Monday, July 30, 2018
How to Maintain Healthier Credit
So what can you do?
Before one of these bills winds up in collections, to the extent possible, try to be very proactive about your medical bills. Even if you have good health insurance, don’t assume everything will be taken care of. Review your EOBs (Explanation of Benefits) carefully and contact the provider and/or your insurance company quickly if it’s not being taken care of.
If you are contacted by a collection agency about a medical bill, ask them not to report it if you pay it right away (assuming you believe you owe the bill). Some won’t report if the bill is resolved quickly.
Again: Having a collection account updated as “paid” generally does not help your scores, unless a lender is using one of the newer credit score versions. So aim for removal of the item if possible. Some agencies will work with you, others won’t.
If you feel the situation is highly unfair — you never got a copy of the bill, for example — you can try two things. One is to file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The other is to contact the original provider and try to get them to pull it back from collections so you can pay them directly. If they do, the account will usually no longer be reported.
Friday, July 27, 2018
Credit Advice
Reducing high credit card balances should help increase your credit scores because it shows you have better control of your debt and that you aren’t buying beyond your income.
Low balances mean lower payments. That reduces the likelihood that you will miss payments or get into trouble.
Low balances as compared to your credit limits also results in a low debt-to-limit ratio, which I have discussed in previous columns. A low debt-to-limit ratio is an indicator of low lending risk, which will be reflected positively in credit scores.
When you can pay in full each month, you also eliminate those expensive interest costs, enhancing your financial well-being.
The other important fact about reducing your balances is that you will almost certainly improve your physical well-being, too. As your balances go down, so does the pressure to meet the payment requirements, which results in reduced stress and even better physical health.
Participating in a quality credit counseling program is a very good step to take. During the program you should learn how to better manage your debt, establish and live within a budget, and take control of your finances.
In the long term, your credit history will improve and you will be a much happier, healthier individual.
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Why Don't My Credit Reports Match
If you’ve reviewed your credit report from more than one bureau before, you may have noticed some variation from one bureau to the next. Wondering why this happens? Read on to find a few possible reasons and some suggestions on what you can do next.
You got your report on different dates.
This one is so simple it might seem obvious, but it's worth keeping in mind nonetheless. For example, if you checked out your TransUnion report last week and a different bureau today, the information might not match. This could be because one of your lenders has recently reported new information. Before you get too wrapped up in any minor differences between the two reports, ensure that both sets of information are from the same day so you're comparing apples to apples.
Your lender hasn't reported to each bureau.
Lenders aren't typically required to report your information to any particular bureau or any bureaus at all, even. If one of your accounts has appeared on one bureau's report but has yet to appear on another, it could be because that lender simply doesn't report to every bureau. Similarly, if the account is appearing but hasn't been updated on a particular bureau's report, it could be because your lender has chosen to stop reporting to that bureau. This variation also applies to hard credit inquiries. If a prospective lender checks your credit with only one bureau, then the resulting hard inquiry will only appear on that bureau's credit reports.
Your lender reports to different bureaus at different times.
Even for lenders who report to each of the national credit bureaus regularly, information may vary depending on when they report to each bureau. For instance, your lender could report to TransUnion on the first of the month, and the other bureaus on the fifteenth of the month. If this is the case, then your reported loan balances could differ among those credit reports for the time between the reporting dates. Similarly, if you've recently opened an account, it may take longer for that account to appear on some bureau's credit reports than others.
Your reports don't match for other reasons.
There are all sorts of other reasons why your information might not match up. One possibility is bureau error, so if you're sure that your situation doesn't match any of the others on this page and the information reported looks incorrect, you could consider contacting the bureau directly. If you've applied for credit under multiple names (like your maiden and married names), for instance, then one bureau could have potentially split your file or simply left off some of your information if it doesn't match what they already have on file. Another variable that could keep certain information on your reports from matching is the manner in which credit bureaus collect information about public records. As opposed to credit cards and loans, which are typically reported directly by your lender to the credit bureaus, public records aren't actually reported to credit bureaus. Rather, credit bureaus will commonly search court records to find items like bankruptcies, judgments and tax liens. The result is that sometimes one bureau might access a public record that other bureaus have not, and you could potentially have, for example, a tax lien included on one bureau's credit report that is missing from others.
So what can you do?
If you've noticed a disparity from one bureau to the next, your next steps are up to you. As I mentioned earlier, lenders are not legally required to report your information to any particular bureau, so if your account is missing entirely, you can't force your lender to start reporting the missing information. Still, you can choose to give your lender a call and see if they'd consider reporting your account. If an account isn't absent but instead contains outdated data, then you may be in a better position to request an update from your lender and the credit bureau. Keep in mind that your lender may simply report to that particular bureau later than they do to others so allow time for your report to be appropriately updated, but if incorrect or outdated information persists you could dispute the record to prompt an update.
Bottom Line
Just like your credit score, your credit reports can differ from bureau to bureau. By checking your credit reports from multiple bureaus at once, you can get a better sense of the complete range of information that's out there about you, and get a handle on any errors that you might want to address
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
How to Make or Break Your Credit Score
STEP 1: Keep your credit cards under 33%. Carrying a balance wont damage your score, it will if your debt utilization rate starts to climb above 50%. Pay your balance full every cycle if possible.
STEP 2: Pay your bills on time. With any kind of credit obligation it's really critical to always pay on time, even if you can't pay in full. Late payments will hurt your score.
STEP3: Use Different forms of credit. Holding a variety of lines:car, loan, installment loan, mortgage, store card; can improve your credit score, as long as you're mindful of the first two steps.
STEP 4: Develop a history of credit. Maintaining responsible payment habits over time will increase your score.
STEP 5: Don't Overburden your credit lines. Its best not to use more than half of any given credit line, and even better not to use more than one-third
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Friday, July 6, 2018
Reasons to Make use of a Credit Restoration Professional
Using a good credit score is among the most often ignored financial characteristics a person provides.If you have a favorable credit record,you can effortlessly qualify for some of the lowest interest rates on a mortgage loans,automobile loans,credit cards,as well as other kinds of debt.When you have a bad report,you'll possibly not be accepted or perhaps will pay out far more on curiosity and fees when compared to a customer with a good report.
Generally speaking, for the greatest price feasible on a fresh mortgage or perhaps financial merchandise, you may need a report associated with 720 to 750 , with regards to the lender.Individuals with a six-hundred credit score or even worse will probably have a problem qualifying for just about any form of credit.If they are authorized, they'll have to pay for a lot more in curiosity and costs.
For all those together with poor credit and also the want to increase their score,working with a credit restoration specialist is actually a good option.Any credit restoration specialist is someone who will be focused on supporting people who have poor credit improve their rating so they can then qualify for the majority of home loan along with other bank loan products.
Thursday, July 5, 2018
REFINED CREDIT RESTORATION STRATEGIES
*Doubt in perfect shape
Once you begin your repairing credit program you will have to examine your credit characteristic any particular volume of competence for the credit agencies. It is to be perhaps vaguely askew, you will find there's reporting error. Don't be scared to write letters and hang the onus for the credit reporting agencies.
*Straightforwardness Pays off
Anyone that could study your challenge correspondence will read approximately working day, with am allotted pace of three minutes per challenge. They would like to hear your interpretation of the reporting error. If perhaps ha been not overdue. The senior rule of credit improvement operates:
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
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