If you’re in the market to take out a new line of credit, you must be aware of the extreme importance of your credit score. Your credit score is nothing but a three-digit number that is there in your credit report. With a good score, it is more likely that you’ll be able to take out a loan with an affordable interest rate. There are many people who have committed various credit mistakes and have tarnished their credit score. This is the most possible reason for the lenders turning down their loan offers. Most financial experts opine that one should initially go for credit repair before taking out a loan so that they may settle on the best loan in the market. If you go for professional debt help, it is possible to boost your credit score but not all debt relief options boost your credit score. Have a look at the ways in which you can boost your credit score through various debt relief options.

Debt consolidation firms – Do they help you in augmenting your credit score?

When a person is tired of handling his multiple credit card debts and the outrageously high interest rates associated with them, he can opt for debt consolidation. Debt consolidation is just bundling your payments into a single monthly payment so as to facilitate the debt repayment procedure. However, the first thought that comes to the minds of the debtors who opt for such debt help firms is whether or not this will tank their credit score.

Debt consolidation as well as debt management does not hurt your credit score as much as you may think. It will only be mentioned in your credit report that you’re repaying through a debt consolidation or a debt management firm and this will, in no way hurt your credit score. Once you start making timely payments on your credit card accounts through the debt consolidation or the management firm, you can start boosting your credit score thereby.

Debt settlement firms – Is it harmful for your credit score?

Well, just as opposed to debt consolidation and debt management, debt settlement can tarnish your credit score to a great extent. When you opt for debt settlement, you don’t repay the whole amount that you owe your creditors. Your debt consultant will negotiate with your creditors and waive off a portion of the principal amount that you owe them. Since you’re not repaying the whole amount, this will hurt your credit score and you can feel the negative impact each time you go to take out a loan. The better your credit score is, the more will be the negative impact on the score.

Therefore, if you’re keen on saving your bucks while taking out a new line of credit, make sure you have an exceptionally good credit score. If you don’t, take the needed steps to repair your credit score and then apply for a loan. Get assistance from professional debt help companies and improve your score in the long run.

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You see their commercials on tv all the time, with the incredibly catchy tunes.  Many people feel that FreeCreditReport.com is just a scam site, and that they don’t really give you what they advertise.  I’m going to let you know a little more about how they work, as well as what to expect when you sign up.

When you sign up for FreeCreditReport.com, you are required to enter in your credit card information.  This might seem odd, since you’re supposed to get your credit report for free, however this is where most people are misled.  What is happening is that you are signing up for a free trial of their monitoring service “Triple Advantage”.  While you are subscribed to it, you are able to get your credit reports for free.  This is how they’re able to advertise it the way that they do.

Now, if you need to use a credit monitoring service, then you might consider signing up for their service.  Since FreeCreditReport.com is owned by Experian, they also provide you with your Experian Credit Score for free.  You’ll have to remember that this score isn’t your FICO score, which is used by the banks and credit companies for determining your credit worthiness.  It’s still a good thing to know, however, because it does a decent job of giving you an idea on how you are doing with your credit repair.  The biggest advantage is that they monitor your credit for you, alerting you to any changes that will impact your credit.  They will also let you know if there is any possibility of identity theft occuring with your credit.

Overall, they provide a great service, however I’m not sure if the price is worth it.  I don’t know the exact price that they are currently charging, but if this is something that you’re looking for, then you should definitely check them out.  Just make sure you do your research and know what you’re signing up for before you do it.  If you want to know how to access your credit reports for free without signing up for any service, then enter your name and email address in the upper right.  I’ll walk you through all the steps you need in order to get your credit reports and repair your credit.  What’s it going to cost, you ask?  Nothing, just sign up and you’ll start getting the helpful emails.

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I would like to discuss Payday Loans today.  If you’re like most people, you’ve been in a situation where you’ve thought about getting one of these, but are unsure of whether you should or not.  I’m going to tell you right now, I do not like Payday Loans at all.

Here’s some background; My wife and I got in a little financial trouble a couple years ago, and thought that borrowing from one of these Payday Loan or Fast Cash places would help us out.  Actually, it helped us out a ton, for about a week.  For the next 8 months, it helped the loan company out even more.  Because we borrowed the max amount of $445, we had to pay back $500 for each loan.  The worst part of it, though, was that we didn’t make the extra $500 to be able to pay the loan back completely and pay all of our bills AT THE SAME TIME.  This is the killer right here.  If you’re already strapped and can barely get by, then a Payday Loan is the absolute worst thing you can consider.  We kept having to borrow $445 and pay back $500 every 2 weeks, just so we could pay back the loan.  It was costing us an extra $110 every single month for that $445 that we initially borrowed.  It finally took a bonus from work to be able to pay it off completely and not look back.

When you are thinking about a Cash Advance Loan, you don’t think about the fact that it will most likely take months to be able to pay it off for good.  Yeah, the $55 seems like an ok fee to get you out of a bind, but really, really, consider it.  If you’re planning on getting enough money to pay it back and have enough to pay all of your bills, then go ahead.  A Payday Loan would actually be ok in that situation, if you don’t mind the enormous fee that you end up paying.  If  you are barely getting by, however, then go another route.  A Payday Loan will only put you even more in debt, and can be extremely difficult to get out of.  Seriously think about it, and if you are most people, find a different way to get the money.

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I’m sure that most of you have heard something about Lexington Law, and have wondered if you should consider hiring them to help you repair your credit.  While a lot of people might consider them a scam, in reality they don’t exist to scam you.  What they do, however, can be very secretive about what they offer.  I’m going to give you an overview of what they actually do for you, and let you know the biggest secret of them all.  Keep reading to find more.

For a one time $99 setup fee, and $39 per month you can sign up for the Lexington Regular plan.  In this plan, they will happily assist you with disputing an unlimited number of items on your credit reports.  They don’t say what type of disputes they will send, though.  This comes into question when you preview their next option.

Their second plan is a $99 setup fee and $59 per month option that is called the Concord Standard.  In this plan they agree to send Goodwill Letters to help attempt to remove some of the smaller late-pays that may be on your reports.  They will also offer to ask a creditor for complete documentation and verification of an account that is on your report.  This is recommended for seriously late accounts.  Finally, they also offer send a Debt Validation letter to attempt to remove accounts that are Charge-Offs and Collection Accounts.  Now, I’m pretty sure that if you’re considering using their services, you’ll at least be in this condition, with some seriously late accounts, as well as a charge-off or two.  While the first plan may sound like a good deal, there’s a great chance that it isn’t going to suit your needs at all.

Plan #3 is called the Concord Premiere plan, and is available for a $99 setup fee and $79 per month payment.  In this plan they provide everything that you get in the other plans, as well as offering a credit monitoring service on top of it.  They will look at your report each month and tell you how you can use your credit better to increase your scores.  They also let you know when any changes are made to your credit reports.  On top of that, they allow you to dispute Inquiries that are on your credit reports.  Then, if that’s not enough, you get a $25,000 Identity Theft insurance policy.  Wow, it sounds like you’re really getting a great deal here, especially for only $79 per month.  Keep reading, though.  This is where it gets good.

They try to make it sound like they’re doing a lot for you, especially with the Standard and Premiere plans.  If you go to their website, you’ll see how they have all these attorneys ready to help you repair your credit.  You can even go online to let them know which items you want to dispute.

What they don’t tell you, though, is that you can do every single bit of that process yourself, for a fraction of the price.  In fact, some of it can even be done over the phone or online.  You never know how long it will take to remove some of the negative items, and they’re counting on it taking some time.  That’s why they implement the monthly payments.  They’re hoping that they only end up getting a few items removed at a time, causing you to keep having to pay them month after month.  I’m going to tell you how you can do each piece of their process on your own.  If you choose to sign up with them, at least you’ll be more informed.

Filing A Dispute: Filing a dispute can actually be really easy.  If you are disputing personal information, such as a name or an address, then that can be done over the phone or online.  If you are disputing an account on your credit report, you will get better results if you file your dispute in writing, instead of doing it online.  It is also best to do it in writing because then you have a paper trail in case you need it for anything later.  If you want free information on how to file a dispute, then just enter your name and email address in the box to the upper right and I will send the process straight to your email.

Disputing An Inquiry: I don’t know why this is offered only on their “Premium” service, because it is extremely easy to do.  All you have to do is call the credit bureau and tell them that the person who did the inquiry did not have your permission to check your credit report.  This can also be done through a simple letter, too.  You just have to let them know that you didn’t give them permission to pull your credit and you should be able to have them removed.  ** This is important ** : Do not start disputing all of your inquiries on your account at once.  If you are doing this to repair your credit, then only dispute one or two at a time.  Then wait for a few weeks before doing it again.  If you start naming off a bunch of inquiries to dispute, then it is very likely you could have your report frozen and flagged for fraud and identity theft.  You do NOT want this, because then you have to deal with just one more thing.  Besides, the inquiries don’t affect your credit score as bad as the negative accounts that are on there.

Debt Validation: This is a very easy concept, but it is quite powerful.  There are many Collection Agencies out there that simply buy up old debt or even try to collect on debts that they don’t even own, and then purchase the debts after they have collected.  When you send a debt validation letter, you are requesting that they send you proper proof that they are allowed to collect on the debt.  If they do not send this proof, then you are not required to pay them a dime.  On top of that, they are not allowed to put anything on your credit report.  If they do not send you adequate proof as stated by the FDCPA, then every time they try to collect after that, or every single update to your credit is counted as a violation and you can take them to court.  Most of them don’t want to go to court, because it could open up investigation into their shady business practices, so they will simply comply with your request to remove your file and remove the account from your credit.  There is also a method that is a little more consistent that you can use here too.  It’s called the 1-2 punch, and will be explained at a later date through this site or you can learn about it earlier by signing up in the form at the upper right.

Credit Score and Report Monitoring/Advice: You probably don’t realize it, but you can get the same thing at several places online for MUCH cheaper.  I currently get the same thing from TrueCredit at $9.99 per month (may be $14.99 per month now), but FreeCreditReport.com offers it, as well as many other places.  I will get a page up with links to several businesses online that offer this, as well as their prices.

Identity Theft Insurance: Here are 2 places that provide great Identity Theft protection for as low as $10 per month, and back it up with a $1,000,000 guarantee.  That sounds a little better than a $25,000 guarantee now, doesn’t it?

Lifelock is a company that specializes in securing your identity, no matter who knows your social security number.  They have become a trusted name in Identity Theft Prevention, and have very reasonable plans for individuals, as well as families.

TrustedID is very similar to Lifelock, without all the commercials.  They aren’t as well known, but they provide what appears to be the same level of service when it comes to protecting your identity.  I think they even offer the first month free.

I highly recommend you check out either of these two companies if you’re concerned about protecting your identity.

As you can see, there is absolutely nothing that Lexington Law will do to fix your credit that you can’t do yourself for MUCH cheaper.  It’s up to you how much you choose to educate yourself about credit, and who you decide to give control of your financial future.  Would you rather pay a bunch of money to have somebody else hack at your credit, hoping that they will get things done quickly and not drag it out for months and months?  Would you rather take the bull by the horns and try to do it yourself?  There are people of all ages and backgrounds repairing their own credit, so there’s no reason that you can’t do the same.

If you do end up deciding to follow through with hiring Lexington Law after reading this whole post, then here’s a nice little link to get you straight there.

If you prefer to do it yourself, then read more of this site and learn more.  I also recommend signing up in the upper-right form so I can send you step by step instructions on how to take action and start repairing your credit today.

If you want to learn it all right away, then I highly recommend the Credit Secrets Bible.  This thing is packed full of great information and is a MUST READ for anybody trying to rebuild or repair their credit.

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What value should you be striving for?  Well, it’s a subject that many people debate, and few can give absolute proof on a certain number.  What is generally agreed, however, is that it should stay between 1% – 10%.  This means that your credit card balances help your credit out the most when they remain between those numbers.

Now, you’re probably wondering how having a balance of 1% is better than having a balance of 0%.  To be honest, credit card companies don’t care to extend credit to people who don’t use the credit cards.  In fact, if you monitor your credit score, you’ll probably notice that it drops in the month after you pay off all of your cards.  Then, the next month if you carry a balance, you’ll notice that it may jump back up a few points.

Your credit score is a way to determine how well you manage credit, and your credit risk.  If you never use your cards, or pay them in full every month then people don’t have any incentive to give you more credit, and they can’t accurately determine how well you manage it when you are actually using it.  The banks are in it to earn money, and you’re not giving them any, so they look past you and onto the next person.  If you aren’t comfortable with carrying a balance, then by all means, pay it off and continue with your routine.  If you are comfortable with carrying a balance, then keep it low, and consistent.

In the end, you should notice your score rising little by little because of this.  No, it’s not a quick increase like you might be hoping for, but it’s a small piece in a very large puzzle.

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Really, there shouldn’t be any moral dilemma with repairing your credit. The only problem really exists if you’re intending to get credit for the sole purpose of not paying it, and then planning to get it removed from your credit a year or two later so you can do it all over again. That kind of “gaming the system” should not be tolerated. However, if you’re one of us who just made a mistake and don’t feel we should have to suffer the consequences for such a long period of time, then by all means, work on repairing that credit.

Wouldn’t it be much easier to make the payments on your car if they were a little lower? With a higher credit score, that’s possible. Do you feel that it’s right for you to pay an extra $100,000 on your house over the life of the loan, just because you made a few mistakes in the last 3 – 5 years?

It’s very easy to rebuild your credit, if you take a systematic approach to it and keep yourself very disciplined. Limit your credit card spending by using your credit cards in the best way to increase your credit scores. Yes, it’s actually better to use your credit cards than to leave them locked away. Once you’ve established the credit card rules (when to use them for best results), you can then focus on eliminating the negative items from your credit. By focusing on the laws created to help us (FDCPA and FCRA), there are ways that you can get those items wiped clean from your reports. Start today, and you should notice sizable increases in your credit scores within the next few months.

So if you’re still stuck wondering if you should actively work on repairing your credit or just let things drop as they age, think about a few things. Is it right that the people who may have trouble paying bills at the level they’re at now, be required to pay more for the same thing just because they’re credit score is lower? With a higher credit score, they might be able to easily cover those payments, but they don’t have the option. Well, they didn’t have the option. After reading through this site, you should realize that you have many options available to rebuild your credit and take advantage of those same lower rates.

The absolute most important thing to do, though, is make your decision and start today. The sooner you start, the faster you’ll be able to accomplish your goals.

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This is probably what you do after taking a few calls…
a) Stop answering the phone when they call
b) Hang up if you answer and realize it’s them
c) Get rude and start mouthing off when you realize they won’t go away

Do you really want to be afraid to answer your phone when it rings?  Do you like explaining when you don’t answer it “It’s just a collector”?  They are persistent, but there are things that you can do to protect your sanity.  Reading this post is the first step.

If you have a collector contacting you, the FIRST thing you should do is get their name (Collection Company) and address.  If you can’t get their address, then the name should be enough to lookup their address online.  If you can’t find their address anywhere, then you can generally find it on your credit report, so it’s worth the little money that may be required to purchase it.  You don’t need your score or anything, just the report.

After you have their name and address (if you can get it), the next step is to let them know that you would like them to stop calling you and continue ALL correspondence through the mail.  You can also let them know, if you’d like, that you are preparing a limited Cease and Desist letter and you would like them to not contact you until they have received it.  Technically, this should be enough to get them to stop calling.  Some companies don’t follow the FDCPA as well as they should (which means they break the law, but that’s another story), and if you’re dealing with one of those people, then you may as well just hang up there.  Don’t let them break you down over the phone, don’t tell them that you’re going to pay anything, don’t even acknowledge that the debt is yours yet.  You don’t want to give them ANY information that could be used against you at a later date.

Now, you’ve told them to stop calling, and there’s a chance that you may have a little peace and quiet for the next couple days.  AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, you need to get that limited cease and desist letter out to them.  Check around online, and I’ll see if I can find a good copy to post here for you, but basically you’re looking for a letter saying that they are not allowed to contact you or anybody that you might know by phone.  All future correspondence needs to be through the mail.  Once you do this, you shouldn’t have to be afraid to answer your phone any more.  This is where some people like to play a little game, which is trying to see how many violations the Collection Agency can do.  If they call you after they have received the cease and desist letter, then that’s a violation, with a fine of up to $1,000 for each one.  Keep track of all those calls, and when it comes time to play hard-ball, you’ll be ready with a few aces up your sleeve.

Along with your Cease and Desist letter, you’re also going to want to send a Debt Validation letter.  What this will do is force the Collection Agency to prove that they are allowed to collect on the debt.  Many times, you’re being called and hounded by somebody who has purchased the debt from another source, who has already written it off.  In that case, you don’t legally owe them anything unless they can prove that you do.  99.9% of the time, you’ll find that they don’t have any paperwork to back it up, and they’re just hoping for an easy payday.  In those instances, paying the debt will do nothing to help you, and can even cause your credit score to decrease.  If they can’t verify the debt, then you don’t owe them a dime.

The Collection Agencies count on people not knowing their rights, which is why they get away with the things they do.  Now you can be one of the informed, and you can fight to protect those rights.

Recap: Request all communication be done through the mail.  Send a limited Cease and Desist letter, along with a Debt Validation.  This will require them to only contact you through the mail, and to also prove that you actually owe them something.  You are not legally obligated to pay a debt that you don’t owe.  Once you do that, then sit back and relax because there’s a great chance that they will never call you again.  If they do send the validation of the debt, then yes, you owe the money and you can go about trying to pay it (if you can or want to).  If the company continues calling after receiving the letters, then that is a violation of your rights, and you want to record every single violation.  It could be worth a lot of money if you decide that you need to take them to court to get them to leave you alone.

Finally, one last thing that I want to say…
NEVER give out the following information to a collector that calls:

• Full Social Security Number (last 4 are ok)
• Bank Account Information
• Any history that you want to be recorded and used against you
• Any admission of whether you feel you owe the money or not

I’m sure I’ll come up with more, but that’s all I have for right now.  If you can think of anything else to say, please leave a comment.

Thanks!

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The Credit Repair Organizations Act

By law, credit repair organizations must give you a copy of the “Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law” before you sign a contract. They also must give you a written contract that spells out your rights and obligations. Read these documents before you sign anything. The law contains specific protections for you. For example, a credit repair company cannot:

• make false claims about their services
• charge you until they have completed the promised services
• perform any services until they have your signature on a written contract and have completed a three-day waiting period. During this time, you can cancel the contract without paying any fees

Your contract must specify:

• the payment terms for services, including their total cost
• a detailed description of the services to be performed
• how long it will take to achieve the results
• any guarantees they offer
• the company’s name and business address

Have You Been Victimized?

Many states have laws regulating credit repair companies. State law enforcement officials may be helpful if you’ve lost money to credit repair scams.

If you’ve had a problem with a credit repair company, don’t be embarrassed to report it. While you may fear that contacting the government will only make your problems worse, remember that laws are in place to protect you. Contact your local consumer affairs office or your state Attorney General (AGs). Many AGs have toll-free consumer hotlines. Check the Blue Pages of your telephone directory for the phone number or check www.naag.org for a list of state Attorneys General.

As you’ll see, some of these companies are legit, and several are outright scams.  There is absolutely nothing that they do, however, that you can’t do on your own.  I highly recommend avoiding them like the plague, taking time to learn the rules of the game, and then start playing it yourself.  It really isn’t tough, it just takes time to gain the knowledge you need.

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Each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — is required to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.
The three companies have set up a central website, a toll-free telephone number, and a mailing address through which you can order your free annual report. To order, click on annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. You can print the form from ftc.gov/credit. Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually. They are providing free annual credit reports only through annualcreditreport.com, 1-877-322-8228, and Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. You may order your reports from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies at the same time, or you can order your report from each of the companies one at a time. For more information, see Your Access to Free Credit Reports at ftc.gov/credit.
Otherwise, a consumer reporting company may charge you up to $9.50 for another copy of your report within a 12-month period.

Hope this helps you get on your road to that stellar credit score!

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This kind of thing is what causes so much confusion among people.  Companies will sell you on the fact that you can access your credit reports for free, but they don’t make it obvious that you are really signing up for another service that has monthly costs tied to it.  There is a way to access a current snapshot of your credit reports, however.

AnnualCreditReport.com is the website that you need to go to in order to view a copy of your credit report from the three major credit bureaus.  There’s a fourth credit bureau, Innovis, that isn’t included in this yet for some reason.  Access their website to find out how to request your Free Credit Report directly from them.  When you go to the Annual Credit Report website, you’ll be presented with a few forms to fill out.  Just continue through them and you will be able to view your credit reports online, completely free.  Make sure you have some way to save them to a PDF or print them out (takes a LOT of paper), so you can refer back to them later.  After you access your free credit reports through that site, you are then able to go about correcting any errors that you find on your report.  It’s very important that you thoroughly read your credit report and find everything that is wrong with it.  A simple error on your report can be costing thousands in interest fees, so you want to make sure that everything is being reported properly.  You also need to check and make sure you personal information is all accurate and up to date.  Many times you’ll have some weird names showing up, unknown addresses, and even extra social security numbers.  Get all of that fixed now and save yourself from Identity mistakes later.  I’m going to talk more about disputing the errors later, so take a stab at it now if you can.  If you have trouble, then check back regularly (or sign up at the upper right and I’ll email you when that post is ready).

So, for those of you who are interested in accessing your free credit report, but don’t want the monthly fees that are associated with those services, then go to the real source.  It’s completely free there, with no catch.  Try it out and come back when you’re ready for the next step.

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