John Dow

Just when you think that you’ve seen it all on the greed and deception in the financial sector, something new pops up. Back on February 14th Experian (one of the top three national credit bureaus), decided that they no longer were going to provide Fico credit scores to consumers.

There’s different speculations on why, but regardless of their reasons, this is not good for the consumers. Credit bureaus have always had secrets, they measure almost every activity that they receive reports on from lenders and credit card companies. They use sophisticated algorithms that are based on historical information to categorize every possible aspect of consumer credit worthiness.

Experian will still provide Fico credit scores to lenders, that’s one of their biggest profit generators. But they will no longer sell or provide the Fico credit score to individuals. The lax laws that govern credit in this country are weak at best. And there is nothing that stops the credit bureaus from doing anything other than they must respond in set amount of time.

In fact Experian has demonstrated the worst track record of any of the top three in every consumer credit area. As we reported two weeks ago, Experian makes it difficult to report and correct incorrect information unless you are a paying customer. You cannot talk to a human; just access a voice actuated phone response system that is difficult to navigate.

You can still buy a credit score from Experian but it will be one of their own internal products and may not compare to your Fico credit score. One of the given reasons for eliminating selling Fico credit scores to consumers is that Fair Issac (the company that invented the system used to create Fico credit scores) made unreasonable demands in compensation. Translation, it’s all about the money.

Experian has been trying to pitch their own scoring methods for years due to greater profits and now have finally dumped the Fico credit score access to consumers so they don’t have to pay Fair Issac any commissions. Considering Experian could have easily raised the fee to consumers to compensate for the Fair Issac cost, why would they just quit? Once again, it’s about the money.

So why is this such a big deal to consumers? Two reasons. One is that most mortgage lenders use an average of the three Fico credit scores they receive from the major credit bureaus. So if you have a missing score, how are you going to address the lowest score to bring up the average? You don’t know one of the three, and that’s not a very good thing.

Being denied access to something as important as your Fico credit score is a problem in other areas too. Prospective employers and insurance companies often use your Fico credit score to determine eligibility and rates. Leasing companies (both for real estate and cars) do too. So this can impact you in more ways than just mortgages.

As most are aware (you would have to be dead, living in a cave, or on a desert island not to know) a major part of the recent financial crisis is closely connected to the credit and lending area. If people can’t get credit, they can’t buy large purchase items like houses, cars, or even large appliances.

So why in the world would Experian choose now to pull this on consumers? One of the reasons is that their revenues are down and they are trying to cut costs. That’s reasonable on the surface, but not reasonable at the expense of consumers. Credit transactions are way down, so Experian is trying to make every dollar they can, no matter what impact it has on consumers.

So what can consumers do about this new secret Fico credit score? It’s not illegal; there are no laws that cover this type of scenario. Experian obviously doesn’t care, and neither do the lenders who choose to buy the Fico credit score. Which leaves you with only one choice.

Write to your congressman and senator. If enough people start to complain and bring this to the attention of our elected officials, they can amend the current laws. The laws were just amended in 2003 to require the lender who denied you credit to furnish the credit bureaus and reports that they based this decision on so that you could review and take some kind of corrective action.

But the problem with the law now is that they did not specify that the credit reports supplied to the lenders and the credit reports supplied to the consumer be the same. The intent was there, but as usual our friends at Experian have found a loophole and are taking advantage of it.

To get any action from your elected official, I would suggest you call and write. And if you get no response, don’t stop calling and writing until you do. This is important enough to continue until there is some type of solution. You can find your senator and representative contact information here: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/.

About the Author

Need help with your Credit Score? New Clean Credit is a website that provides Credit Repair advice. Learn more about Experian and other credit bureaus. Learn how to repair your credit score. Go here to learn more: Free Credit Repair Help.

(ArticlesBase SC #806752)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Did You Know We All Have a New Secret Credit Score?

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Loan modifications are all over the place. There are many questions surrounding them and what the effects on credit can be.  This article answers some of the questions that may come up.

How a Loan Modification Affects Credit

By Kevin Redmon

A loan modification may be the solution for many homeowners to avoid foreclosure proceedings. The process involves negotiation on a loan in which the lender and borrower agree to adjustments on the original mortgage terms. The outcome of this form of negotiation can include lowered monthly payments, a reduced interest rate and even a lowered principal loan amount. The loan adjustments may be temporary or permanent, depending on the individual homeowner situation.

Credit damage will invariably turn up as a question for many homeowners seeking to prevent foreclosure. The following answers questions about whether a loan modification may affect your credit profile and what you can do about it.

Loan Modification, Credit Damage and Delinquent Payments

Credit damage is not the direct outcome from this form of loss mitigation negotiation. In fact, credit damage is usually the consequence of delinquent loan payments or failing to honor the original loan terms. Many homeowners already have negative marks on their credit profiles due to late and missed payments.

Loan Modification, Credit Damage and Principal Reduction

In some cases, loss mitigation negotiation may include a reduction in the principal amount due on the mortgage. Depending on the financial institution, some lenders may report the lowered loan amount as “paid less than full balance,” or something to that effect. While an unfavorable report, negotiation on a loan that leads to a principal reduction can often signal to future lenders the commitment to resolving a tough financial situation and taking steps to repair credit, especially when delinquent loan payments are already a factor.

Prevent Credit Damage With Professional Loss Mitigation Negotiation

In order to get the best outcome, loss mitigation negotiation should be carried by qualified loan modification companies. Reputable loan modification companies can successfully pilot the entire loan negotiation process, including the manner in which your lender reports the agreement to the major credit bureaus. A qualified loss mitigation specialist can bring a loan modification to terms on your behalf and negotiate to protect your credit profile.

Preventing foreclosure with loss mitigation negotiation is often the best way to avoid considerable damage to your credit rating. A professional firm can help protect your home, recover your mortgage situation and get you back on track.

Kevin Redmon covers loss mitigation negotiation articles for the website M3 Strategy, specializing in mortgages, loan modifications and short refinancing through their Finance Blog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Redmon
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-a-Loan-Modification-Affects-Credit&id=3018500

There are a lot of myths about your credit score that are put out by various businesses as a way of scaring you into using their services.  Here are four of the most common myths that you need to know about.

Four Damaging Myths About Your Credit Score

By: Steve Diamond

Banish these myths from the way you handle your credit! Your score will be as good as it can be when you know the truth about how these actions affect your credit score.

Damaging Myth Number One: Closing inactive accounts will raise your score.

This is a widely held belief, but it’s false. Closing accounts, whether or not they have zero balances, whether or not they’re inactive, will often lower your scores. Why? Because part of your credit score is based on the ratio of your credit card debt to your total available credit. If you close a zero-balance account with significant available credit, this ratio gets smaller. It’s as simple as that.

On the other hand, you can also have too much of a good thing (too much available credit compared to your ability to pay). If you’re concerned that this may be true in your case, then you can close zero-balance accounts that you don’t need. If you plan to close more than one zero-balance account, wait a few months in between. Each closing will initially affect your score adversely, and it can take months for the scores to be adjusted upward.

Damaging Myth Number Two: It doesn’t matter what balance is on each card; it’s the total that counts.

Again, this is untrue. Another part of your score is calculated by looking at the debt to available credit ratio on each card individually. Ideally, keep this under 30% on every one of your cards. For example, if your credit line on a card is $2500, keep the balance below $750.

Pay your debt down instead of moving it around to other revolving accounts. Moving it around (for instance, moving balances to zero or low interest credit cards) can lower your scores. With all the offers for low initial rates, many consumers are moving their credit card balances over and over again, trying to keep their accounts at the lower rates. If you’re moving balances among accounts that you already have open, and if you can do it without going over 30% on each account, then this is okay. But if it means applying for a new account each time, don’t do it. Each application will lower your score.

Damaging Myth Number Three: More accounts and greater available credit always means a higher score.

Not true. Don’t open new accounts you don’t need trying to increase your available credit. It can backfire. You need only four open and active accounts to establish great credit scores. Apply for credit only as you truly need it.

Many folks fall for department store promotions. The offer to get 10 or 20% off if you open an account may look like a great deal, but the activity can be detrimental to your credit scores. Don’t open accounts thinking it will raise your score, as it may not help at all. Have credit cards, but use them wisely. It is actually viewed that someone that has a good history of responsible credit use is a lower risk than someone with no credit cards at all. For the best score, ideally you should have a mix of installment credit (cars, furniture, etc) along with credit cards and mortgages.

Damaging Myth Number Four: Your credit reports are complete and accurate, even if you never make sure of it.

If you have ever had a collection account, judgment or tax lien, don’t assume that the creditor, collection agency or taxing body will report the resolution to all three bureaus. That goes for erroneous reporting you find on your report too. Don’t assume that because you paid off a collection, judgment, or lien that it is immediately reported to the bureaus. Even when you close an account, it is often not efficiently reported as such to all bureaus. It is not uncommon to see such activity reported to just one bureau, even when the adverse account was being reported on your credit report by two or all three bureaus.

Unfortunately, agencies and creditors are quick to report you when you owe them money or have made a recent mistake, but they can be very slow to report the final resolution to that account when you have paid them. This problem is magnified when there has been a bankruptcy. Accounts that have been involved in a bankruptcy may have been moved between the creditors and various collection agencies long before the filing for bankruptcy protection. The creditor is reporting the account as delinquent and is likely reported it as a charge-off.

But the creditor has also sold the account to a collection agency, hoping to get a small percentage of their loss back if the agency can collect anything. This goes for credit cards, department store accounts and even installment loans like auto loans. The account is sold back and forth between creditors and agencies.

The problem is that after one files for bankruptcy protection, and after the time has passed that it takes to successfully bankrupt the debts, the accounts may be sold multiple times. In addition, it is not uncommon to see an account go to collection after it has been discharged in a bankruptcy. You are thinking that you have a fresh start to rebuilding your credit after the bankruptcy, yet there may be new collection accounts dated after the discharge which has a huge impact on your already damaged credit scores.

What’s the remedy? Watch your credit reports like a hawk! No one else cares nearly as much as you do about making sure they’re accurate. You have to follow up with each individual bureau and supply them with copies of your discharge and lists of creditors to insure that everything is reflected accurately on your overall credit report. It can take years to see a rise in your credit scores if you don’t follow through with this. It is your responsibility to watch any such activity and make sure that all three bureaus have the most recent and accurate information possible. You can write and/or file online disputes with each individual bureau and supply copies of paid receipts and any correspondence you may have to insure that your record is recent and correct.

Resources

You have the right to one free copy of your credit report per year from each of the big three credit reporting agencies. They don’t have to be requested at the same time. For more information go to AnnualCreditReport.com.

These are the big three credit reporting agencies:

Experian

NCAC

PO Box 9556

Allen TX 75013

888-397-3742

http://www.experian.com/

TransUnion

Customer Disclosure Center

Trans Union Consumer Relations

PO Box 2000

Chester, PA 19022-2000

800-888-4213

http://www.transunion.com/

Equifax Information Services

P O BOX 740256

Atlanta, GA 30374

800-997-2493

http://www.equifax.com/

About the Author

Steve Diamond is an authority on money management, debt reduction, and the laws of true abundance. He hosts the web site Necessary Virtues Personal Finance at http://finance.necessaryvirtues.com/. The site offers a wide array of resources to help with debt reduction, debt consolidation, and lifelong prosperity.

(ArticlesBase SC #44051)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Four Damaging Myths About Your Credit Score

There are many programs offering to help you build your credit, but you don’t need to pay for a service.  There are simple and easy ways to build your credit  fast.

How to Build Credit – The Easier and Faster Way

By David Kamau

The question as to how to build credit is paramount for people who have no credit. Just as a side note, building credit is not the same as rebuilding or restoring credit. What’s the difference?

Well, building credit means that you have never obtained any form of reportable credit or loan. Your credit file is either shows no activity or is non-existent. It can also mean that your credit is slow and needs to be built up. In other words, you’re starting from scratch or near scratch.

Rebuilding, restoring or repairing credit means that you previously had established some form or other of credit, but now you have negative items on your report, along with the commensurate low score. In other words, your history is tainted or damaged.

This article addresses the first two situations (starting from scratch or near scratch).

Everyone needs to start building credit at some point – that is unless they have chosen a hermit or other atypical lifestyle. And the good thing is, starting out isn’t that difficult.

Getting approved for that first credit card can seem like an overwhelming task. When you apply for first time, they check to see if you have credit (a catch 22 of sorts).

But today some lenders make it easier for your first time. If you have applied for a few credit cards and were turned down, don’t worry. A little change of strategy will almost certainly put plastic in your wallet in no time.

One common mistake that people tend to make when applying for credit cards is applying for the incorrect card, that doesn’t fit their situation. The major cards like Visa, Master Card, American Express and Discover can prove difficult to come by for the first time card applicant.

But finance cards are much easier to get. Finance cards are issued via a store or franchise, and can only be used at that business or its affiliates. Some finance cards, for example, include Target, Best Buy and Sears cards.

Other easier to get credit cards are those issued by gas companies.

Though finance cards do not carry as much importance on your credit report as a major credit card, they are a good way to start out. It shows responsibility for a new card holder.

College students are luckier in that sometimes get credit card offers at school, often from more reputable companies with better rates and conditions. The companies even offer incentives such as free lunch for applicants. Why do they do this?

Because a college student is likely to get a well-paying job once they graduate. The company is investing in you today to get your business tomorrow.

If you still find it difficult to get a finance credit card you may want to consider a secured credit card.

Secured cards are issued based upon a deposit you make as the credit limit. It may sound strange to some to pay $500 to get a limit for a $500 credit card, but a secured card can be a major positive impact on your credit report.

When applying for a secured credit card, keep two things in mind: that the card will still report your credit limit and, depending on the creditor, the card might not show up as a secured on your credit report.

It is essential the issuing company reports your credit limit. This is because of the way credit scores are calculated. To score well, your debt to limit ratio should be less than 30% on revolving accounts.

Also note that if your secured card doesn’t report the credit limit, the credit reporting bureaus will use the total amount charged as the credit limit and this will look as though your debt to limit ratio is 100% (not good).

Additionally, it is extremely important to make sure your card is not reported as a secured. Ask before signing on the dotted line. If your credit card company reports your card as being a secured card, this will impact negatively on your overall score.

Another way to go is by taking up offers of pre-approved cards that come via junk mail. The downside with these is that the limits offered are usually low ($300 on average) and there are upfront and annual fees involved. The upfront fees can eat up your most of the allowed limit therefore you end with an almost fully secured credit card.

If you choose to go the pre-approved way to build your credit, be aware that some of those companies have been known for some questionable business practices and even trickery. Read the fine print carefully or ask a knowledgeable friend for help.

Download a FREE insider report that shows you easy and quick credit building steps and strategies. David Kamau had rebuild his own credits and offers credit building tips on his site.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Kamau
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Build-Credit—The-Easier-and-Faster-Way&id=1203594

Credit repair allows regular people to fix their own credit.  Sometimes you can do it yourself. Sometimes the bureaus won’t listen to you.  I tried to do it myself and didn’t get anything removed, even a false account. Once I paid a lawyer to do it, he got the false things removed and the inquiries.

Professional Credit Repair Secrets Exposed

By: Weldon Marquez

You might be shocked to learn that there are actually several credit repair secrets that you can use to fix your own credit. Indeed it is true… these are closely held credit repair secrets in the world of credit repair only because is these methods got out, their might be some credit pros out of work. So it only makes sense why they would want to keep these a secret

Removing Negative Items
One of the top tips anyone can learn when trying to repair their own credit is disputing negative items. This is the most important thing you can do. This is easily the most protected credit repair secret, simply because it is the meat and potatoes of credit repair.

Seeing It Through
Getting items removed from your credit report is pretty easy, however it takes time and patience. This is where most people fail. They start, but never finish because they are not accustomed to seeing a job through to the end.

You Need Your Credit Report
Essentially, disputing items on your credit report is a fairly simple process. In order to get started, you will need a copy of your credit report. You can’t fix what you don’t know is broken. There are many resources available to get a copy of your credit report for free – please see my site below to learn how to get a free copy of your credit report.

Determine What You Want Removed
There will probably be a few negative or incorrect items on your report, make a list of them. This is a fairly simple process as well, but it helps you to stay organised for in the next part of the process, you are going to start writing letters to each of the agencies in order to get these items removed, so you will need to be very organized.

It’s Time To Write
This is the most tedious part of the process, however the most important. In reality, this is really the only part of the process that basically matters! Anyway, ( and here’s where I really show the important part of the credit correction techniques I’ve been talking about ) what you’re going to do is write a letter about one actual negative credit item and send it to the credit bureau that is reporting it. For instance, if Equifax is reporting that you’ve got an account on your report that’s not anything you are acquainted with, you want to write a letter to them saying so.

Their Burden, Your Benefit
the process of writing letters to dispute items on your credit report is so effective as the credit laws in this era are aimed toward the consumer. Meaning that if the credit bureau cannot show beyond a shadow of a doubt that the account is yours, they’ll have to get rid of it by law. Also, if they can’t prove it’s your account inside 30 days, it’ll have to be removed ( another one of my credit fixing strategies ). As you can see, it’s a extraordinarily effective process, and the explanation why credit pros keep these credit repair systems heavily guarded.

Be certain to be extremely concise and to the point when writing these letters. Make them short and direct, and be somewhat stern in your tone. You need these people to understand you mean business, and because of that, you are not going to settle having this item on your credit report.

So there you have it – that is the whole process in brief. After you start writing letters, it is going to take about a month to start seeing any results, and maybe longer, but if you keep it going, you’ll have your credit score cleaned up in virtually no time.

About the Author

Looking to repair your credit? Dave Williams has been working as a credit repair expert for over 15 years and has helped countless people with bad credit get their scores over 700 using professional credit repair secrets! Visit his site today www.urgentcreditrepair.com for more FREE information.

(ArticlesBase SC #1256214)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Professional Credit Repair Secrets Exposed

Raising your credit score can be achieved through several methods.  How ever you do it make sure it doesn’t come back to hurt you down the road.  Here are some tips that can really help.

Raising Credit Score – 3 Tricks That Helped Others to Clean Up Credit in Less Than a Month

By Irena Bocheva

Raising credit score is not hard once you start thinking outside the credit box. Most of the 35 million Americans with less than stellar credit have embarked on the traditional way of fixing credit score-financial discipline, careful budget planning, patience and dedication. A small percent of Americans, however, hove found there are a lot easier and faster ways to fix FICO score. The only thing required is knowledge about the credit system and various loopholes in it.

Here are 3 simple tips that will help you understand how fast credit repair works:

1 The collection agency strategy.

Contrary to what you think, paying off an old collection can actually lower your credit score. Why? Because it will upgrade the account status to “current”. The bad debt (although now paid) will continue to impact your score adversely and will stay on your report for additional 7 years. If you want to fix collection accounts, you have to approach collection agencies in a different ways. There are two things you have to keep in mind. 1 Collection agencies usually pay pennies for each dollar that you owe and still make a profit even if you settle for 20 % or less.2 A paid off collection account is still considered a negative item. A deleted collection account, on the other hand, will bring an instant increase in your credit score. These two facts will help you understand which are the two main priorities when dealing with collection agencies-get collection agencies to agree on a very low settlement amount and convince them to delete the item once you pay the settlement. There are various strategies you can use in order to achieve these 2 objectives.

2 The 623 Dispute strategy

Dispute 623 allows you to dispute a listing with the original creditor. In such cases you are not disputing the validity of the whole account (the debt is not mine), but the validity of a specific item within the listing ( wrong account balance, wrong account limit, I didn’t pay late that month etc).Contrary to what you might think, there are very few original creditors who keep decent records. Most credit card and mortgage lending companies only keep records for a 13-18 months. Why?Because it takes a lot of money to preserve various data in your files as well as to transport data from one system to another ( in case of acquisition). So if your debt dates back to more than a year and a half ago, the original creditors might not be able to prove that you are wrong. If the collection agencies have no record to prove that the specific listing is correct, they are required to remove the negative items from your record.

3 The lawsuit strategy.

Stop thinking about yourself as the victim in the credit game. You have more rights than you think. For example, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act you are allowed to dispute any inaccurate, outdated, incomplete, questionable and ambiguous item on your record. If credit bureaus fail to come up with a decision on your case within 30 days, they are in violation of FCRA. Collection agencies are also breaking the law if they don’t validate the debt( upon your request), but keep it in your credit file; if they still call you after you send them a cease and desist letter; if they claim to garnish your wages, seize property or have you arrested. In such cases, you are entitled to sue the respective agency. When it comes to credit repair, you have numerous rights. The more you know about these rights, the better your chances to raise credit score fast.

Raising credit score is not hard. There are various tricks and little known secrets that will help you boost your score in no time. Once you start thinking outside the box, you’ll be surprised to find how easy credit repair actually is.

Author: Irena Bocheva
http://fix-credit-score.info/
Do you really think that fixing credit takes a long time? Click on the link above and learn about the fastest ways to raise credit score.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Irena_Bocheva
http://EzineArticles.com/?Raising-Credit-Score—3-Tricks-That-Helped-Others-to-Clean-Up-Credit-in-Less-That-a-Month&id=3682175

Did you know that your credit is affected by your gender?  It’s true.  Here are some tips for woman to help boost their credit. Some of the tips can apply to men as well.

Five Things Every Woman Should Know Before Signing Any Credit Application

By: Jay Peters

If you are married (or plan to be) I will share with you five vital keys every married person should know before signing any credit application.

VITAL KEY #1: According to the Federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act (FECOA) creditors cannot deny consumers access to credit because of their sex. However, on average (in surveys) it’s reported that women earn less money than men. Regardless of what the FECOA states, the relationship of credit to income is very strong.

In our society if you make less money you will get less credit, period. The sad fact is that women on there own have less access to credit. It’s for this reason (I believe) it is imperative that women learn and acquire more knowledge about credit than men. Knowledge is power; and in the world of credit that knowledge will often times prove to be priceless, especially for women.

VITAL KEY #2: If you are a married woman with JOINT credit (meaning all your credit accounts are jointly held with your husband) you have NO CREDIT yourself. Many women in America find this out the hard way every year when they get divorced and lose all their credit privileges since all their accounts were jointly held with their spouse. If you are a woman in this position you can greatly benefit by beginning to build your own credit in your own name starting today! The benefits are two fold.

1.) If your spouse has financial difficulties (for any reason) and is forced to file bankruptcy or their credit becomes derogatory, you and your spouse will have your credit in reserve to survive on.

2.) If you ever get divorced down the road (over 50% do and 76% in the state of California) you will NOT end up in financial hardship due to no credit and/or derogatory credit. Instead, you will have your credit to transition to and (believe me) this can be the difference between sailing off in the sunset or drowning in a storm.

VITAL KEY #3: If you are currently married (with some credit or no credit) to a spouse who has excellent credit, you can leverage their credit to build credit in your own name much faster than if you had to build it by yourself. Later, once you have established enough accounts on your own, you may choose to cancel accounts that were held jointly with your spouse.

VITAL KEY #4: If you are a single woman with excellent credit and are getting married you may want to think twice about adding your new lover to all your credit accounts. If he messes up or you end up in divorce down the road your credit will end up taking the beating (regardless of how many years you diligently spent building it up). For this reason, I strongly suggest married couples keep their credit separate. Why?

In most cases spouses have far more to lose than to gain. Naturally, some credit will have to be joint no matter what you do. If you purchase a home (which may require both incomes to qualify) this will appear as a joint account on the credit report. However, the potential abuse with a home mortgage is almost non existent as opposed to Credit Cards.

VITAL KEY #5: Spouses have more to gain by each building strong individual credit reports rather than joining all accounts and building one joint report. For obvious reasons, banks and credit card companies love the “credit ignorance” of spouses who join all their credit accounts upon marriage.

Here’s why: If you take 500,000 couples with credit before they got married, those 500,000 couples actually represent one million credit accounts and liabilities for the banks and lenders. When those couples got married, those one million credit liabilities were instantly were cut in half from one million to only 500,000. For banks this is a very advantageous situation. For the couples getting married (if they have financial trouble) the deal is a little raw. If they have trouble, although they are two people, they are represented by only one credit report. The bank now has the right to go after two different people for one account (regardless of who was financially negligent).

For moment, let’s play out the same scenario with a couple which is financially savvy (note: they’re both on the same “team” but financially savvy). In this scenario, the couple gets married, but instead of joining account each builds their individual credit reports. Now this couple (team) has not one credit report representing them but two. Metaphorically, if the perfect storm (financially) is to rise, this is the difference between the couple being in the ocean with two ships instead of one. If the one ship starts to sink, the couple can always “jump ship” to the second.

While some may criticize this thinking it is no different than buying any kind of insurance. You buy insurance not because you plan on a problem. You buy insurance because you are thinking ahead. This type of thinking is no different. However, if you want to be ahead of the pack that you need to think ahead of the pack.

I cannot tell you how many times I have talked to loving married couples in financial trouble who only WISHED they would have known about these five vital keys before they got into financial trouble. Take them, study them, apply them to your life. As I heard one woman put it “In business and in life I’ve learned to expect the best but plan for the worst”. I thought her words were brilliant. However, I have found that when I expect the best… many times I tend to get it! Take these five vital keys. Study them. Apply them. Then pass them on to someone else who can benefit from them.

About the Author

Jay Peters is the founder of Consumer Education Group which publishes the Credit Secrets Bible (in print since 1994). To receive Free Credit Tips including “how to get your credit reports for free” visit their website: http://www.TruthAboutCreditRepair.com

For media inquiries or interviews Jay may be contacted at (928) 848-1400 or email: JayPetersOnline@yahoo.com

(ArticlesBase SC #84282)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Five Things Every Woman Should Know Before Signing Any Credit Application

Credit repair on your own can be a daunting task.  The bureaus don’t want to let you change any information they have on file and if you do it yourself they may not listen.

Credit Repair and the Credit Bureau Battle

By: Ian Webber

Too Many Errors

Credit repair serves a real purpose. Credit reporting errors are much more prevalent and costly than most people realize. Over half of all credit reports have errors on them that are serious enough to cause the victim to pay higher interest rates and even to be denied for financing. Credit repair is about finding and correcting these errors, and there is more to it than most people realize.

Too Hard to Find

Many people dismiss credit repair as a process that requires no more than a cursory scan of their credit reports. Unfortunately, a quick scan of your credit reports will almost certainly leave almost all of the score-damaging errors undiscovered. To tap the real potential of credit repair requires an exploration of the credit reporting guidelines embodied by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). An understanding of the FCRA is certain to reveal a number of surprising and correctable errors. And every error caught and corrected is money in the bank.

Why Credit Repair Matters

You might be shocked at the potential cost of impaired credit. You pay interest on the money you borrow, and your interest rates are based on your credit. And it adds up. If you have a mortgage, an auto loan, and a couple of credit cards a damaged credit report could be costing you thousands of dollars each year. A small investment of time today can repay you in a tangible way for many years to come.

Sneaky Defensive Credit Bureaus

If you are going to launch a credit repair project you must adopt a somewhat skeptical attitude towards the credit bureaus. It might be handy to understand that the credit bureaus are not government agencies, nor do they have any status other than for-profit businesses. They each manage billions of pieces of data for over 200 million Americans, and they are not perfect. They are interested in maintaining accuracy, but only to the extent that it is not an economic detriment. You should also keep in mind that they often take a stand against credit repair only because it is in their best financial interest to do so.

The Problem with the FTC

The FTC in very justified in their campaign against crooked credit repair operations. The only real caveat here is that the FTC operations and press campaigns against scams can be heavy handed and unhappily omit the fact that, as in every industry, there are good guys and bad guys, and there are many excellent credit repair companies capable of significantly transforming your life.

How the Bureaus Manage Disputes

Once you decide to get your credit repair project underway you need to be conscious of the fact that you need to work thoughtfully, and even respectfully, within the credit bureau system. It is essential to understand the FCRA and to focus your disputes in areas that you have leverage, but it is equally important to understand that you will face some resistance. The credit bureaus receive mountains of disputes every day and have the right to refuse to process any request they feel is frivolous. They use this right liberally, and you need to be patient; determined, but patient.

Collectors and Credit Repair

Another somewhat recalcitrant group of participants in the credit reporting process is collectors. They are governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and in their interaction with the bureaus by the FCRA, but there are so few repercussions for failure to comply that an amazing number of errors, intentional and otherwise, slip through the cracks. And the unwary consumer pays the price.

Winning the Credit Repair Battle with Collectors

When it comes to collectors appearing on your credit report, doubt your eyes. Take the time to understand how reporting period limits work, and how collectors reset them causing collections to report many years past their legal reporting limit. And to defend yourself against any active collectors you will also need to understand how statutes of limitation work. When it comes to credit repair a little homework really pays.

Professional Credit Repair Services Work

Not everyone has the time available to master the details involved in credit repair success. Nothing can affect your financial life like your credit. You simply cannot afford to do half the job. It’s your credit, and you owe it to yourself to make sure the job is done right. Either invest in a couple of good books and put in some serious study time, or hire someone to do the job for you. Credit repair is all about the details. It’s not hard to get the results if you do it right. Good luck!

Copyright © 2009 Ian Webber. All Content. All Rights Reserved.

About the Author

Ian Webber is an expert in consumer law and credit repair. Ian is a graduate of the London School of Economics and The University of Chicago where he earned his LLM. Ian consults with one of the leading online credit repair services and is currently based in Florida.

(ArticlesBase SC #853015)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Credit Repair and the Credit Bureau Battle

If you have bad credit and have tried to get a loan, then you know how difficult it can be and if you find a place willing to loan you the money, you are sure to pay for it. This article gives some tips to help you get the best rate with bad credit.

A Poor Credit Loan – Expect to Be Punished

By Peter Kirkham

Over time, people have found themselves at the mercy of a bad credit rating, particularly during times of economic uncertainty when the joblessness rate is high and wreaks havoc on many lives across the country.

However, when there are positive changes in the wind and things are begin to look up for most of the population, this a good time to try for a poor credit loan.

These can be hard to obtain, and depending upon what you intend to use your loan for, they can come with extremely steep interest rates. But if this is what you need in order to calm your finances and set things straight, here are a few tips that may help you along the way.

First, it is important to get a hold of your personal credit report as reported by the three major bureaus.

You can order your free report or pay a $50 fee to have it sent to you via email, fax, or mail. Once you have this in your possession, you can see what the banks see when you apply for credit, and you will most likely notice that it is not pretty if you are looking for a poor credit loan.

If you have the time to do a bit of work before you proceed with the application process, you should spend some time and money on fixing a few of the most recent problems listed on this report.

There are loan calculators that you can use for free online, and these will give you a very sound idea of the interest rate you might be offered.

The rate will be calculated using your current credit score and your estimated payment amount based on the amount that you intend to borrow. The assumed interest rate you will earn, and the number of months in which you will be expected to repay the loan.

Now, you will have a better idea of whether or not you can handle the terms and stresses of another bill, especially if you are not able to consolidate your other bills will the new loan.

The poor credit loan can be offered for a mortgage, a refinance, a home equity situation, a credit card, an auto loan, or just about any other type of business that you need to tend to. Your interest rate and terms will vary greatly based upon what type of loan you are actually going for, so be sure to specify when you contact the lender of your choice.

The poor credit loan will not be offered, in most cases, if there has been a bankruptcy filed by you within two years of the application.

There are auto and credit card loans that may be available to you before this two period is over, and you should use those to re-establish your credit and payment history, but unsecured or home related loans will usually be denied before the two year mark. Be sure to save your social security number for just the one or two lenders that you decide to work with as well.

To discover more information about poor credit loans have a look at Refinance Credit.

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