Jeffrey Broobin asked:




The three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and Trans Union are similar and feature a “Credit Score”, which is created from credit report data submitted to them about you.

But very often your credit report includes inaccurate, wrong or incomplete information (credit records).

In this situation you have to prepare and send letters to each of the credit bureaus. Also learn your credit rights by familiarizing yourself with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

The FCRA gives you the right to dispute inaccuracies or omissions, and it requires credit bureaus to investigate your complaint (generally within 30 days), send you a prompt response and correct any errors. The law also requires the source of inaccurate information (such as a bank) to correct the record at the credit bureaus to which it initially provided the erroneous information.

Consumers working on their credit reports say many times their letters are ignored by the credit bureaus. Consumer’s say even with proof a credit record is not theirs; its removal from their credit report can take three or four challenge letters, because the credit bureaus may have only verified it in their computers and not on the credit report.

Send your dispute letter by CERTIFIED RETURN RECEIPT MAIL. This should not be done with the first attempt.

Keep a record of when you sent the dispute letters and what date you should expect a response.

If you have received no answer to your dispute after 30 to 37 days, send a certified return receipt letter requesting an updated credit report demanding the disputed credit record be deleted.

If the bureaus do not reply within the 30 days, it must be that the information was either inaccurate, or it could not be verified. In either case, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the credit record must be immediately deleted from credit report.

Some consumers have eliminated negative marks on credit reports simply by going through this process of disputing credit records several times. Since some creditors will not take the time to respond, you may be able to win by default.

In addition, some consumers working on their credit report have seen another negative credit record or two disappeared. Usually some progress is made each time you challenge. Remember, the credit bureau would like you to quit bothering them because if you aren’t disputing the credit report, they can legally continue selling it as profitable information.

To obtain the excellent credit report service, correct your credit, get FREE online Credit Report, make your Credit Score higher or avoid becoming a Victim of Identity Theft visit at Legal Helpmate Corp

Your credit score is important for obtaining credit. Your credit score is important to know, whether you need a new credit card, an auto loan, or a mortgage. Lenders use your credit scores to decide whether you are a good credit risk. If you have a high credit score, you are more likely to obtain the best rates.

Peggy

David M. Pratt asked:




Are you looking for a prepaid card that reports to a credit bureau? The short answer is that most prepid cards do not help you improve your credit. That’s because prepaid cards are not credit cards, and thus they do not extend credit to you. No credit, no credit bureau tie in.

However, there are are some cards that offer a credit reporting feature. Called the iAdvance Line of Credit by MetaBank, this is essentially a way to take out loans on a prepaid card account that when paid back get reported to one or more of the three major credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, or Equifax.

What Is a Prepaid Card?

First know how prepaid cards work. They are stand alone cards that look and act like a checking account debit card. They carry the Visa or MasterCard logo (typically) and run on the same debit card networks. They have an embossed 16-digit number on the front. This is your card’s account. They have a magnetic strip on the back for card swipe machines to read your card account number. And they have a security code and signature line on the back as well. Unlike traditional debit cards (also known as check cards) prepaid cards are debit cards that are not attached to a checking or savings account.

You simply apply for a prepaid card from any number of prepaid card companies–such as MiCash MasterCard. There are no credit checks. You just have to verify your identity by providing your social security number and birth date (as required under the U.S. Patriot act to avoid terrorists or other criminals from obtaining a card). To use the card, you must “load” your card with money. You can do this through direct deposit, or through reloading networks. (See which networks apply to your prepaid card).

After you do that, you can use the card for purchases, and for each purchase, the purchase amount is deducted from your card’s balance. When you reach zero dollars, you either need to put more money onto your card or it will become inactive. With prepaid cards, you’ll pay either a monthly fee or a per-transaction fee (usually a dollar a transaction). So while these cards aren’t free, for the unbanked (people who can’t get a credit card or a checking account) they are an excellent alternative.

More About iAdvance

Here’s how iAdvance works. You go to the iadvance website and sign up using your card account. You have to have direct deposit set upon your card as well. With the MiCash Card, you simply download a direct deposit form and, fill it out with your card’s account number, and hand it in to your employer’s payroll department.

Once you have set up direct deposit, you contact iAdvance online or by phone and take out a loan against your card balance (up to 50% of your balance). iAdvance does not recommend treating this program like a payday loan, and limits the number of iAdvances you can take out in a given calendar year.

Rather, it is meant for you to take out small loans–even as small as $20, which will then be automatically paid back the next time you have a direct deposit. This loan transaction and the fact that you paid it back on time (which happened automatically provided you didn’t cancel direct deposit in the interim) is reported to one or more of the three major credit bureaus.

Over time, you will build up a history through iAdvance of paying loans back on time. This should help with your credit score, althought iAdvance makes no claims that it will.

Not a Credit Card

So, even though you don’t have a credit card, this is a good method for generating some “credit” that will wind up in your credit report. Another method is to pay bills, although bear in mind that most bill pay programs do not report to the major credit bureaus and hence, their value is minimal.

Leonard

Hector Milla asked:




Every individual is entitled to one free credit report every year from each of the three major credit bureaus Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. The companies have long opened their doors in support of individuals wanting to keep track of what is happening in their own financial world. Any individuals report will contain a score. This so called credit score is meant to indicate how much of a risk the borrower will pose to a lender by rating the borrowers past habits of bill payment, and scoring them.

To receive a score, the individuals past information is sent through a system called the FICO model, which will evaluate the numbers received, and present the assigned credit bureau with the appropriate score. If a borrower requests such a score of any individual from one of the bureaus, the requester will have to pay a fee to the assigned bureau, where the bureau in turn will pay FICO to calculate the score.

Recently, a new way of calculating individual credit scores has been introduced by a new company. The new scoring system is meant to either lower the price FICO charges for its services to the credit bureaus, or to cut this service completely by being able to score individuals information without the middle man.

The new system looks much like an Elementary School Report Card:
Where 900-990 equals A,
801-900 equals B
701-800 equals C
601-700 equals D, and
501-600 equals F

FICA’s scoring system ranges from 300 to 850, where a score above 700 usually means that an individual will pose a low risk to the lender.

The new scoring system has caused for some controversy amongst borrowers because of individuals who would have scored well within a 701-800 score in the past are now being rated within the in C score. The new scoring system is also causing confusion for lenders since they must possibly start to read between the ranks in order not to rank an individual within a lower lending category he or she would have been entitled to when based on the FICA model. This new company, like others, has yet to be tested in comparison to FICO, which means that the final conclusion of whether one is better then the other is still missing. It do seems however, that this new company might present a more reliable rating system when basing a lending decision with any borrower.

Bernice

qdeezy asked:


I have about three past accounts that are in collections. I am trying to take care of all of them but two of them (a cell phone thats in collections and an old bank account) are not on my credit reports! I know that the banking industry has ChexSystem that they report to but do they also report to the other three major credit bureaus? And why isn’t the cell phone account on my credit report even though it’s in collection status. They have not been trying to contact me about the past due account or anything. Will they report it later or do they report to a different bureau also?

Pamela

leon p asked:


I am trying to build credit and I was declined a secured credit card by Bank of America so I am thinking of trying at a credit union.

Pauline

JJ asked:


I’m currently disputing information on my credit report at all three major credit bureaus. However, if I were to apply for a loan WHILE the items are being disputed, will I be denied the loan? Will my score be affected during the dispute process?

Lewis

David Twitty asked:




Is your credit less than perfect, below average, or sub par? Would you be interested in obtaining a credit card that could help you rebuild credit while improving your score? Are you tired of not having a credit card to take your date or family out, shop online, or even get a rental car?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions then you have come to the right place. Below I will give you easy steps and simple directions that will allow you to get a credit card even if you currently have bad credit. First, you need to find out what is on your credit report. In order to do this you will need to obtain a copy of your credit report from all three major credit bureaus. You need all three of them to make sure you get an accurate evaluation since each bureau can report different information.

The good news is there are many ways to receive your credit report. However, if you sign up for one of these services make sure you cancel your membership after you obtain the report. This will prevent any unwanted reoccurring charges.

In addition, here a few of the companies that you could also use: annual credit report, free credit score, Experian, Trans Union, Equifax, and Credit Keeper. These companies do charge a upfront fee to order your credit report. If after obtaining your credit report you realize that your credit score is lower than average and you aren’t able to qualify for regular credit cards, then you probably need to find a credit card that specializes in rebuilding your credit. Some of the most popular banks that are willing to do this are First Premier Bank Card, Orchard Bank, Capital One Finance, and Account Now. Before we move on lets talk about Account Now. This is a new company that allows you to use their card like a debit card. You put money on to the card and then are able to use it just like cash. The reason this company can help you is they report to all three major credit bureau’s just like a regular credit card.

All of these cards can be applied for online. The best way to find them is to use Google’s search engine and search for “bad credit credit cards”. Another great thing to do is search online forums and see what other consumers like yourself are saying about certain card issuers. This will ensue that you are up to date with any negative or positive things that the banks might be doing.

Also, you can use websites like Finance Globe and My Fico that can point you in the right direction for a credit card that is perfect for you.

Another great thing is that a lot of these banks will pre-qualify you without actually pulling your credit. This means that usually are already approved before you even give them your info. One important thing to remember is to always read over the terms and conditions before you agree to any credit card offer. There will most likely be a setup fee, activation fee, or annual fee. You also need to prepared to pay a very high interest rate somewhere along the lines of 24%. In addition, find out what your grace period is if any, late fees, and over the credit limit fees.

In my opinion the best credit card you can go with would be a secured one. The reason for this is because you are using your own money. In more cases than not you probably have bad credit because you borrowed or owed money that you were unable to pay. Getting a secured credit card will keep you from getting in to this same kind of trouble as before.

Typically you can get a secured credit card from any major bank. Usually, the best option would be to use a bank you already do business with or just a local bank in your city.

Jorge

Vincent Dail asked:




Your credit report contains information about where you work, live and how you pay your bills (On time or not). It also may show whether you’ve been sued, arrested or have filed for bankruptcy with in the last 10 years. Companies called consumer reporting agencies (cra) or credit bureaus compile and sell your credit report to businesses all over the world.

Many financial advisors suggest that you periodically review your credit report for inaccuracies or omissions. This could be especially important if you’re considering making a major purchase, such as buying a home. Checking in advance on the accuracy of information in your credit file could speed the credit-granting process, clean credit is a must.

Because businesses use this information to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, and other purposes allowed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), it’s important that the information in your report is complete and accurate.

Whenever you apply for any type of credit or financing, a credit report is pulled from at least one of the three major credit bureaus. You want a clean credit report to be pulled. While there are hundreds of smaller credit bureaus around the country, virtually every credit bureau is affiliated with either Experian, Trans Union, or Equifax.

Getting Your Clean Credit Report

If you’ve been denied credit, insurance, or employment because of information supplied by a credit reporting agency, the FCRA says the company you applied to must give you the agency`s name, address, and telephone number. If you contact the agency for a copy of your report within 60 days of receiving a denial notice, the report is free. In addition, you’re entitled to one free copy of your report a year.

If you simply want a copy of your report, call each credit bureau listed since more than one agency may have a file on you, some with different information.

The three major national credit bureaus are:

Equifax, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241; (800) 685-1111.

Experian (formerly TRW), P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013; (888) EXPERIAN (397-3742).

Trans Union, P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022; (800) 916-8800.

Correcting Errors For Clean Credit.

To protect all your rights under the law and to keep your credit clean contact both the CRA and the information provider.

First to get clean credit reports, tell the credit reporting agency in writing what information you believe is inaccurate. Include copies (please keep your originals) of documents that support your position. In addition to providing your complete name and address, your letter should clearly identify each item in your report you dispute, state the facts and explain why you dispute the information, and request deletion or correction. Always keep copies of your dispute letter.

They must reinvestigate the items in question, usually within 30 days, unless they consider your dispute frivolous. They also must forward all relevant data you provide about the dispute to the information provider. After the information provider receives notice of a dispute from the CRA, it must investigate, review all relevant information provided by the CRA, and report the results to the CRA. If the information provider finds the disputed information to be inaccurate, it must notify all nationwide CRAs so they can correct this information in your file. Disputed information that cannot be verified must be deleted from your file, then you will recieve a clean credit report, with that item removed.

If your report contains erroneous information, the CRA must correct it(clean credit).

If an item is incomplete, the CRA must complete it. For example, if your file showed that you were late making payments ( 30 days or more), but failed to show that you were no longer delinquent, the CRA must show that you’re current.

If your file shows an account that belongs only to another person, the CRA must delete it.

When the reinvestigation is complete, they must give you the written results and a free copy of your clean credit report, if the dispute results in a change. If an item is changed or removed, they cannot put the disputed information back in your file unless the information provider verifies its accuracy and completeness.

Also, if you request, they must send notices of clean credit report corrections to anyone who received your report in the past six months. Job applicants can have a corrected copy of their clean credit report sent to anyone who received a copy during the past two years for employment purposes. If a reinvestigation does not resolve your dispute, ask the CRA to include your statement of the dispute in your file and in future reports.

Second, in addition to writing to the credit agency, tell the creditor or other information provider in writing that you dispute an item. Again, include copies (please not originals) of documents that support your position. Many providers specify an address for disputes. If the provider then reports the item to any credit reporting angency, it must include a notice of your dispute. In addition, if you are correct that is, if the disputed information is not accurate the information provider may not use it again, thus you will have a clean credit report.

When negative information in your report is accurate, only the passage of time can assure its removal. Accurate negative information can generally stay on your report for 7 years.

Clean Credit: There are certain exceptions:

Bankruptcy information may be reported for 10 years.

Information about criminal convictions may be reported without any time limitation.

Credit information reported in response to an application for a job with a salary of more than $75,000 has no time limit.

Information about a lawsuit or an unpaid judgment against you can be reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer. Criminal convictions can be reported without any time limit.

Credit information reported because of an application for more than $150,000 worth of credit or life insurance has no time limit.

Adding clean credit accounts to your file:

Your credit file may not reflect all your clean credit accounts. Although most national department stores and all-purpose bank credit card accounts will be included in your file, not all creditors supply information: Some travel, entertainment, gasoline card companies, local retailers, and credit unions are among those creditors that don’t report clean credit.

If you’ve been told you were denied clean credit because of an insufficient credit file or no credit file and you have accounts with creditors that don’t appear in your credit file, ask the CRA to add this information to future reports. This will help get you on the road to a clean credit report. Although they are not required to do so, many CRAs will add verifiable accounts for a fee. You should, however, understand that if these creditors do not report to the CRA on a regular basis, these added items will not be updated in your file.

Dean

Tim Gorman asked:




The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACT) give all individuals the opportunity to receive a free credit report. Generally, you can request a free credit report once per year. These reports are requested from the three major credit bureaus who report on all activity regarding credit. The intentions of the Acts are to allow the consumer to check the accuracy as well as the privacy of his or her credit report. This is underlined by the fact that FCRA and FACT are enforced with regard to consumer reporting companies by the Federal Trade Commission which is the main consumer protection agency in United States.

A credit report contains data regarding the consumer’s personal contact information, bankruptcy, as well as his or her very detailed credit history details. It is regularly used to evaluate his or her credit worthiness by not only financial institutions offering credit but by employers and others. As such it is important to make sure that the consumer has a right to check the credit report in order to correct any errors or unfair information contained there. This also prevents anyone else from using your identity to commit fraud since such activity will become apparent when you check the report.

You can request the free annual copy of your credit report from the website set up by the three main credit bureaus, namely Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. All three have set up a toll free telephone number and a mailing address to meet the requests from consumers. Contacting the credit bureaus directly will not be fruitful since they will direct you to the website referred above. However you can request the free annual copy from each of the three bureaus separately at different times as long as you request only one copy for 12 months from each bureau.

Once you have filled the form on the website you will be able to see the credit report almost immediately. Using the toll free number or mailing address will get you the report within 15 days of request. However you should have the information needed to verify your identity if the credit bureau requests.

Other methods to get a free credit report

In addition to the entitlement mentioned above .You are entitled to obtain a free credit report if you are denied credit, insurance, or employment due to the contents of the credit report. However you should request the report within 60 days of notice of such denial. Unemployed individuals looking for work, those who are on welfare, and those who have been victims of frauds or identity theft, can also request a free copy of the credit report. It must also be remembered that residents of States of Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont, have access to annual credit reports free of charge for some time through State laws.

Bernice

Tarron Acuff asked:




The three major credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian, and keep information on your credit history. If you don’t have any credit it should say is that the report does not exist because no credit has been established. If they do have credit established, it will tell you what is on your report. If you should ever see something on your report that looks like fraud, Contact the fraud departments of any one of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file.

You may request free credit reports once a year from all three major credit bureaus. Your credit score is a number given to you by the three major credit bureau agencies that reflects your credit profile. At first, it would seem as though your credit score would be the same at all three major credit bureau companies, but in fact all three scores can be different. Credit scores are improved by having the right type of credit, showing responsible use and not having too much credit.

Let’s say, find that some information in your credit report that is incorrect, you may to dispute that information to have it corrected. To file a dispute, you have to attach a copy of your credit report and mark the incorrect items. You most likely will have to prove that the information is false. You should mail the dispute letter as certified mail and always keep copies for yourself. Just like most data you need to have a backup in case you would need to prove what you had sent. Your letter should include your complete name and address, clearly identify each item you dispute, explain why you dispute the information, and request deletion or correction.

Ryan