August 3rd, 2009 Written By: admin
You know that requesting your free credit report will not hurt your score or your history, so you’ve requested your copy. Maybe you’ve even signed up for a credit monitoring service. You look over your report and find an error that is bringing you down. What do you do now?
First you want to get proof of the error. This can include items such as your canceled checks, previous billing statements, any relevant court judgment papers, and a letter from your creditor acknowledging the status of the account in question. Start contacting the credit bureau that listed the error and keep a log of all the calls you make, emails you send, names of people you talk to, etc. Make sure that when you send anyone your documentation that you send photocopies and keep the originals for yourself—you may not get them back, or they may get lost in the mail, and then you’re out of luck.
Inform the creditor of the mistake. If they reported something incorrectly (for example, that the account is still open but you have proof that you paid it off), they must correct the error and contact the bureau to have it updated or removed. In fact, once you report an error to the credit bureau, they are required to contact your creditor. The creditor has 30 days to send proof that the account is open and valid and belongs to you. If they don’t, the error must be removed from your report, and you will receive another free copy of it.
If your inquiry turns into a larger dispute, you can take legal action. You’ll be spending more time and money to get the error removed, but if it’s hurting your score and you know it should not be on your report, it’s well worth it.
At the end of all these steps, if the error cannot be removed, you are entitled to add a small explanation to it on your report. For example, if you missed payments to your credit card because you lost your job or had medical problems, this can be listed alongside the account. The creditor is also required to include your explanation every time they report to the bureaus. This will not improve your score, but the next time you apply for credit, the lender may be more inclined to approve you if they understand the circumstances behind your negative history.
Categories: Credit Report Dispute
Tags: credit fix, dispute credit report
July 31st, 2009 Written By: Kerri Randall
Especially in today’s economy, you need your credit score to be high. But even if you see your score, it means nothing until you understand what category it ranks in and how that benefits you. So let’s say your credit score is 700. Is that good?
In effect, yes, a 700 is good, but it’s not great. You are not considered much of a risk to lenders, so your chances of being approved for a loan are high, perhaps just as good as someone with an even higher score. The only difference for you would be the terms of the loan; you will most likely have to pay a higher interest rate than the person with the better score.
The interest rate is a way for the creditor to safeguard their investment as much as possible, making sure they’ll get it back. The lower your score, the riskier of an investment you present, and the higher your interest rate goes. And that goes for all loans: mortgages, auto loans, equity loans, personal loans, etc.
To guarantee yourself the best rates possible, you should consider working to raise your score. Even a 720 will be better than a 700, as you’re officially part of the “excellent” category then. A higher score is also a better way to ensure that there is less discrepancy between your scores from each of the three credit bureaus. Each one will rank you differently according to their scoring formula; so you could have a 720 from Experian and a 726 from Equifax but a 710 from Trans Union, leaving one in the “good” category instead of “excellent”.
A discrepancy like the example isn’t really enough to ruin your chances of getting a good loan, but even that tiny jump into the next category could be the difference between an okay interest rate and a great interest rate. You can raise your score by paying your bills on time and in full, keeping your balances low, and using your credit responsibly. After that, let time do its work—the longer your positive history, the higher your score can go.
Categories: Credit Score Information
Tags: 500 credit score, 700 credit, good credit score
July 23rd, 2009 Written By: Kerri Randall
When you receive a new credit card in the mail, your first instruction is to sign the back immediately. But you know there’s always a risk of fraud, with thieves constantly coming up with new ways to obtain your credit card number. At the risk that your actual card ends up in someone else’s hands, should you sign your credit card or write “See ID”?
Without question, you should sign your credit card. If there is no signature on the back, it simply poses a problem for you and any merchant you try to purchase items from. I can speak from experience; merchants are not allowed to accept your credit card payment if there is no signature on the back. You could argue that writing “See ID” demands that the merchant must verify that you are the actual cardholder, but even that can get tricky.
Visa and Mastercard both clearly state that merchants may not accept cards with “See ID” written on them, and that writing that makes your card invalid. The merchant also cannot insist that you provide an ID as a term of accepting your card. What your signature really does, supposedly, is verify your contract with the credit card company—but you’re still held to it even if you don’t sign.
“See ID” also poses some other issues. If the merchant does accept your card, you’re slowing down the transaction, which can be particularly annoying for any customers waiting behind you. If for any reason you don’t have your ID with you, you’re officially out of luck. If a thief gains possession of your card, they could easily sign the card themselves in the merchant’s presence and provide their own, easily-created fake ID with their picture and your information.
Signing your card simply makes things easier. And credit card companies are constantly combating credit card and identity theft; they generally have regulations in place to protect you, easily verify any fraudulent activity, and refund the charges made by the thief.
You can protect yourself in other ways, too. Check your statement regularly, especially if you have access to online statements where new activity is reported rather quickly. Don’t give your credit card number out over the phone or email, especially without verifying that the caller is legit. Another good bet is to designate one card solely for online purchases, thereby protecting the card you use for emergencies. So go ahead and just sign your card—you’re protected.
Categories: Credit Protection
Tags: credit tips, id theft, smart spending
