http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:55:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 en hourly 1 http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/is-the-ftc-wrong-about-credit-repair/ http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/is-the-ftc-wrong-about-credit-repair/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:55:05 +0000 http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/is-the-ftc-wrong-about-credit-repair/ Credit repair has its share of detractors, and perhaps for good reason. The FTC campaign against credit repair scams makes perfect sense. But for every consumer that has been disappointed by a questionable credit repair scheme, there are so many more that have benefited from the service of a genuine credit repair professional. Is it time for the FTC to acknowledge the good guys in the credit repair industry?

The credit reporting system is not perfect. There is no debate about this. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) provides the legal process for consumers to correct errors on their credit reports and initiate a credit repair effort if necessary. How common are these errors? How difficult are they to identify and correct?

You may be aware of the often quoted Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) studies which conclude that three-quarters of all credit reports have errors. The Government Accounting Office (GAO) conducted a study of studies on the subject and also identified the severity of the issue. The real need for credit repair arises from the potential economic impact of these errors which translate into higher interest rates and less favorable terms for those affected.

To appreciate the need for credit repair you need only look at the numbers. Each of the three major Credit Reporting Agencies maintains data on approximately two hundred million Americans. Per the Public Interest Research Group studies, about one hundred fifty million Americans have errors on their credit reports. The PIRG studies conclude that although some of the errors will have little or no bearing on the credit classification of the consumer, a full twenty five percent of the errors are likely to result in outright denial of credit.

Twenty five percent represents fifty million people. As large a number as this is, it is only reasonable to extrapolate that there is an even larger group who suffer needless economic hardship from errors without experiencing outright credit denial. Between the two statistics are one hundred million Americans who may be paying premium interest rates as the result of errors; one hundred million Americans who may be paying higher mortgage payments, auto loan payments, and credit card payments. How far does the Fair Credit Reporting Act go to resolve this problem and aid or encourage the credit repair process?

The truth is that the Fair Credit Reporting Act does very little to mitigate the impact of credit reporting issues or support the credit repair process. The average person has difficulty reading a credit report, and beyond the face value of the information on the report lays the vast array of virtually inaccessible legal information that would facilitate their ability to manage the chore of credit repair. This includes the basic guidelines of the Fair Credit Reporting Act itself, reporting period limits, dispute rights, etc., as well as other legislation that may come to bear such as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and individual state statutes of limitation.

The complexity of credit repair in and of itself should not be a problem. The tax code is no less difficult and we all manage to get our tax returns done. For that matter, most of us drive automobiles and have no clue about how an internal combustion engine works, much less how to fix one. The real problem is the public perception of the credit repair industry. Imagine if we were regularly persuaded that accountants were unnecessary; how would we get our taxes done? Or if we were told to stay away from auto mechanics; how many of us would be able to repair or maintain our automobiles adequately?

The accuracy of your credit report is important. Your credit score will determine the cost of every dollar you borrow, and its affect will determine the quality of your life. I understand the FTC campaign against bad credit repair operations. And I understand the importance of the media warnings against illegal credit repair schemes. But for all of the good intentions of the FTC, the result of their myopic anti credit repair attitude has been an enormous cost for millions of people that should have been encouraged to seek professional credit repair help.

For all of the bad publicity surrounding credit repair schemes, there are many excellent professional credit repair businesses. The services provided by these credit repair professionals are no less important than services offered by any financial expert and should be sought out by anyone in need of guidance. As important as the FTC warnings against abusive practices may be, it is time for them to acknowledge the good guys that operate in the credit repair field.

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


]]> http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/is-the-ftc-wrong-about-credit-repair/feed/ http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/how-a-credit-repair-service-can-help-you-to-be-debt-free/ http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/how-a-credit-repair-service-can-help-you-to-be-debt-free/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:47:06 +0000 http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/how-a-credit-repair-service-can-help-you-to-be-debt-free/ With so many people in debt and feel that they can’t get out, one would think that they would search every angle and avenue to get help. The more debt a consumer has, the more their credit suffers. Some of them are scared to contact their creditors to negotiate payments. They are afraid that the creditors will turn against them. However, companies such as credit repair services are in business to help those that need assistance in credit repair.

There are some free credit repair services out there, but you have to find the right ones. There are some legitimate companies that specialize in credit repair. Some of the legitimate ones, whether free or paid will work with you to correct and clean up your credit. There are some that will go as far as helping you to set up a budget so that you will be able to rebuild your credit and increase your credit score. This is a great benefit that no consumer should want to pass up.

There are companies that have credit repair services that offer debt consolidation. They will work to get you a loan so that you can pay off your creditors. If you have a lot of credit card or charge card debt and robbing Peter to pay Paul, debt consolidation may be a form of credit repair that can work for your situation. After your debts have been consolidated into one, you will start making one payment instead of having scattered payments. It can be difficult to keep up with the individual payments for your debts.

Another way to work toward debt freedom is to have an installment loan. The company that specializes in credit repair services will work with you to see if a secured or unsecured loan would work best for you. With a secured loan, collateral is involved. This could be your vehicle or your place of residence. An unsecured loan doesn’t require collateral but you will have a high interest rate. With your credit repair program, having this type of loan will help you to rebuild your credit history.

Companies that offer credit repair services can also help to remove negative information from your credit report. They will dispute items that are on your credit report that should not be on there. These items may not be correct, inaccurate or outdated. The creditor is responsible for responding to the dispute. If they do not respond in a timely fashion, then the item is supposed to be removed from your credit report. This part of the credit repair process will help you to increase your scores quickly.

The company that you are receiving credit repair services from will also contact your creditors by phone and mail in order to make negotiations in regard to your credit report. This is also a part of your credit repair program. Doing this yourself can be a headache and not get you very far, so hence the reason the credit repair company steps in to intervene.

Credit repair services is a good way for consumers to get back on the right track Having someone that is trained in credit repair can help you to get the credit score that you need. Having good credit is so important that it’s a good idea to have someone help you to get it back up to speed.


]]> http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/how-a-credit-repair-service-can-help-you-to-be-debt-free/feed/ http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/free-credit-repair-advice-credit-repair-programs/ http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/free-credit-repair-advice-credit-repair-programs/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:48:05 +0000 http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/free-credit-repair-advice-credit-repair-programs/ Bad credit can make you feel as though you are drowning in a turbulent sea. This is actually quite understandable because in truth credit is like a wild and unpredictable sea. If you want a better credit score, you may want to consider choosing a credit repair program. So what do we mean by a credit repair program? This article will detail the many different credit repair programs. You can use different programs, even something as simple as an outline to help fix your credit. This article details the various credit repair programs and how the consumer can use and benefit from credit repair programs.

 

To start with, a class or seminar is a good way to get acquainted with credit repair programs. These seminars are conducted by credit repair firms that offer credit counseling. The reason these firms are initiating these types of programs is most likely because they are attempting to get you to hire them for their credit repair needs. Some universities and colleges offer similar services as well as some state and local organizations.

 

To begin with, these credit repair classes teach how important it is to know your credit score, how to read a credit report, and how to take action if you are having serious credit problems. These classes usually last for a whole day and the classes give you the tools you need when it comes to using you credit and keeping track of your credit. They help you formulate a financial plan to fix your credit and also teach you how to remain debt free.

 

When we begin to talk about what type of program to consider when trying to repair your credit is impossible not to also mention using computer software. There are many software programs related to credit repair that one can find easily. These programs claim to be able to help you fix your credit with a simple click of the mouse. Many of these computer programs do not cost a lot and they are compatible with most operating systems.

 

Some of the claims these programs make can be vague but if you look at such magazines as Consumer’s Digest, you will find that a large percentage of these programs can help you solve your credit problems. These programs can help you pinpoint discrepancies in your credit report and help correct them. These programs can also help keep you on track once you have created a credit repair goal.

 

There are many credit repair software programs that have a money-back guarantee and have a free trial period so that you can be sure that the software truly suits your needs. It is important to take advantage of the trial period so that you can determine whether the software suits all of your needs.

 

There are many advantages to using credit repair programs. You have the same resources as credit counseling at a small cost within the comfort of your home. Also you do not have to visit credit counselors on a regular basis.


]]> http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/free-credit-repair-advice-credit-repair-programs/feed/ http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/what-a-good-credit-repair-company-can-do-for-you/ http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/what-a-good-credit-repair-company-can-do-for-you/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 04:10:03 +0000 http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/what-a-good-credit-repair-company-can-do-for-you/ There are good companies out there that can help you with credit repair. Their credit repair services are legal and they don’t look to get over on you by charging extravagant fees. They use good ethics and go about the proper way of helping you clean up your credit. They lay out all of the information that you need to know about improving your credit score.

A good credit repair company will abide by the local, state and federal laws that protect consumers from being scammed from companies that claim to offer credit repair with credit repair services. This includes the following federal laws: The Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Credit Billing Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

A legitimate credit repair company will operate their business with the utmost integrity. They will use credit repair services to legally help you. Legal credit repair can help you get the results you need in order to improve your credit and increase your credit score. A good company will go through the legal process in order to help you get erroneous or outdated items removed from your credit report.

They will keep you abreast of what is going on with your credit and how the credit repair process works. Credit repair services can work to get you out of dire straits with your credit. The company will advise you with information that you need to know in order to make changes and improve your credit and financial situation. They will also advise you as to how you can create a budget and learn not to spend so much money. Excessive spending is what gets most people in a credit and financial rut.

A good credit repair company uses the Fair Credit Reporting Act to get some of those items removed from your credit report. They also help you with other credit repair services such as loans or just creating a repayment plan that you pay to them. The payments must be timely in order for you to see an improvement in your credit report and credit score.

It’s important for a good credit repair company to be realistic with their clients. Depending on their situation, it could take a few months or a year or more to get your credit back in working order. Credit repair services work to help you to get you back on track with your credit. Having your credit back in shape is one of the best things you can have. It’s your lifeline to getting goods and services on credit.

A good credit repair company will not scam nor trick you into doing things that are not legal or ethical. If they did that, they would be out of business in an instant. Having a good company to provide the credit repair services that you need is a win-win situation for you and them. If you approve of their services, then you may want to refer someone else who needs some assistance on some of the same or related issues.


]]> http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/what-a-good-credit-repair-company-can-do-for-you/feed/ http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/bad-credit-repair-do-it-legal-and-right/ http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/bad-credit-repair-do-it-legal-and-right/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:44:45 +0000 http://creditrepair.financialbubblewrap.com/bad-credit-repair-do-it-legal-and-right/ There’s a lot of bad credit repair offers on the web today making bold claims to “increase your credit score by 100 points in 30 days! Guaranteed!” Or something like that. But beware! These bad credit repair systems can end up making your credit worse in the long run.

So what do you do if you’re faced with extreme errors? For instance, a mortgage or car company that keeps reporting your payments as late, even though you’ve caught up (this happened to a friend of mine). These types of dings on your credit can keep you from getting good interest rates, and may even cause you to be turned down flat by lenders! It is estimated that 79% of all credit reports contain errors. That’s a lot of errors and these errors cost Americans millions of dollars in interest every year.

But going head on with a mortgage or auto lender is like the proverbial “tilting at windmills.” Once they ding your credit – they won’t write a letter to the credit bureau retracting it! That would open them up to all kinds of liability issues. This is when you need to seek credit repair legal advice.

But before you seek bad credit repair advice (from an attorney or any other company) we wanted to give you some helpful information so that you can make a more informed decision about what to do.

What Exactly is Credit Repair?

Credit repair is the term that refers to challenging inaccurate, misleading, or unverifiable information on credit reports to improve the credit score.

Is Credit Repair Legal?

Yes, but there are illegal credit repair programs you should be aware of! For example, while it is legal to challenge negative items on your credit reports that you believe to be inaccurate, misleading or unverifiable, the accurate information is supposed to remain on your credit report.

It is also entirely illegal to create a “new” identity by applying for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) to use instead of your own Social Security Number. An EIN number is the number that the IRS gives to a corporation for tax purposes. To use this for credit repair is called file segregation – in order to escape responsibility by hiding one’s credit history. The use of File Segregation is a crime and can result in fines or serious jail time. This is a road you don’t want to go down.

Why Should I See A Credit Repair Law Firm And Not Just Get One Of Those “Do It Yourself” Credit Repair Systems?

First off - major errors are very hard to remove on your own.

A TRUE STORY: I have a friend who filed for bankruptcy in New York. She paid off all her debts and the bankruptcy was discharged. About 6 months later a SECOND bankruptcy filing appeared on her credit, along with a discharge. Then a THIRD one! This made her look like someone who abuses the system (filing for bankruptcy to stop collections, then canceling it without paying her bills). Needless to say her score was absolutely tanked! It took her over 18 months to get just ONE of the mistaken bankruptcies removed. She’s still working on the second one today.

Secondly - these supposed “sure-fire” credit repair systems might ruin your credit! Many of them encourage you to (or claim they will do it for you) challenge everything on your credit (good AND bad). Unfortunately this can result in removing the “good stuff” also. And as any lender will tell you, NO credit history is often times worse than BAD credit history!

A TRUE STORY: I sell cars in Phoenix Arizona and imagine my surprise when I pulled a 52-year old customers credit one day and all that was there was his name! ZERO credit score, ZERO open loans (or closed loans for that matter). He might as well been born yesterday. The thing was, he had an open car loan! So the banks knew he had “washed” his credit, which made him look suspicious. Unfortunately no bank would touch him at any rate of interest so he went home without a new vehicle that day.You may think I made this up because you have been told it wasn’t possible, well, it is possible. I saw it with my own eyes.

This type of credit repair is illegal! If an item is old and questionable, that can be challenged and removed. A good credit attorney will know the difference and keep you out of trouble and get these items removed, thus improving your credit score.

Aren’t There Laws Regulating The Credit Repair Industry?

There are indeed. The most prominent one is theCredit Repair Organizations Act (CROA). This became law in 1996 to protect the public from unfair and deceptive advertising practices in the credit repair industry. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigates complaints about credit repair organizations and takes appropriate legal action. Unfortunately it takes them a long time to operate and you could have your credit damaged further by using one of these companies.

Here Is How You Can Avoid Becoming A Victim Of Unscrupulous Credit Repair Companies.

· Avoid any credit repair company that will not tell you your legal rights and what you can do yourself for free.

· Avoid any credit repair company that tells you to relax and let them do it all. In other words, don’t contact the credit bureaus yourself.

· Avoid any credit repair company that tells you they will dispute everything (good, bad or ugly).

Avoid any credit company that suggests creating a “new” credit identity – and then get a new credit report by applying for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) to use instead of your Social Security Number. Remember – This is illegal and can have serious consequences.

Talk to a real credit repair agency. We have an excellent credit law firm on our site that specializes on LEGAL credit repair! I would invite you to go there and see for yourself how they can help solve your problems.


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