Better Credit Network
Learn how to "Achieve Better Credit"
Do you want to take advantage of the slow housing market to get a great price on your first or a bigger home? Are you trying to buy a new car - maybe one that gets better gas mileage than your SUV? Do you want to go back to school and need to borrow money? All of these sorts of things, and lots of others, often make people look into ways to clean up their credit report. And for good reason, too. The better your credit score is, the easier it is to get a loan, the less interest you will have to pay, and the overall better credit terms you will be able to "Achieve Better Credit".
If you want to clean up your credit report, do you know how to go about doing it? Of course, the best and easiest way to have a great credit history is to pay all your bills on time, keep some outstanding debt, but only a little, and make all payments on time right from the very start. Not everyone has the life circumstances to be able to do that, however; that does not mean, though, that there is just no way to achieve better credit.
If you want to clean up your credit report, you should take some time to look into the ways that credit scores are determined by the three major groups who provide them, and once you do that, you should look at your own personal financial situation and take the appropriate actions to "Achieve Better Credit".
If you want to clean up your credit report, you should take some time to look into the ways that credit scores are determined by the three major groups who provide them, and once you do that, you should look at your own personal financial situation and take the appropriate actions to "Achieve Better Credit".
Would you be better off to close that account you only use in extreme emergencies? Would it be better to take a second job for a short time to increase your cash in hand? Should you use the money in your savings account to pay off your outstanding credit card debt? These are all the types of questions that you should get answered before you start to do things in an effort to clean up your credit report
Credit repair is the process of cleaning up your credit report and optimizing your scores. Credit repair has never been so important. Your credit score will determine the outcome of any loan application you make. This was not always the case. You might be surprised to hear that credit scores were not marketed to lenders until 1989. And from 1989 until 1995 credit scores were used almost exclusively by a handful of credit card issuers. It wasn't until 1995, when mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced that they were to going to begin using FICO scores as an underwriting criterion that this all-important three digit number came into widespread usage.
Your Critical FICO Score
Credit scores began to grow in importance after 1995, but in 2007 there was a major shift in the credit markets that would make credit repair infinitely more vital than ever before. The pivotal moment occurred in June of 2007 when two Bear Sterns hedge funds collapsed and caused a mass exodus of secondary sub-prime lenders from the mortgage market. From that moment until now the credit markets have continued to tighten. And, although one would expect a cyclical loosening at some point, there is no sign of that in the immediate future. And for now, the issue is so critical that if your FICO score is low you may find that you cannot get approved for anything. And just as important, if you are approved you will find that the interest rate you receive will be based on your score. Credit repair, when done right, will optimize your scores and help you meet future lender requirements.
Credit Score Optimization
It is critical to understand that the FICO scoring model has evolved to the point that there is considerably more involved than paying your bills on time. In fact, it is quite possible to have a perfect payment history for years on end, and still have dismal credit scores. Credit score optimization, as an essential aspect of credit repair requires an understanding of all of the factors that can influence your scores. Some of the important issues include account types, number of each account type, account balances, and age of accounts. And this is just the score optimization aspect of credit repair; when it comes to cleaning up the content of your credit reports you have a number of legal rights that can give you significant leverage with creditors and the credit bureaus.
Credit Repair, the Credit Bureaus and the FCRA
The majority of legal rights that you will utilize in your credit repair effort are embodied in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Your credit repair effort should always focus on areas in which you have legal leverage. There is little point in pursuing an avenue of redress if the offending party has no obligation whatsoever to respond. The FCRA puts a burden of accuracy and fairness on the credit bureaus. The responsibilities of the credit bureaus include providing consumers with copies of their credit files, researching the accuracy of information when requested, limiting the reporting period of derogatory information, and providing identity theft relief measures. Taken together, these responsibilities provide consumers with all of the legal rights necessary to dispute and correct inaccuracies on their credit reports.
A consumer's credit record significantly influences his future purchasing power and his eligibility of availing any credit facilities in the future. A good rating, or score, can insure a low interest rate and loans for longer term for various purposes like credit card balances, car or home loans, even car insurance. A poor rating makes a consumer vulnerable to finance companies charging exorbitant interest rates and imposing various unnecessary repayment and loan terms. Considering the stakes and the consequences involved, it is absolutely imperative for consumers to understand the importance of repairing their bad or low credit ratings.
Credit Repair, Collectors, and the FDCPA
Together with the FCRA, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) provides the foundation for consumer credit rights in the United States. The FDCPA can play an important role in any credit repair effort as it gives consumers limited, but powerful, rights in dealing with collectors. These rights provide the leverage necessary to stop abusive collection practices, gain an advantage in payment negotiation, and when dovetailed with specific state statutes of limitation even give you the ability to make bothersome collectors vanish from your life forever. A professional credit repair service will have an intimate working knowledge of the FDCPA and will insure that all of your rights are exercised. And if you are managing your own credit repair effort, make sure to study up on this crucial legislation.
Javascript is disabled, Please enable it.
Putting it All Together to Achieve Better Credit
Your credit score has a major influence on your financial well being and hence, on the quality of your life. Credit repair is the process of cleaning up your credit report and optimizing your credit scores. In today's economic environment credit repair is more important than ever. You can no longer afford to ignore your credit scores. Even small differences in your scores can translate into hundreds and even thousands of dollars in the amount of interest you will pay each year. And when it comes to credit repair every detail matters. If you are going to attempt the process on your own take the time to educate yourself. If you don't have the time or inclination to learn everything necessary to do a thorough job yourself, hire a professional credit repair service. It's your credit, and now is the time to Achieve Better Credit!
Tip #1: Check your latest credit reports from each of the Big Three bureaus: The first step toward better credit scores is to find out your current score from each of the Big Three consumer reporting bureaus. You can find a number of Web sites that give you access to this information for FREE.
Tip #2: Immediately correct any blatant mistakes: Download and review each report item by item, circling any blatant errors you find. Of particular importance are inaccurate unpaid balance flags, the existence of credit accounts that you never opened, and incorrect information concerning your current address. You must take each of these mistakes quite seriously and address them to both the relevant credit agency and, when applicable, the lender in question.
Tip #3: Pay your bills on time: This is a common sense item, but people having credit problems often neglect it due to the snow balling nature of their debt situation. Paying your bills on time is very important, and nowadays even utility companies are reporting your payment history to the credit agencies. Hint: to improve your score even more, make your monthly credit card payments before the end of the statement period. This has the positive effect of keeping any charges made that month from even showing up as a balance on your cards, thereby improving your ongoing debt-to-credit limit ratio (see Tip#4).
Tip #4: Improve your debt-to-credit limit ratio: In calculating your credit worthiness, the Big Three credit agencies factor in heavily your debt-to-credit limit ratio. As the term implies, this ratio is simply the result of dividing your total current credit card debt by the total credit limit across all of your cards. The ratio is always a number between 0 and 1, with numbers below 0.5 being most favorable. There are two ways to reduce your debt-to-credit limit ratio. One way is to simply reduce your credit card balances by paying them down. Another option that many people fail to consider: request an increase in credit limit from your creditors.
Tip #5: Pay off debt, do not just move it around: While it can be a smart move to transfer debt from your higher interest credit cards to your lower interest cards, this does not substitute for actually paying down your overall debt. Just moving your debt from card to card is not going to improve your score.
Tip #6: Avoid closing credit cards just prior to a loan application: Some people believe that closing out some of their credit cards immediately prior to applying for a loan is a good idea. However, this is not true. On the contrary, it has the effect of suddenly increasing your debt-to-credit limit ratio, which is a credit score no-no. In fact, as long as you have the will power to use your credit cards wisely, it can be a good idea to keep multiple cards. Then, use these additional cards from time to time, charging small amounts and then quickly paying them off. This reflects positively in your credit scores as your having a healthy ability to manage your debt.
Tip #7: Understand the influence that bankruptcy has on your score: As a final note, beware that having declared bankruptcy in the past can make it especially hard to achieve better credit scores. Bankruptcies can stay on your credit report for 7 to 10 years.
How to Stop Collection Agencies
You can stop collection agencies from contacting you in a number of ways. There is a federal law called the
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and you can use what it states to cease any efforts of collection agencies to collect any monies from you. It's true! Remember, this applies only to collection agencies - not creditors who may employ them. You don not have to suffer the harassment of collection agencies anymore. If you feel that you are being harassed, then you should definitely utilize any or all of the following methods:
Method 1: Write a cease letter.
Federal law requires collection agencies to stop their attempts to collect a given debt if they receive a written cease letter. There are many online to use as samples. Basically, they simply state that you wish for their organization to stop any type of attempts to collect from you. You further state that you will deal only with the creditor that you owe the debt to.
Method 2: Attorney cease letters.
If your personally written cease letter fails to be effective in stopping a collection agency's attempts to settle debts with you, a letter written from an attorney will normally do the trick. Federal law requires collection agencies to cease contact with any consumer when that consumer is known to be represented by an attorney.
Method 3: You can work out an agreement to pay with the collection agency.
You can certainly stop a collection agency from calling you by agreeing to pay. That's what they're really after anyway. Aggressive debt collectors are paid based on what they collect in a given time period. They become more zealous about their endeavors to collect when they believe that you are simply ignoring them. If you talk with them in a professional manner and come to terms for repayment, they will be much more polite. Remember, if you strike a deal with a debt collector; tell them you will not pay anything until you receive the deal in writing.
Method 4: Bankruptcy.
There is an automatic stay on collection attempts that goes into effect when you file for personal bankruptcy. In order for any debt collector to further attempt debt collection, he or she must obtain specific permission from a bankruptcy court. This is a rare occurrence. Also, bankruptcy courts will never grant this permission to anyone attempting to collect unsecured debts from you. As you know, bankruptcy is a most serious act. It should be reserved for use only in cases of severe financial turmoil.
You can stop collection agencies from contacting you in a number of ways. There is a federal law called the
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and you can use what it states to cease any efforts of collection agencies to collect any monies from you. It's true! Remember, this applies only to collection agencies - not creditors who may employ them. You don not have to suffer the harassment of collection agencies anymore. If you feel that you are being harassed, then you should definitely utilize any or all of the following methods:
Method 1: Write a cease letter.
Federal law requires collection agencies to stop their attempts to collect a given debt if they receive a written cease letter. There are many online to use as samples. Basically, they simply state that you wish for their organization to stop any type of attempts to collect from you. You further state that you will deal only with the creditor that you owe the debt to.
Method 2: Attorney cease letters.
If your personally written cease letter fails to be effective in stopping a collection agency's attempts to settle debts with you, a letter written from an attorney will normally do the trick. Federal law requires collection agencies to cease contact with any consumer when that consumer is known to be represented by an attorney.
Method 3: You can work out an agreement to pay with the collection agency.
You can certainly stop a collection agency from calling you by agreeing to pay. That's what they're really after anyway. Aggressive debt collectors are paid based on what they collect in a given time period. They become more zealous about their endeavors to collect when they believe that you are simply ignoring them. If you talk with them in a professional manner and come to terms for repayment, they will be much more polite. Remember, if you strike a deal with a debt collector; tell them you will not pay anything until you receive the deal in writing.
Method 4: Bankruptcy.
There is an automatic stay on collection attempts that goes into effect when you file for personal bankruptcy. In order for any debt collector to further attempt debt collection, he or she must obtain specific permission from a bankruptcy court. This is a rare occurrence. Also, bankruptcy courts will never grant this permission to anyone attempting to collect unsecured debts from you. As you know, bankruptcy is a most serious act. It should be reserved for use only in cases of severe financial turmoil.
Facts about Credit
.....You do not have to talk to Collection Agencies: The Fair Debt
Collections Practices Act prohibits them from calling at your request.
.....Credit Bureaus are not Government Agencies: They are in business
to make money, Example: Selling your information!
.....Anyone can dispute information on their credit report, free forms
.....Negative information remains on file for 7 years
.....Bankruptcies remain on file for 10 years
.....Judgements and Tax Liens could remain on your credit for 15 years
.....According to The Fair Debt Reporting Act (FDRA), if you file a dispute, Collection Agencies must respond within 30-45 days. Whatever cannot be verified, must be deleted.
.....Potential employers can check you credit file
.....Insurance companies determine rates based on your credit
.....Nine (9) million Americans have their identity stolen each year
.....Even with bad or no credit, you can still get credit
.....You do not have to talk to Collection Agencies: The Fair Debt
Collections Practices Act prohibits them from calling at your request.
.....Credit Bureaus are not Government Agencies: They are in business
to make money, Example: Selling your information!
.....Anyone can dispute information on their credit report, free forms
.....Negative information remains on file for 7 years
.....Bankruptcies remain on file for 10 years
.....Judgements and Tax Liens could remain on your credit for 15 years
.....According to The Fair Debt Reporting Act (FDRA), if you file a dispute, Collection Agencies must respond within 30-45 days. Whatever cannot be verified, must be deleted.
.....Potential employers can check you credit file
.....Insurance companies determine rates based on your credit
.....Nine (9) million Americans have their identity stolen each year
.....Even with bad or no credit, you can still get credit
Ways to Achieve Better Credit
Establishing a good credit history has never been as important as it is today.
It's not just that you'll need good credit to get decent rates when you're ready to buy a home or a car. Your credit history can determine whether you get a good job, a decent apartment, a deal on your cell phone and reasonable rates on insurance . One seemingly minor misstep -- a late payment, maxing out your credit cards -- can haunt you for years.
If you're just starting out, you have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a credit history the right way. Here's what to do to achieve better credit and what to avoid.
Read more at:
http://www.BetterCreditNetwork.blogspot.com
Establishing a good credit history has never been as important as it is today.
It's not just that you'll need good credit to get decent rates when you're ready to buy a home or a car. Your credit history can determine whether you get a good job, a decent apartment, a deal on your cell phone and reasonable rates on insurance . One seemingly minor misstep -- a late payment, maxing out your credit cards -- can haunt you for years.
If you're just starting out, you have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a credit history the right way. Here's what to do to achieve better credit and what to avoid.
Read more at:
http://www.BetterCreditNetwork.blogspot.com
Helpful Articles
Bad Credit Debt Consolidation
Our goal is to help people get out of debt as soon as possible and give advice
http://www.debtconsolidationlive.co.uk/
Our goal is to help people get out of debt as soon as possible and give advice
http://www.debtconsolidationlive.co.uk/
Resources
Free Credit Reports
Getting free credit reports is a crucial step in protecting your credit, but getting the report is only half of your responsibility
Fixing Your Credit - Don't Wait Another Day
Almost everybody, at some point in their lives, suffers from credit issues. You or a friend might even be in this situation as you read this article. Bad credit can keep you from moving forward and achieving better things in life. Clearly, credit repair is important for various reasons. Taking immediate action is therefore
vital.
The AARP Foundation
Are you 50 or older, raising grandchildren, or caring
for an older relative? Are you trying to save money on
prescription drugs, telephone bills, groceries, children’s health care and more? The AARP Foundation helps you find and enroll in the
most valuable public and private benefits programs ready to apply now, use the Application Forms Center to print out an application or apply on-line for the
Medicare Rx Extra Help. It’s easy and it’s fast.
Are you 50 or older, raising grandchildren, or caring
for an older relative? Are you trying to save money on
prescription drugs, telephone bills, groceries, children’s health care and more? The AARP Foundation helps you find and enroll in the
most valuable public and private benefits programs ready to apply now, use the Application Forms Center to print out an application or apply on-line for the
Medicare Rx Extra Help. It’s easy and it’s fast.
The Federal Trade Commission,
The nation's consumer protection agency, has prepared a brochure,
Your Access to Free Credit Reports, explaining your rights under the FCRA and how to order a free annual credit report.
The nation's consumer protection agency, has prepared a brochure,
Your Access to Free Credit Reports, explaining your rights under the FCRA and how to order a free annual credit report.
Best Forex Brokers
"When you are looking to get more out of your credit you should try to trade forex! You can find the best forex brokers on different forex trading portals that will guide you an let you learn the magic world of trading forex!"
www.forextrading.org
"When you are looking to get more out of your credit you should try to trade forex! You can find the best forex brokers on different forex trading portals that will guide you an let you learn the magic world of trading forex!"
www.forextrading.org
Small Business Loans
We offer small business loans up to 5 million dollars. We have funds and we are giving it to qualified clients quick and easy. Check us out today to see if you qualify. www.merchantloans.com
We offer small business loans up to 5 million dollars. We have funds and we are giving it to qualified clients quick and easy. Check us out today to see if you qualify. www.merchantloans.com
Brother Label Printers and P-touch Label Printers
Brother label printers and p-touch printers in stock at great prices delivered to your door. Find all Brother p-touch tapes and brother labels in stock too.
www.ptouchdirect.com
Brother label printers and p-touch printers in stock at great prices delivered to your door. Find all Brother p-touch tapes and brother labels in stock too.
www.ptouchdirect.com
Copyright © 2003 All Rights reserved • Built By: Build Websites Cheap.com
An IVA is a Debt Solution based on UK Government legislation.
If you are struggling with your debt repayments you can use an IVA to get your creditors to accept a plan you can afford. Under this UK government initiative you need to show that you cannot afford your debts.
This is done by showing that your monthly living costs and debts are more than your monthly income.
For more information, just click on picture below...
If you are struggling with your debt repayments you can use an IVA to get your creditors to accept a plan you can afford. Under this UK government initiative you need to show that you cannot afford your debts.
This is done by showing that your monthly living costs and debts are more than your monthly income.
For more information, just click on picture below...
