Bob Halton asked:




Most people don’t pay much attention to their bills. If the amounts seem right compared to last month then out goes the payment. The fact is, there could many mistakes on your credit statements and when they accumulate overtime, they show up on your credit report thus reducing your score.

That’s a mistake that costs people thousands of dollars in high interest rates and in delinquency fees. You must frequently check your credit in order to keep track of these mistakes for all your accounts. That way you will have the peace of mind and save tons of money in interest rates.

Currently, you probably have many mistakes on your credit and you must rectify them using the steps below.

Instant Credit Report Repair Outline

1. Find an online credit resource and obtain a copy of an instant credit report for the past 2 years.

2. Filter the report and mark down and fees incurred or interest increases and compare to your accounts book.

3. Call the companies in question and rectify the matter.

This process will literally take 5 minutes but will save you thousands of dollars. After finding out they had a made a mistake the credit companies will credit your account and they may also decrease your interest rate.

This means you won’t have to pay your next months bill because of the credit and also you will save a bundle in interest charges from then onwards.

The important factor to begin the entire process is to review your credit report. By taking this first step you can rectify a lot of mistakes and save yourself money.

Leon

Tony Banks asked:




Late payments do affect your credit rating but what most consumers don’t know is that it also depends on how late your payment is made to the creditor. To start with, late payments that are made to creditors but are no later than 30 days late are not reported to the credit bureaus. So for instance, you have a credit card payment that is due on the 1st of January and you are not able to make the payment until the 27th of January.

This is considered late with the credit card company but will not show up on your credit report as a late payment. It will not show on your credit report until you are more than 30days late and it will show as a “1-time 30day late payment”.

These types of late payments usually affect your score and can have a lasting effect for about 12 months. The same goes with other types of accounts such as car payments, mortgage payments, personal loans as well as secured loans.

Even if the payment is a couple of days late, the best thing is to try and make sure it does not go beyond the 30-day point. It is also important to note that these late payments can cause your interest rate to rise on your credit cards.

This may be the case even if you are only 1 day late as opposed to 20 days late. This will vary depending on the credit card company you are dealing with. You want to check with the your creditor to find out their exact policy.

Eileen

Beth Pardue asked:




There are three main credit bureaus in the United States; Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Each bureau collects your personal and financial information which is then sold to lenders such as banks, credit unions, credit card companies, mortgage and auto loan lenders. Your credit report is the product of this collected information. Lending and credit companies use your credit information to determine if they will approve you or not and at what interest rate you will pay.

Many people are recognizing the importance of checking their own credit report to verify its accuracy and to make sure that they know where they stand in the credit world. Until they begin the process to obtain a copy of their credit report, some people do not realize that they actually have three credit reports instead of just one. The three main credit bureaus keep separate credit records from one another and produce their own credit reports. Instead of the credit bureaus working together and sharing information among themselves like some people may think, they are actually competitors. That is why the information provided on one credit report will more than likely be different from the information provided on the credit report from another credit bureau. Therefore, it is recommended to check your credit report from all three credit bureaus in order to see the complete picture.

There are a couple of options to checking all three of your credit reports. You can contact each of the credit bureaus individually to request a copy. Or you can go through one of the many companies that provide a 3-in-1 credit report like [http://www.credit-report-credit-score.com]. Obtaining a 3-in-1 credit report is usually more convenient and user friendly to the consumer compared to requesting individual copies.

Verifying the data on all three of your credit reports is the only way to know that the information that potential lenders and creditors are evaluating you on is correct. When considering you for a loan, some lenders will pull your credit report from only one or two of the credit bureaus while other lenders will pull your credit report from all three. It is always a good idea to check your credit reports BEFORE applying for your next big purchase. Covering your bases beforehand can often times save you a lot of time and hassle during the application process.

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Tony

Mike Clover asked:




Free Credit Report with no credit card required is available at annualcreditreport once a year. Here is what they don’t tell you. When you get your Free Credit Report at annualcreditreport there is no Credit Scores. So what good is a Credit Report without your Credit Scores? A Credit Report with no Credit Scores is like a destination with no address, it is useless. The following look at your scores very closely when determining your credit risk, interest rates, and terms.

1. Insurance Companies

2. Utility Companies

3. Credit Card Companies

4. Mortgage Companies

5. Car Finance Banks

6. Employers

7. Even Hospitals are now determining your Credit Risk.

Folks this is serious business, just imagine if you are applying for that new job that pays more, and they determine whether they are going to hire you based on your Credit Score. The main point is, yes you can get a Free Report with Annual but it’s once a year and no Scores are included. A Report with no Scores is useless, especially when that is what creditors look at. Let’s just assume you are getting ready to buy a car, and you are a customer that does not know there scores. Dealerships love customers like you because an uneducated consumer is a consumer they can rip off and make more money on. An educated consumer that knows there scores will show up ready to get the interest rate on the loan. This is what most lenders don’t want to deal with, because they make less money on consumers like this. Maybe you are wondering what is considered a good score.

Here is a break down:

o 780-850 – Low Risk

o 740-780 – Medium -Low Risk

o 690-740- Medium Risk

o 620-690- Medium High Risk

o 620 and Below – High Risk

There are all of these offers out there selling Free Credit Score Reports with all these up sales. For example:

1. Credit Monitoring

2. Savings Club memberships etc

When it comes down to being an educated consumer and that is all that is available out there to get your scores, there is not much choice. I would not hesitate to get these services, because everyday thousands of people get there identity stolen. I would recommend being an educated consumer so you are aware of what is being reported about you. Start saving today and protect yourself and your family.

Florence

Ray Dando asked:




Anyone who has ever applied for any type of credit like a credit card, a mortgage, or even a cell phone has likely had their credit report checked. If the report says that you are late paying bills or have a ton of debt, you could have to pay a higher interest rate or even get turned down altogether.

Scott Mitic, CEO of an Identity Theft Protection service, says it quite well: the “credit bureaus are at the center of our credit-eco system in the U.S. And it’s hard to think about a set of companies that are more instrumental in the life that we live”.

What is a Credit Report?

A credit report is basically a file that a Credit Reporting Agency (CRA) keeps on you. Despite what many people think, your credit score does not say whether you have “good credit” or “bad credit” and if you are a risk. That determination is made by the lenders. All a CRA does is collect the information and then sell it. The information on your credit report is an important factor, but may not be the only one that determines whether the loan is made.

Another misconception is that your credit report is a “credit score” (you’ve probably heard of FICO). The credit score is a tool that lenders used based on a special formula that does use the information in your credit report, but the score itself is not part of the report.

Who can access your Credit Report?

Who can see your credit report is outlined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Anyone who accesses it must have a “permissable reason” to do so. The groups that can see it are:

Potential Lenders – Credit card companies, mortgage lenders, landlords, and other lenders are the most common. Whenever they request to see your report, a note of that becomes actually part of the report (called a “hard inquiry”). More on that later. Potential employers – A special (less detailed) version of your report. They must have written permission to do so. All they are able to see is how you make payments and handle debt, which (theoretically in their mind) shows your trustworthiness. This is a “soft inquiry” which does not show up on your report. Pre-approved credit card offerers – They can not actually see your credit report (thankfully), but they can pull a specially screened list to see if you qualify. This is also a “soft inquiry” which does not appear on your report. You – Obviously, you are able to see your own report.
What is on a Credit Report?

Credit history – Bill paying history (late payments etc.), balances, credit limits, open or closed accounts Personal information- Name, address history, work history, social security number Public information – Information from public records such as bankruptcies, court orders, tax liens, etc. Inquiries – Any company who has done a “hard inquiry” shows up. This is why you want to be careful in how many credit cards you sign up for or loans you request, because every time a company runs a credit check, that becomes part of your report (whether you take the loan or not). Disputes – If there is a dispute over something on a report, both your statements and the lender’s will be noted.
What do creditors look for?

Potential lenders make the decision whether or not to extend credit based on the contents of the report. Here are some of the things that they look for:


Missed payments – Payment history is a large factor. If you have a bunch of missed or late payments, lenders would be less inclined to take a risk of the same thing happening to them

Debt/Income ratio – Lenders want to make sure that you have enough income to handle debt payments

Inquiries – As mentioned, whenever a lender checks your credit using a “hard inquiry” a note is made on your report. If a potential lender sees a lot of hard inquiries over a relatively short period of time, they get concerned that you might be racking up the debt

Open accounts – If you have a bunch of credit cards or loans, even if you don’t use them all, lenders are concerned. They want to make sure that if you were to borrow all the amount that you theoretically could, you would still be able to handle it

Maxed-out credit – Do you typically max out your credit cards or lines of credit? That is a signal to lenders that you need to rely on credit to make ends meet

What do you do if you see errors?

According to the Public Interest Research Group, 79% of credit reports have errors, and 25% have errors significant enough to make lenders refuse credit.

It’s recommended that you check your credit report at least on a yearly basis. If you find a mistake, it can be a long and arduous process to fix it, but it’s important that you do. To correct the error:

Collect and prepare as much documentation as you can to support the correction Contact the relevant credit bureau, explaining what the error is. I recommend doing this via registered letter and including copies of all the documentation just to save back and forth later. Send a similar letter to the creditor as they will need to be involved sooner or later

Remember that neither the CRA nor the creditor have any vested interest in correcting the report, so expect some frustration when going through this process. Make sure you make note of every interaction with them and record dates, times, and who you talked to.

Legally, the CRA has 30 days to investigate your claim, so keep on them and be persistent.

Your credit report is one of the most important files in your life, and no one has motivation to make sure it is accurate but you. The more you know about it, the more power you have.

Dora

John Mcfadden asked:




A Credit Report is essential for ever adult. It allows you information one your own financial position to allow lenders to give you credit. If you are about to apply for a loan then it’s strongly recommended that you access your report up to six months before taking out the loan. This is advised because you will have time to correct any wrong information and pursue ways to lift your credit score on your credit report.

Getting a loan is essential in this day and age so if you want to head on the path of financial freedom (don’t we all) then it’s important you know what a Report is all about and how you can best make use of the information, this seems fairly logical so you’ll be surprised to find out that over 75% of Americans don’t know their Credit Score! and 20% have never even seen their Credit Score! So if you are reading this article then you are probably ahead of most people and therefore will get to the financial freedom path faster then most.

There are three main Report Bureaus that you can access your credit report from. It’s important that you don’t ask for your credit score as if you want get a free copy of your report.

The three Report Bureaus are: Experian (formally TRW), then Equifax, and TransUnion.

It’s very important to understand what your credit report is exactly made up of. Here is a list of the following ingredients:

Payment History 35%

Amount Owed 30%

Length of Credit History 15%

New Credit 10%

Types of Credit Used 10%

It’s important you know the ways to improve your credit score, so follow the following tip to get your score as good as it can be so creditors will only be too happy to loan your the money for your new house, with them being very confident you can make the repayments back. It most likely will provide you with a better interest rate and your terms and loan conditions will also be improved.

Credit Score Improvement Tips.

Refrain from getting loan consolidations.

This will effectively kill off you past history on all the loans you’ve had, seeing that your credit report and score’s biggest factor and most important figure is your past payment history, then you need to maintain loans and finish them off with the financial institution you took them out with.

Keep Old Accounts

This is similar to the above point but with a difference. It’s important I point out to you that having several accounts or lets say credit card accounts for example. The total available credit when compared to what you ow on the cards is a ration that the credit report will factor in to work out your Credit Score. The less that ration is – of if it surpassed a factor of 1 then you are bankrupt. So if you move over our debts on credit cards to one which has a lower interest rate it may be good for you in the short term but not in the long – as your available credit to debt become higher and there for a negative.

Resist the temptation for getting in store credit cards

Having many in store cards will show that your not the best saver and that your credit worthiness is not excellent. It could be a hit of as much as 20 points on your credit report rating. It also lowers your age of credit for each card.

I hope this information on getting your credit report has helped and you see the importance of your credit report and credit score.

Josephine

Tim Gorman asked:




Because bankruptcies remain no more than 10 years, credit reporting agencies use the date of original delinquency or, in the case of public records, the date of filing to determine when negative information is deleted. This adheres to the fair credit reporting concerning unrelated bankruptcy. The trend from this group of cases is that the courts have not been receptive to overly creative arguments and have tried to remain faithful to the spirit of the means testing. The courts have managed to do this while pointing out specific instances in which the law is an ass. Proceeds from the sale will be used to settle remaining costs from the Chapter 11 case and fund the conversion, the Company said.

Banks and lenders use the middle score as the average because the credit bureaus report differently from time to time and a median score often serves as the best representation of your overall credit strength. Bankruptcy filing, liens, and collection activity also impact your history. Banks, credit card companies, and other lenders use your FICO score to determine whether they will lend you money and at what interest rate they are willing to lend it. In general, the higher (better) your FICO score, the lower the interest rate you will have to pay when you borrow money.

Bankruptcy is the wrong solution to a problem of the government’s own making. Bankruptcy is never a first option when it comes to dealing with your financial situation, but it is also not a final mark in your financial record. Even after you have filed for bankruptcy, it is certainly possible to redeem your credit score and even successfully get a new credit card.

This is because employee benefits are protected assets and cannot be touched for bankruptcy proceedings. But new legislation is making some retirement assets possible bankruptcy assets. However, bankruptcy is really only a suitable option for people with no or very few assets, as, apart from a few essentials, all your possessions, including property, can be sold to pay your creditors. If you own your own home, or part of it, that can be sold, too, to realize your share of the equity to meet your debts. The record will stay on your full report (which can be pulled in certain instances) pretty much forever.

Your high balances are removed as are any late payments or records of unpaid debts. Thus conforming to the fair credit reporting concerning unrelated bankruptcy. Instead, the accounts included in the bankruptcy will be marked as “Included in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy” or “Included in Chapter 13 Wage Earner Plan,” depending on which type of bankruptcy you filed. Document everything; keep good records. Remember, we are not victims.

These credit bureaus control vast databases that collect information about people which is furnished to them by creditors and from public records. The information is then provided in the form of a “credit report” to potential lenders and others for approved purposes authorized under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. I believe that if you declare bankruptcy, you won’t be able to buy a house until that is off your record (7 years). Since you’re already making inroads in your debt, I encourage you to stay the course. If you’ve got a bad record abroad expect it to follow you to Canada.

The purpose is to create a steady work record as soon as possible. Also, you have to obtain credit records from the three credit bureaus. Bankruptcies involve documents that are public record, and will always be available to anyone who looks for them. It should not, however, result in a bankruptcy notation in the non-filer’s credit record.

The courts will only verify such records in person. The credit bureaus will claim that they have a system to verify such records, but when it comes down to it, they don’t. Ensure that any creditors not listed in your bankruptcy and which you are paying regularly, have been reporting your good credit record to all three agencies. Contact any not reporting this and ask them to do so. Be aware that these agencies do not investigate public records and if it is up to the courts they only verify in person. It is important for you to know what your rights are and be able to act on them so that you will be on the winning side of this issue. It helps to understand the fair credit reporting concerning unrelated bankruptcy.

If you were able to remove even a couple of charge-off accounts from your record, it would boost your credit score. This option is only recommended to those who have a track record of making timely payments on all of their currently outstanding debts. If you happen to be a consumer in fair standing with a pretty solid track record for making your payments, your score could very easily jump by as much as 25 points under the new formula.

And lastly, in the public records section of your credit report, you need to verify that the statement of “discharged on date” is annotated in the “amount due” column. All other public record information typically falls off after seven years. When you have fresh credit, there is no track record how you will manage (or pay) this account. Therefore, it’s a higher risk which results in a minor drop in your credit score.

Jane

Laura Evert asked:




Have you wanted to buy a house or a car but you have a low credit score? You can fix that by checking your annual credit report to see if all information is accurate. However, if you have been missing bill payments or have been going over your credit limit then you can consider counseling. Remember, the interest rate you will pay for the money that you borrow will be determined largely by the three-digit number generated from your report.

You are lucky if you have a good report and score from credit report companies but if you have a poor one, you will have big problems. Most lenders have rules that are carved in stones about handling out the best terms. These rules always place a major emphasis on your score. For instance, if their best rates are offered to borrowers with a score of 700 or higher and you have a score of 698, those two points could cost you thousands of dollars.

As FICO said, the interest rate difference between those two ratings is bout one-third of a percentage point. FICO or Fair Isaac Corporation created the FICO rating and is the most commonly used rating. You should consider understanding FICO if you want to know how to raise your credit rating. On 30-year fixed rate mortgage of $165,000, that third of a point could cost you more than $11, 172 in interest charges, assuming 629 percent is the lowest rate available. If you fall below 660, the rate goes up another.81 percent.

Of course, the numbers mentioned are averages. Today, most lenders practice tiered pricing with interest rates rising as ratings go down. You annual report should be monitored if you want your level not to go down. However, each ender chooses its own “break points” between tiers. While one lender may increase the interest if the level falls below 700, another lender might not charge higher rates until the level is 690 or lower. The picture being painted here is that if you stick with one lender whose break point is 700, raising your level from 698 to 701 can be vital.

This underscores the importance of not only doing means on how to improve credit level but also shopping thoroughly when looking for a mortgage. From a mortgage broker’s point of view, who can choose among a sea of many lenders, no sharp break points exist. As a consumer, you should do what a good broker does and look for a lender that offers the best rate to a specific level.

Henry

Naseem Sabir asked:




Hi guys, I just received my credit statement from the bank (would not disclose its name for confidential reasons) which claims that it is the minimum interest credit cards. I was going through the bank statement and merely checked few of my transaction that I suddenly received a SMS on my mobile phone from a competitive bank which was claiming that they have the low interest rate credits. I went through again all of my current credit card statements that I had received and found out that is not low interest rate credit cards. Obviously I was confused all of a sudden realised the fact that I was in utter dark and was actually paying the interest on the credit cards that I should have saved ages ago.

Well now I have decided and I am going to plan to change my bank and stop all my previous cards and go for the new bank which gives low interest rate credits. But before one of you guys wanna try this out let me tell you something about the tricky part of this situation -that always remember and keep in mind that it is not easy enough to just change your bank and go for a new one only because they are not providing low interest rate credit cards. Because I had to stop all my cards and had to pay all my debts till my balance is zero and then before selecting a new bank I had to keep in mind all other options also. So, it is bit tricky to select a perfect bank for you with low interest rate credit cards.

In pursuit of getting the best out of the best I have visited some websites which show perfect reviews on banks, credit cards and loans especially low interest rate credit. It was hard enough for me to make a choice but I did it and I made my choice clear. Although It wasn’t that tough for me to choose the right bank for me because nowadays most of the banks have pretty well designed tariff plans and policies explained on their websites respectively. So I had to go through the tariff plans and different features that the banks were offering (plus whether they are offering low interest rate credit cards or not) -found quite a few of the banks that really really impressed me and I had to then made the decision between the best banks. And I finally chose the bank that best befits under my needs and business requirements. I hope I won’t regret over my choice, besides I have nothing to lose as I have already chosen a service that gives low interest rate credit cards. So I am sure this act of mine will give me a positive and huge profit:)

I am really happy now with my new bank which provides me low interest rate credit but only normal and usual banking solutions.

Evelyn

David Patullo asked:




A good way to get the lowest credit card rates is to make sure that whatever purchases made using your credit card is included in your budget. When your billing statement arrives, you use the allocated money and pay the entire amount before the date due indicated in your billing.

If this is the way you regularly use your credit card, then card companies will not charge you for interest because full and prompt payments will not make you a creditor, and therefore your purchases will not be charged interest. Most of us, because all our money is already allocated to the household budget, pay for unplanned expenses using our credit cards. This is a problem because we have no way of paying for the entire amount when the billing comes.

What we can afford really is to pay for the minimum payment. If we keep on buying unplanned items without fully paying previous outstanding items, our credit piles up and soon, we approach our card’s maximum credit limit. The card company will charge us the maximum allowed interest rate and this will really make our budget awry.

If we just discipline ourselves and make as few unplanned purchases as possible, and make sure that we pay fully before making another unplanned shopping, we avoid piling up our bills and acquire higher and higher interest charges. If we cannot avoid these out of budget expenses, make sure to pay whatever the minimum amount is due and pay it on time.

Christopher