Starting Credit Repair the Right Way

On January 4, 2009, in Credit Repair, by admin
Ian Webber asked:


Credit Repair Done Right

If you want your credit repair effort to succeed you need the right credit scores and credit reports. The wrong approach can put you on the path to lower credit scores and frustration. The information you are about to read may shock and amaze you. But if you do it right you will have a great advantage and avoid some serious frustration.

The Scores You Need

Do you know what your credit scores are? Are you sure? If you are going to begin a credit repair effort and want to benchmark your starting point you should do it right. Here’s the problem. The credit scores sold by the credit bureaus are not the same scores lenders use. Huh? That’s right; the credit bureaus created their own credit scores to cash in on the market opportunity. If you muddle through the fine print at the credit bureau websites you will discover the disclaimer.

Avoid Those Imitation Scores

This unfortunate fact applies to the army of credit resellers on the web as well. There is another problem with bureau scores. You may think that even an imitation score will serve your credit repair purposes, believing that your progress should be reflected in some way. I’m sorry to say that these scores do not behave the same as your real lender scores and are almost sure to result in disappointment.

MyFICO, the Right Score for Credit Repair



If you want your real scores you have to go to MyFICO.com the website of Fair Isaac Corp, the creator of the FICO score. The current cost of scores is about $50 for all three combined. A bit pricy, but it’s the only game in town. And for those intrepid credit repair warriors that want more detail, Equifax does in fact sell a FICO score. Unfortunately, they only make it available for your Equifax report, and you definitely want all three scores for your credit repair effort. Also, they use an older release of the formula, so the results will vary.

But Nix on their Credit Reports



So, head on over to MyFICO and get your scores right from the source. It’s the right credit repair choice. But there is another twist. Although MyFICO is the only way to get your scores, the credit reports they provide are the pits. For some strange reason MyFICO blocks out virtually all of the account numbers and offers only about half of the information that your credit repair effort will need. So get your wallet out again because you will have to buy your reports elsewhere. It takes few bucks to get your credit repair underway, but it’s worth doing it right.

The Right Reports



Although the credit bureaus peddle poor credit score products, they offer excellent tri-merged reports, full of all of the detail you need for your credit repair project, and when it comes to credit repair every detail matters. I’ve taken you down a twisty road so far, and I’m sorry to say that there is one more twist on this journey before we arrive at our goal.

Credit Repair and the Right Deal



Here is the final twist. The credit bureaus want to sign you up for monthly membership, hence the offers of free credit reports in exchange for joining this or that service. If you are not careful your free credit report will end up costing you hundreds of dollars. If you want to join a monthly service, that’s another story. There are benefits. But if you just want to get your credit repair underway and want a good cheap tri-merged report you have to look very carefully.

Hiding in Plain Sight

TrueCredit.com offers the best cheap one shot tri-merged report on the web. But it’s not easy to find, so don’t just run off to TrueCredit and think you’re going to find it clearly advertised. In fact, it’s about the last thing that they want you to buy. But it’s there, hiding in plain sight. Well, almost. Scroll down the home page. Look under the main picture for small print in light gray that says that coverage is not available for residents of New York.

Credit Repair Treasure Hunt Success

Right under that line you will find another line that says that you can also get your 3-bureau credit report without the free score. Click on the words, without the free score. It’s a credit repair treasure hunt. How hard can they make it? Wow. Make sure to uncheck the two boxes where they try to sell you two other ridiculous items that have no use for your life, not to mention your credit repair efforts. Now you have the tools you need to get started. Good luck!

Copyright © 2008 Ian Webber. All Content. All Rights Reserved.



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The Seven Deadly Credit Repair Sins

On November 30, 2008, in Credit Repair, by admin
Jim Kemish asked:


Credit Repair Sin #1: Sticking Your Head in the Sand

Have you been through a period of financial stress? Is your credit a mess? It can be difficult to look at the damage, but ignoring your credit report is the number-one worse thing you can do. Did you know that late payments, charge-offs, and collections are almost guaranteed to generate errors that will depress your credit scores even further? It’s ironic that shortcomings in the credit reporting system create a bias against the very consumers who can afford it the least. Fortunately there is good news. It is never too late to stand up for your rights. Take a deep breath and start your credit repair effort today.

Credit Repair Sin #2: Canceling Your Cards

So you decided to start a credit repair program, cut up your credit cards, and make everything right. Right? Sorry. Wrong. As righteous as the plan sounds, there is a flaw. The FICO scoring model puts so much weight on open accounts that even as you remove erroneous items from your credit report your score will go nowhere; it may even fall. If you have open credit cards, don’t close them. Switch gears and get into management mode. Get the balances down, make your payments on time and watch your scores go up.

Credit Repair Sin #3: Failing to Rebuild

It’s common to emerge from a time of financial stress with no open accounts. Many people in this situation begin a credit repair effort and decide to postpone applying for new credit until their report looks better. Who wants to be denied? Why not just wait? Well, there is a reason. As mentioned above, without open accounts your credit repair effort is likely to do little for your credit scores, and you will be no closer to being lender-ready than you were before. You need to rebuild! Just get a couple of secured credit cards. You won’t be denied and you will be on your way to building truly usable credit.

Credit Repair Sin #4: Maxing Out Revolving Balances

You are doing everything right; you cleaned up your credit, you opened new accounts, and you are paying your bills on time. So, why isn’t your credit score cooperating? You may blame an old paid collection or some old public record for keeping your score in purgatory. But you are wrong! It’s just your darn credit card balances. The newest version of the FICO credit score model adjusts your score dramatically depending on the ratio between your balance and your credit limit. If you want to optimize your score keep the balance under 20% of the limit. Just try it and watch the credit repair magic happen!

Credit Repair Sin #5: Ignoring Collection Letters

Got a collection letter? It is tempting to throw it away. But throwing it away won’t make it go away. And if you throw it away you will have missed a golden opportunity to exercise a powerful legal right that exists for just 30 days from the time the collector sends the letter. For those 30 days the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requires collectors to comply with your request to provide proof of their right to collect and an accounting from the original creditor proving the dollar amount is correct. If they cannot do this they must cease all collection efforts and not report the collection to the credit bureaus.

Credit Repair Sin #6: Not Knowing Your SOL

Statutes of limitation (SOL) limit the time a debt may be collected through the court system. The SOL is different for each state and may be found easily on the Internet. The SOL may be as little as two years for some debt types in some states. If a collector cannot get a judgment they cannot enforce collection. They can ask nicely, or they can threaten, but the threats have no substance. Did you know the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act gives you the right to send a letter to a collector asking them to cease all communication? This is a handy credit repair tool. After all who needs the stress? If you are harassed by a collector beyond the SOL you can send a Cease Communication Letter and they will go away.

Credit Repair Sin #7: Flying Solo

One of the big mistakes people make with credit repair is going it alone. Credit repair is a lot like fixing an automobile. If you need an oil change you can do it yourself and probably don’t need a repair manual or a mechanic. But if you really need a tune-up you better know what you are doing. You wouldn’t just pop the hood and start taking the engine apart. Would you? Credit repair can produce awesome results if done properly, so please do the right thing for yourself and buy a book or consult a credit repair professional.

Copyright © 2007 James W. Kemish. All Content. All Rights Reserved.



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