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Your credit report (CR) contains information that many businesses use to make a decision about you. This includes banks, insurance companies, landlords, mortgage lenders, and even employers. It’s very important that you know what’s in your CR and that you correct any inaccuracies to prevent negative effects on your financial health and welfare.

The recommended way to obtain a free copy of your CR is through AnnualCreditReport.com, which is the ONLY authorized source to get your free annual CR under federal law. AnnualCreditReport.com is very different from FreeCreditReport.com which you have probably seen on television. Be wary of services that offer a trial membership or request your credit card number. There are no hidden fees or trial memberships with AnnualCreditReport.com.

If you do not want to use the AnnualCreditReport.com request form, you can also write directly to the credit bureaus to request a free copy of your CR. With AnnualCreditReport.com or writing directly to the credit bureaus, you can obtain a free copy of your CR from each of the three credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) once every 12 months.

Continue reading ‘Five Ways to Get a Free Copy of Your Credit Report’ »

To view your credit report you will need to make a request either by going online or by writing to the companies. You can obtain cheap credit report from most suppliers; some will even offer a free trial service. If you wish to get a mortgage or purchase a car a good credit rating will be necessary. If you have been turned down for credit previously, it would be nice to know why.

The information on your credit report is updated every few weeks so if you notice that the report does not show a recent payment this is the reason why. A missed payment to a credit company may also show up depending on their rules and regulations regarding this. Some companies will give you a certain amount of time to get the payment to them or will add extra leniency if you phone up beforehand and let them know that the payment is to be late.

If you are aware of any bad results on your credit report you can repair them, which is good news. It could take a while but will mean that you are able to obtain the things that you wish to, as most people would not be able to pay for a house or car outright this is why it is so important to repair any problems. This can be done by arranging a repayment agreement with the company to which you are in debt to. Once this debt has been cleared you can then contact your report supplier to let them know that this debt has not been repaid, and provide proof of payments in order for them to update the report.

Continue reading ‘Ways to Obtain a Cheap Credit Report’ »

You can choose to file for bankruptcy through an experienced lawyer or by yourself. Either ways, there are several things you will have to work your way through. The first step to filing for bankruptcy is putting together your financial information. This means that you need to get a copy of your credit report, put together on paper all your debts, whether they are secured or unsecured. All documents pertaining to your tax returns of two years and ongoing loan documents will also have to be put together.

With this done, you will have to fill up bankruptcy forms. These are known as schedules. Should you file under Chapter 13, then a repayment schedule will have to be put in place and you will have to submit that as well. Once done, you will have to take all of this to your nearest bankruptcy court and submit it there along with the applicable fees for the chapter you have filed under. With this done, your creditors will be instructed not to call you for recovery. Continue reading ‘The Rigors of Filing for Bankruptcy’ »

Do you know your credit report? If not, you need to start knowing it before you decide to get financing. Doing so can help you determine what areas of your credit that you can fix. So that in return, you would be able to get a good rating.

In fact, this is necessary because any person may have blemishes on his or her record. Errors in reporting are possible and this can take place without your knowledge. Sometimes, other people would use credit reporting as vengeance. They may intentionally create negative reports to get back at you. As a person, with the belief that he or she has made on-time payments, would not normally expect any problems in his or her credit history until the day the new lender performs a credit investigation and declines the loan application for it.

Repairing Credit Scores Before Any Major Financial Undertaking

There are certain purchases that you have to make with the use of financing. For example, when you purchase a home, you need to get mortgage. When you buy an automobile, you would sometimes opt for a car loan. There are plenty of things that you can obtain through debt. The problem with debt is that it is catch 22. In order for you to be approved, you need to have credit in order to get it. And if you want a cheaper deal, you must have good credit history and this can be reflected through your credit scores.

It is important that you do some repairing before applying for any major loans. If not, you may get approved but you may have expensive interest rates. The worse thing that could happen is that you may be rejected for it. Hence, causing delay to any major purchases that you want. Continue reading ‘Credit Report Fixing Tips’ »

Many people want to know if it is possible to remove a charge-off from their credit report. The answer is, it may be difficult, but it can be done. Some people are unclear as to what a charge-off actually is. A charge-off is a debt which a creditor no longer feels it can collect and subsequently decides to write-off. This will typically happen after several months of missed or late payments during which the creditor will send numerous letters and will try to communicate with the borrower by phone.

It is best at this point to attempt to negotiate a payment plan with the creditor to avoid the account going to collections. Do not ignore attempts by the creditor to contact you. Normally, creditors are willing to work with you if they see that you are trying to make an attempt at paying the debt. Once the debt is written-off, the creditor may sell the debt to a collection agency who will then own the debt. Collection agencies are known for their collections tactics which can include harassing phone calls and threats of court action if the account is not paid in full. Continue reading ‘Can I Remove a Charge-Off From My Credit Report?’ »

Have you ever read your credit report? Okay, have you read it and understood what is contained on its pages? If not, continue reading to gain an understanding of how to read your credit history and to understand certain terms, such as “charge-offs” and “inquiries,” which may be included on your report.

You may be wondering why it is important to review your credit report. The reason is that it is the key to your financial success! Everything you do financially will hinge upon your credit score. (Unless you are independently wealthy, of course!) Therefore, it is vitally important that you understand what is contained on your credit report.

So, the first step is to obtain a copy of your credit report. You can do this by contacting one of the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion) to request a copy. These credit reporting bureaus are legally required to provide you with one free copy of your credit report once every year, upon your request. Alternately, you can contact Annual Credit Report at (877) 322-8228 to obtain a copy of your credit report.

Reading a credit report can be confusing to say the least. So, let’s take some of the mystery out of this process. A credit report is broken up into several different sections. These sections pertain to identifying information, credit history, public records, and inquiries, and should be readily identifiable on your credit report by their title or heading. Continue reading ‘Learn to Read a Credit Report’ »

Does credit counseling bruise your credit report? On the contrary, it can actually improve your credit score significantly! It should be noted that there are really bad cases where a persons credit is so damaged that the only sensible option would be to declare bankruptcy or undergo massive consolidation. This would be one of the few circumstances where a counseling service would recommend anything that would bring your credit score down. In the few cases where a person is that deep in debt, bankruptcy or consolidation is usually the best possible decision to be made. Most people with bad credit are not usually in that severe of a position and will enjoy a rise in their credit score after working with a counselor.

Counseling companies are dedicated to helping you find a way to manage your existing debts while simultaneously increasing your credit score. Working with a counseling service is a great choice if you wish to develop a solid financial foundation. Another added benefit to an increased credit score is increased ability to obtain loans and credit cards with higher limits. This is essential if you want to buy a new house, need a new car, or have a financial emergency. The pros definitely outweigh the cons when it comes to credit counseling. Continue reading ‘Does Credit Counseling Bruise Your Credit Report?’ »

The repercussions of having bad credit extends from having high interest rates on your credit cards, being denied of loan applications, apartments and cell phone contracts and even employment, paying for security deposits on utilities, getting higher insurance premiums and difficulties in starting a business.

If you want to avoid such inconveniences, you should know how to repair your damaged credit. But before you can actually do that, you should be able to get your hands on your annual credit report and understand what it contains. There are different ways by which you can have a copy of your credit report as much as there are many proven ways to repair your bad credit.

You should however be conscious of the fact that there are people who can make a profit out of your misery. You definitely repair your credit yourself. The first thing you should do is to check your credit report regularly. It is possible to find malicious information on it, and if that happens, there are procedures to follow to file disputes. Continue reading ‘Keep Yourself Away From Credit Problems’ »

Filing for bankruptcy ruins your credit for 10 years.

Not True. As with any other credit information, the fact of the bankruptcy can stay on your credit report for 7 to 10 years. (Remember, if you are considering bankruptcy it is highly likely that your credit rating has already been damaged, especially for the purpose of obtaining a home loan.) You can start rebuilding your credit, however, even before your bankruptcy is completed. Continuing to make your house or car payment on time can help you reestablish a good credit rating, as can making timely payments on a Chapter 13 plan or on any new loans.

Everyone will know you filed for bankruptcy.

Not True. The fact of your bankruptcy is a public record but unless you are a prominent official or high profile person, people aren’t going to go looking.

After the recent changes to the bankruptcy law, filing bankruptcy doesn’t help much.

Not True. The 2005 changes mean that a few people may no longer be able to file a Chapter 7 case, but most people are still able to get the same relief now as before the law changed. If a Chapter 7 is not available to you because of the 2005 changes, Chapter 13 may still offer you significant relief.

Continue reading ‘Bankruptcy Myths’ »