Free Credit Report Repair Guide

10 bad habits that lead to debt disaster

I found this article on MSN written by By Leslie Hunt, Bankrate.com
This is Dave Ramsey! She basically took his baby steps and re-wrote them. If you follow Dave Ramsey at all everyone of these steps should look familiar to you. She even uses some of the same terminology, "emergency fund"…

Bad Habit No. 1: Misusing balance transfers
Bad Habit No. 2: Not checking credit reports — you can’t change them anyway.
Bad Habit No. 3: Failing to alert creditors about a financial hardship
Bad Habit No. 4: Thinking of ‘budget’ as a dirty word
Bad Habit No. 5: Using retail store credit cards to make use of discounts
Bad Habit No. 6: Procrastinating on creating an emergency fund
Bad Habit No. 7: Paying bills in no particular order
Bad Habit No. 8: Charging purchases instead of paying in cash or with a debit card
Bad Habit No. 9: Making credit payments late
Bad Habit No. 10: Making the minimum payment only

If you would like to read the story in full click here.
Tags: Dave Rasemy, Credit Repair, credit card

Be very careful when looking at Credit Repair Companies

“For a fee, they promise to clean up your credit report so you can obtain a car loan, a home mortgage or even get a job. Unfortunately, many of these companies can’t deliver. After paying these companies hundreds or even thousands of dollars in upfront fees, these companies do nothing to improve your credit report; many simply vanish with your money…”

The only thing that really will change your credit report is time and acurate disputing of inaccurate negative marks on your report.

“The truth is, no one can legally remove accurate
and timely negative information from a credit report. But the law does
allow you to request a reinvestigation of information in your file that
you dispute as inaccurate or incomplete. There is no charge for this.
Everything a credit repair clinic can do for you legally, you can do
for yourself at little or no cost...

Advise you to dispute all information in your
credit report or take any action that seems illegal, such as creating a
new credit identity by obtaining a federal employer identification
number to use instead of a Social Security number. If you follow
illegal advice and commit fraud, you may be subject to prosecution.It’s
a federal crime to make false statements on a loan or credit
application, to misrepresent your Social Security number or to obtain
an employer identification number from the Internal Revenue Service
under false pretenses.”

The Daily Advertiser - www.theadvertiser.com - Lafayette, LA

You can always get a free copy of your credit report from www.annualcreditreport. com and please be very careful of any company asking you to do anything illegal. Breaking Federal Law is not worth it.

technorati tags:Credit, Repair, Free, CreditReport

Can paying old debts hurt your credit score? Yes.

First off let me tell you I believe in paying all your debts on time and in full. I believe this for moral and legal reasons, so this post is not away to validate not paying old debts.

So here is the issue. If you have old debts that are delinquent, charge offs, or in collections and pay them off in full this can cause your Credit Score to drop drastically. Why? Because the payment on the old debt will actually update the negative marks on your credit report? It could inspire a new round of collection.

Some people advise you let the statue of limitations run out on your account and hope your score goes up because the account is no longer showing on your report. Others say you should, and have a moral obligation to pay your debts no matter the impact on your credit report. This is a personal issue each person has to make for themselves.

Credit Repair: How To Deal With Your Creditors
By Douglas Hanna

If you are in danger of credit problems because you have more debts than you can handle, there are things you can do at least keep your creditors reasonably happy.

First, prioritize your debts or rank them in terms of the ones that can give you the most trouble the quickest. If you’re three months behind on your utility bill and the company is threatening to cut off your power, you should deal with this debt first.

Second, be sure to keep an accurate log of all phone conversations with creditors and copies of all correspondence.

This way, you will have a good record of what’s going on, to whom you spoke last, the date of that conversation and its result. It’s not uncommon for large corporations to have different people or even different departments contacting you about late or missed payments. If you keep accurate records, you will always be able to defend yourself against the claim that you have been unresponsive or uncooperative.

It’s kind of human nature to want to run away and hide from creditors. But it’s better to be aggressive. If you know you are not going to be able to meet a mortgage or credit card payment, call the company before the payment is due. Tell the company’s representative why you are having money troubles. Be sure to give a real reason for your problems such as a divorce or loss of a job, and not just some feeble excuse.

If you can give your creditors a real reason for being in financial trouble, you may find that they are sympathetic and willing to work with you.

Your next step is to arrange a payment plan. When you contact your creditors’ representatives, explain that you know you are behind in your payments but that you want t make a payment arrangement. Let them know what you can afford to pay this month and the next. Make certain they know you intend to make full payment eventually.

You might also see if one or more of your creditors would be willing to let you skip a month’s payment.
Be sure to get all payment plans in writing. If the company’s representative does not volunteer to mail you the plan in writing, send a letter requesting that he or she do so.
Calculate just how much you can afford to pay a creditor before contacting the company. Then, do not agree to pay any more than this, no matter what the company demands. It may take a number of phone calls before the company agrees to a reduced payment. If the company keeps saying “no” to your offer, keep calling until you get a different answer. Or ask to speak to the representative’s supervisor as he or she may have more authority to work out a plan with you.

Finally, always try to negotiate. Your landlord may be willing to let you miss a payment now if you make it up at the end of the lease.

If you have a mortgage, ask your lender if they would take a 60 percent payment now with the promise to make this up over the next few months. If you will be paying late, explain the circumstances and ask that at least they waive the late fees.

If you are having trouble paying for your utilities, see if you can switch to a budget plan or set up a partial payment plan. Most utilities will not cut off your service so long as you are making some kind of payment.

You could sell your car and purchase a cheaper one if a car payment is a problem. If you’re going to make a late payment, be sure to let the lender know in advance. Otherwise, you might find your car has been repossessed. You might ask for an extension of the loan. For example, if you have 36 months left to pay, you might ask to extend this to 42 months in return for lower monthly payments. And if you are leasing a car, see if you can terminate the lease early. All the leasing company can say is “no.”

Being in serious debt is never any fun. But if you tell your creditors what you will do and then do what you say, things will get better.

Article by Douglas Hanna. Douglas is a retired advertising and marketing executive and author of the book “198 Tips & Tricks to Save Money and live Better.” He is the webmaster of http://www.all-in-one-info.com, a free resource for information on a variety of subjects. Please visit his site to subscribe to his free newsletter, “Money Saving Tips & Tricks.”

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

• Credit Report Repair blog
• Credit Report Repair
• Debt Consolidation- Free Credit Report - Eliminate Credit Card Debt