Archive for the ‘fix credit’ Category

Poor Credit Can Harm Your Chances of Good Employment

Wednesday, October 8th, 2014

Is that fair?  Probably not, but it’s true.

A 2012 survey by the Society of Human Resources Management indicates that as many as 47% of employers check credit before making hiring decisions. The premise is that individuals with poor credit are probably having financial difficulties and so might be more likely to embezzle funds or sell company secrets for a profit.

That has no bearing on your ability to perform a myriad of jobs to an employer’s satisfaction, but it still might have a bearing on whether you’re chosen for the job.

You can deny them the right.

Before a potential employer can check your credit, you must sign giving your permission. You can refuse, but then what are your chances of being hired? Refusal could be (to them) a clear indication that they’ll see something damaging on that report. They may not be able to turn you down based on the refusal, but it’s easy enough to find some other reason to choose a different candidate.

What can potential employers see?

They can’t see your credit scores, but they can see all of your identifying information such as address, date of birth and previous employment information. They can also see your trade lines and credit accounts and take note of the number and nature of inquiries into your report. Finally, they can see things of public record, such as information on collections, foreclosures, bankruptcies, etc.

They’ll also see any mistakes that appear on your credit report:

Credit bureaus are quick to admit that up to 70% of all credit reports contain some kind of error. It may be something simple, like a misspelling of your name, or it may be something serious. For instance, a missed keystroke could put someone else’s collection on your report just because your social security numbers are one digit apart.

“70% of all credit reports contain some kind of error”

That’s one of the reasons why it’s important for every citizen to access their credit reports with regularity, and to read them carefully. When you spot a mistake and report it quickly, it has less time to do damage.

“Thieves can open new accounts completely without your knowledge”

The second reason is identity theft. No one is immune from the threat, and one of the fastest ways to discover it and stop it is by keeping a close watch on your credit accounts and your credit report. Thieves can open new accounts completely without your knowledge. All they have to do is use a bogus address.

So be careful. Get your credit report and read it carefully. If there’s an error or an account you don’t recognize, report it immediately.

Click here to get your report today.

Posted in Uncategorized, bad credit, credit bureaus, credit education, credit management, credit monitoring, credit report, credit report credit scores, fix credit | Comments Off

Fix Credit Report Errors: Learn How

Saturday, March 29th, 2008

This is a step by step guide that will give you the tools to fix inaccurate information on your credit report. First you need to check when the information being reported is set to expire. Next use our customizable dispute letter, and sent it to the Credit Bureaus. It is really that simple.

Step 1: Look for incorrect information being reported about you:

Order a current copy of your credit report with scores from all 3 Bureaus online. Print your credit report and view it carefully. Make note of any information that is not correct. Determine when the information is set to expire. This guide will help you determine if and when the negative information on your credit report will expire.

Public Records:

a.Bankrupcties- Chapter 7 Bankruptcy will expire from your report after 10 years of file date. Chapter 13 will expire from your report after 7 years from file date.

b. Judgements- Court ordered decisions stay on your credit report for 7 years from file date. Example: child support, civil and small claims court.

c.Tax Liens- Tax liens stay on your credit report until you pay it off. Once you have paid the tax lien, it will stay on there 7 years from paid date. This applies to City, State, and Federal tax liens.

Charge –off – records- this record will show up on your credit after a creditor has wrote off the debt as a loss. This will remain on your file for 7 years.

Inquiries- Records of application for credit. These types of inquires usually stay on credit for a maximum of 2 years. Checking your credit online with credit sores does not damage your credit like these inquires do.

Closed Accounts- This information whether negative or good stays on your credit report for 7 years.

Collection Accounts- This record should expire after 7 years from the last 180 day late payment that led the account to collection to begin with. The expiration date is the same even if the collection is sold multiple times.

Foreclosure Records- Foreclosure and property deed-in-lieu records remain on credit for 7 years from foreclosure date.

Late Payments- Late payments stay on record for 7 years.

Repossession Records-Vehicle repossessions stay on you credit report for 7 years.

Use this expiration information to determine what should not be on your report. You should also check for information that is being reported on there that is not yours. Also make sure there is no information that are cross records either.

Step 2: Write Dispute Letter

Once you have determined what is not correct on your report, it is time to write you disputes to the Bureaus. You will need to send the letter to each of the credit bureaus via certified mail.

Example dispute letter:

Date

Your NameMailing AddressCity, State, Zip

Re: Disputing Inaccuracies on My Credit Report

Name of Credit Reporting Bureau Mailing Address City, State, Zip

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing for two (2) reasons:

1. To dispute certain information in my credit file; and

2. To have you investigate/re-investigate and remove inaccurate information from my Credit Report and prevent its re-insertion. The item(s) I dispute are encircled on the attached copy of the credit report and further identified by (identify the items by name of source, such as creditor or tax court, etc. and identify type of item, such as credit account, judgment, etc.)This item is (inaccurate or incomplete) because (describe what is inaccurate or incomplete and why). I am requesting that the item be deleted (or whatever specific change you are requesting) to correct the information.(If you are enclosing documents such as copies of canceled checks, payment records, court documents, send copies only, you should always retain the originals — and use the following sentence.)

Enclosed are copies of the following documents supporting my position?

1.

2.

3.

Please reinvestigate this (these) matter(s) and (delete or correct) the disputed items within the time frame required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and inform me in writing of the outcome. Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.

Sincerely,________________________

(Signature)Your name

Step 3: File your dispute

Submitting your dispute by mail is the suggested way, but only Equifax and Transunion allows this kind of dispute. Experians requires all disputes to be submitted online.

Here is the 3 Credit Bureaus information.

Equifax

P.O Box 740256

Alanta, GA 30374-0241

Dispute online

Experian

Dispute online

TransUnion

2 Baldwin PlaceP.O. Box 2000

Chester, PA 19022

Dispute online

Step 4: Manage Results

The 3 Credit Bureaus have 30 days to investigate your dispute and update your credit report if the dispute is valid. Once they have investigated your concern, they will send you a letter stating what was updated on your credit report. If you were not able to get a inaccuracy fixed you will need to resubmit your dispute with new documentation.

CreditScoreQuick.com

Posted in credit bureaus, fix credit, free credit score reports | 4 Comments »

Check your Credit Report before an Employer Does.

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

Did you think checking your credit report was not necessary? I would think again, recent studies show most employers are checking your credit as part of the decision process. They are looking into your personal history is to see if you are responsible enough to hold a job. Companies don’t want to hire someone that is financially tapped out; someone that is in this situation might be desperate and attempt to steal.

Jobs that involve money handling
A position that involves an employee handling money will typically require a credit report check. These companies do a background check as well. If a company is hiring you to handle there money, they want to make sure you are very responsible. There are accounts where potential employee applied for a position with a company as was denied employment due to bad credit. If you think your credit report is littered with collections, charge offs and late payments you might want to work on cleaning those types of issues up. This type of activity whether it’s a professional job or a cashier job could cost you a potential opportunity.

Government Jobs
When the government looks into hiring an individual they pull your credit report. They want to make sure you are not a security risk. They also pull your credit after you have been hired. Judy Langley was hired at by the “City of Dallas” for a clerical position. The requirement was once she was hired she had to improve her credit. The city hiring manager knew she had some credit issues, and required that she improve her credit over a 12 month period. In other words if you have past credit issues, your new employer could require you to clean it up.

Your Rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
The FCRA requires written consent on your behalf before an employer can pull your personal credit score report and/ or background check. Nether less if you suspect you have credit issues, and you are in the market to find that dream job you might want to pull a recent copy of your report with scores. Everyone looks at your credit scores as well. When an employer uses your credit report as part of the hiring process, they are suppose to inform you of this. If they deny you employment due to your credit, they are supposed to do two things:

* The employer is supposed to give you a copy of your credit report and give you your rights under the FCRA.

*The employer is also to disclose which company gave the information so they can dispute any information that might be inaccurate.

Rather than go through all of this they will simply say you were denied for other reasons.

Find out what’s on your record
This is why it’s so important to pull your credit report regularly, so if you have to get a new job or your current employer is doing credit checks, you don’t want to have issues due to bad credit decisions.


Free Credit Report from Adaptive

CreditScoreQuick.com

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Revive Credit Report after Foreclosure

Monday, March 17th, 2008

Foreclosure is a common subject these days, but there is life after having one. If you have recently had a foreclosure on your credit report, you will be able to recover from this bad experience. Fair Isaac with its new FICO 08 with due time will forgive you for a foreclosure as long as you are not a repeat offender. This new calculated risk software understands that unfortunate situations come up in ones life, but don’t make the same mistake again. Definitely don’t make it a habit of having credit problems is the point.

How long will it take before you can buy again?
Your credit report might recover quickly as long as you have other good standing credit reporting on your credit report. But that does not mean you can buy a home right a way. Most people that have foreclosures usually take time to recover from such a bad experience. HUD knows this, and that is why you cannot get a FHA loan for a minimum of three years from foreclosure date. It’s almost impossible to get a Conventional loan, because conventional loans are automated approvals. Typically with a foreclosure, collections or low scores this automated software will deny you. FHA is a different type loan all together, since it’s a government insured loan you can get what they call a manual underwrite for this type of loan. What this means is if the automated process through Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae says no, you can get an underwriter to manually approve the loan. So you can expect to wait at least a minimum of 3 years after foreclosure date before you can begin to think about financing a home again.

Pay everything on-time
When a bank lends you money, it’s a big risk. Banks don’t want to lend money to someone that has total disregard for their credit. If you have had a recent foreclosure the last thing you want to do is have late payments, collections or any other negative information hit your credit report. Let’s face it, the whole reason banks, mortgage companies, car dealers, landlords, and employers pull your credit report is to see if you pay your debts. I personally would not lend to someone that did not pay their bills back, would you? With the recent tightening up in the lending arena you might want really work on increasing your credit score. Also make sure you have at least 3 lines of credit reporting on your report. If you had to let everything go, you might consider getting a secured credit card. This type of card will help you re-establish your credit.

Save Money
Saving money is very important when it comes to getting a loan. Lenders like to see you saving money because it shows stability. Let’s assume you loose your job, well if you have 6 months payments in the bank you are less likely to let your house go. If a emergency comes up you have some money in the bank to assist in some way. Saving money also shows you are responsible as well. Let’s say two people go to the bank to get a loan and they both have bad credit. The main difference between the two bad credit borrowers is one has $5000.00 in the bank. Who do you think the bank is more likely to approve? These are some key point I wanted to touch on to revive your credit after a foreclosure. There is life after so make sure you manage your credit report and credit scores so you can begin home ownership soon.

CreditScoreQuick.com

Posted in credit report, fix credit, foreclosure, free credit report, free credit score reports | 2 Comments »

Fix Credit Report Mistakes – Learn How.

Monday, January 21st, 2008

This is a step by step guide that will give you the tools to fix inaccurate information on your credit report. First you need to check when the information being reported is set to expire. Next use our customizable dispute letter, and sent it to the Credit Bureaus.
It is really that simple.

Step 1: Look for incorrect information being reported about you:Order a current copy of your credit report with scores from all 3 Bureaus online. Print your credit report and view it carefully. Make note of any information that is not correct. Determine when the information is set to expire. This guide will help you determine if and when the negative information on your credit report will expire.

Public Records:

a.Bankrupcties- Chapter 7 Bankruptcy will expire from your report after 10 years of file date. Chapter 13 will expire from your report after 7 years from file date.
b. Judgements- Court ordered decisions stay on your credit report for 7 years from file date. Example: child support, civil and small claims court.
c.Tax Liens- Tax liens stay on your credit report until you pay it off. Once you have paid the tax lien, it will stay on there 7 years from paid date. This applies to City, State, and Federal tax liens.
Charge –off – records- this record will show up on your credit after a creditor has wrote off the debt as a loss. This will remain on your file for 7 years.
Inquiries- Records of application for credit. These types of inquires usually stay on credit for a maximum of 2 years. Checking your credit online with credit sores does not damage your credit like these inquires do.
Closed Accounts- This information whether negative or good stays on your credit report for 7 years.
Collection Accounts- This record should expire after 7 years from the last 180 day late payment that led the account to collection to begin with. The expiration date is the same even if the collection is sold multiple times.
Foreclosure Records- Foreclosure and property deed-in-lieu records remain on credit for 7 years from foreclosure date.
Late Payments- Late payments stay on record for 7 years.
Repossession Records-Vehicle repossessions stay on you credit report for 7 years.

Use this expiration information to determine what should not be on your report. You should also check for information that is being report on there that is not yours. Also make sure there is no information that are cross records either.

Step 2: Write Dispute Letter
Once you have determined what is not correct on your report, it is time to write you disputes to the Bureaus. You will need to send the letter to each of the credit bureaus via certified mail.

Example dispute letter:
Date
Your Name Mailing Address City, State, Zip
Re: Disputing Inaccuracies on My Credit Report
Name of Credit Reporting Bureau Mailing Address City, State, Zip
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing for two (2) reasons:
1. To dispute certain information in my credit file; and
2. To have you investigate/re-investigate and remove inaccurate information from my Credit Report and prevent its re-insertion. The item(s) I dispute are encircled on the attached copy of the credit report and further identified by (identify the items by name of source, such as creditor or tax court, etc. and identify type of item, such as credit account, judgment, etc.)This item is (inaccurate or incomplete) because (describe what is inaccurate or incomplete and why). I am requesting that the item be deleted (or whatever specific change you are requesting) to correct the information.(If you are enclosing documents such as copies of canceled checks, payment records, court documents, send copies only, you should always retain the originals — and use the following sentence.)
Enclosed are copies of the following documents supporting my position?
1.
2.
3.
Please re-investigate this (these) matter(s) and (delete or correct) the disputed items within the time frame required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and inform me in writing of the outcome. Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.
Sincerely,
________________________
(Signature)
Your name

Step 3: File your dispute by Submitting your dispute by mail is the suggested way, but only Equifax and Transunion allows this kind of dispute. Experians requires all disputes to be submitted online.
Here is the 3 Credit Bureaus information.

Equifax
P.O Box 740256
Alanta, GA 30374-0241
Dispute online

Experian
Dispute online

TransUnion
2 Baldwin Place
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022
Dispute online

Step 4: Manage Results
The 3 Credit Bureaus have 30 days to investigate your dispute and update your credit report if the dispute his valid. Once they have investigated your concern, they will send you a letter stating what was updated on your credit report. If you were not able to get a inaccuracy fixed you will need to resubmit your dispute with new documentation.

CreditScoreQuick.com

Posted in credit education, credit report, fix credit, free credit score reports | Comments Off

Credit Repair

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

You may have bad credit due to some irresponsible moves or some unforeseen events in your life. Protecting your credit score could prove to be very important to your future. There are lots of ways to keep your credit good, but if it’s already looking pretty bad, consider some repair options. One way is to go through a credit repair organization.

If you think you should use a credit repair company to fix your credit problems, you should educate yourself first. Credit repair companies can make a lot of promises, but be careful who you give your information to. There is a lot of deception going on in this industry and there are a few signs that you should look out for.

First, if they ask you for any money up front, then it isn’t a legitimate or ethical company. The Credit Repair Organizations Act says that companies aren’t allowed to ask you for any money until everything that they have promised has been completed. So this should be something that you are mindful of.

Secondly, they should always inform you of your legal rights and the steps that you can take yourself to repair your credit. Crazy promises to remove all bad things from your credit should be ignored. No one can do this. You can investigate your credit files to dispute any inaccurate or incomplete information, but you can’t make negative information just vanish. If a credit repair organization tells you not to contact a credit reporting agency yourself, you should probably hang up the phone and do just that. Anything that a credit repair company can do for you, you can actually do for yourself, for free. Research a little online and find out what your rights are under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The Credit Repair Organizations Act is in place to protect you. If you decide to go with a credit repair company, then you should familiarize yourself with the basics of this act before you proceed. We’ve mentioned that they can’t charge you until they’ve completed everything that they’ve promised, but you should also know that they must provide you with payment terms for their services. They must inform you of all fees and a final total amount that will be due. They must give you a detailed description in writing of everything that they plan to do. They have to give you a time line in which the process will be completed. Any guarantees must be in writing and included in the contract. The company’s name and address must also be included on the contract.

Before you sign anything, they must provide you with a copy of the Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law. They can’t start working on your credit until they have a signed contract in hand and have completed a three day waiting period. Anytime during the waiting period you have the right to change your mind and cancel the contract, owing nothing. Keep your rights in mind throughout the process and educate yourself before you start. Remember, anything they can do for your credit score, you can do yourself for free.

Author: Mike Clover

Posted in bad credit, credit education, credit repair agency, credit repair company, fix credit | Comments Off

Disclaimer: This information has been compiled and provided by CreditScoreQuick.com as an informational service to the public. While our goal is to provide information that will help consumers to manage their credit and debt, this information should not be considered legal advice. Such advice must be specific to the various circumstances of each person's situation, and the general information provided on these pages should not be used as a substitute for the advice of competent legal counsel.