Credit Repair. Increase Your Credit Score!

When you struggle with debt issues, it likely will be no surprise to you to find that an account you haven’t been able to pay has been turned over to collections. This means your original creditor probably wrote off your bad debts and sold the account to an agency specializing in debt collections.

The biggest issue most debtors think about when accounts are sent to collections is the harassing, aggressive tactics often used by debt agencies who want their money. However, concerning your financial status, there are more important issues at stake. When your account is sent to collections it has a significant impact on your credit report and score. Read more…

You’ve put forth a lot of work in repairing your credit. You have filed your disputes with the credit reporting bureaus. You figure you have it all taken care of until weeks pass by and you have received no reply from the credit bureaus.

Credit bureaus have the legal obligation to reply to your correspondence within a 30 day time frame. The Fair Credit Reporting Act states that the bureaus must have their investigation completed on your behalf within four weeks. In some cases things do not go as planned. So what do you do now? Read more…

One of the hardest parts of credit repair is getting new credit that can be used to rebuild your credit score. If you’ve come across prepaid cards in your quest for new credit, you’ve probably seen the advertisements that these cards improve your credit score. Unfortunately, that’s only remotely true.

The truth is that prepaid cards don’t help your credit score – at least not the credit score that most banks rely on to approve your credit cards and loans. It won’t help the credit score that keeps you from paying security deposits or the one that insurance companies use to price your insurance. Read more…

When you are dealing with a lot of creditor debt, it can seem overwhelming to attempt credit repair on your own. But the reality is credit repair can be done by the consumers themselves. It will take time and effort to get the job done but once credit repair has been successfully achieved, your financial future will be more secured and you’ll be offered better financing deals, interest rates, and insurance premiums.

Preparing to go through the process of credit repair on your own requires a lot of focus and organization. It is important to remember that there is one specific element of the organization process that can make or break your success at credit repair. Read more…

One of the biggest myths about credit scoring is that you only have one credit score. The truth is that you have several credit scores. While most people know about the FICO score because of it’s name and presence in the credit world, there’s another credit score to think about: the VantageScore.

The VantageScore was created by the three major credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. According to its website, the Vantage Score is used by the top five credit card issuers, four top banks, and two top auto lenders. This makes the VantageScore worth considering in credit repair. Read more…

It’s easy to put off credit repair, especially when you don’t really understand credit reports and credit scores. Maybe you’ve attempted credit repair before and it didn’t happen the way you thought it would. There are plenty of benefits to repairing your credit now, instead of waiting for another day. Read more…

How did we get anywhere before GPS? Anytime you’re going somewhere unfamiliar, you need directions to tell you how to get there. The same thing goes for credit repair. This is probably the first – and hopefully only – time you’ve ever had to repair your credit. It’s only natural that you don’t know what to do or when to do it. Even after you’ve read the guides, tutorials, and tips, you can still be lost on what steps to take. What you need is a plan. Read more…

Did you know there are laws that protect your rights before, during, and even after credit repair? Repairing your credit requires you to work with giant companies who have millions more dollars than you. These companies would have complete power over the credit repair process, if the government hadn’t put a few rules in place to keep these companies in check. The law isn’t perfect and some companies find loopholes, but knowing the law can help you get results. Read more…

If your find that month after month it is becoming more difficult to meet daily expenses using only the cash you earn from your job, it can be tempting to rely on your credit cards to ‘make it through’ until the next payday. This tact is not beneficial to credit repair or debt relief and can find you under a heavier debt burden you can’t afford to pay.

In theory, it’s nice to have the backup resource of a credit card for things you need, using your credit card as an extension of your income is dangerous territory. If you can not afford the cash to pay for the items outright, you certainly can not afford the fees and interest incurred throughout a billing cycle. Read more…

It’s one thing to fix your bad credit after you’ve messed it up, but cleaning up the mess someone else made of your credit won’t be as fun. Credit repair after identity theft is no walk in the park, but it’s something that has to be done if you want to get your credit back to where it’s supposed to be.

Fraud Alert

When you realize your identity has been stolen, the first thing you should do is place a fraud alert on your credit report. When businesses check your credit, the fraud alert lets them know that your identity has been compromised and they should take extra steps to make sure it’s actually you applying for credit. Read more…

In credit repair, it’s important to have all the facts. Misinformation could make the difference between credit repair success and failure. As you research credit, you might come across some information that’s half true, some that people believe to be true, and some that are outright lies. Read on to find out what’s real and what isn’t real about your credit score. Read more…

There’s a negative stigma attached to bankruptcy, but the truth is that it’s the only way out for many consumers struggling with bad credit. When credit repair isn’t working, how do you know if bankruptcy is the path you should take?

The benefit of bankruptcy is that it temporarily stops collection activity on most of your debts. Once you file bankruptcy, you get what’s called an automatic stay. This action prevents creditors and collectors from calling you, sending letters about your debts, garnishing your wages, or levying your bank account. You may even able to stop foreclosure and eviction after filing bankruptcy. Note that some creditors may get special permission from the court to keep collecting from you. Read more…

We’ve all seen the ads from seemingly reputable companies promising to repair our credit histories and erase all the negatives that are preventing us from being creditworthy to lenders. The companies guarantee there is a fix for bad credit and for those desperate in debt and facing credit issues, the guarantee sounds like the perfect resolution.

The problem for consumers is there is no resolution, let alone an overnight credit fix. Scammers are finding more intelligent ways to lure in consumers and take their money. Not only are the scammers profiting from desperate debtors, they are also placing their customers in danger of engaging in illegal practices. Read more…

Repairing credit often takes an extreme focus on allocating monies earned towards debt payoff. For some people who are already finding it hard to get by each paycheck, it can be easy to end up with nothing to live on several days before the next payday. Having not many options to survive until then, people have turned to payday loans as a means to get by until your next check is available.

Why Payday Loans Hurt

The problem with payday loans is not immediately apparent to those in need. They see a way to get quick cash with the worry of a credit check. Their focus is on the money at the end of the transaction and not necessarily the consequences that present after the deal is done.

When you take a payday loan, it is true you do get cash almost immediately. It is also true that payday lenders do not require a credit check. Essentially all you need to get a payday loan is proof of identification, proof of employment, and a bank account. Show up with your driver’s license, pay stub and a blank check and you’ve got yourself a loan. Read more…

When they say, “suffering a job loss” they’re not kidding. Losing a job is definitely a miserable experience that’s worsened by a bleak job market. If you’re going through a period of unemployment, it’s important that you keep your credit in good standing and repair is after things go bad. Many employers now use credit checks as part of the hiring process, so bad credit can keep you unemployed.

Sign up for unemployment benefits. If you lost your job through no fault of your own, you may be able to collect an unemployment check through your state’s unemployment office. In some states, you can get unemployment for up to 99 weeks. Make this money stretch as far as you can.

Unemployment checks are sometimes barely enough to cover all the expenses, but stay current on all your credit cards and loans, as much as you can. If you foresee problems making your payments, contact your credit card issuer and your lenders for hardship options. You might also contact a consumer credit counseling agency for help lowering your credit card interest rates and payments. Staying on top of your payments is key to protecting your credit and credit repair. Read more…