Saturday, September 24, 2011

The Debt-Free Movement and Credit Repair

On August 4, 2011, the national debt was reportedly soaring at $14.34 trillion dollars. Fortunately, U.S. consumers are not following suit. Despite the government’s declining financial status, households across the country are taking a closer look at their own creditworthiness and, where applicable, their credit repair as well. As of 2011, the average credit score rose for the fourth consecutive year, totaling just under 700 points. Not only does this trend promise a brighter future for individuals, it could help jump-start the economy as well.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Credit Reports

Three Credit Bureaus Means Repairing Three Credit Reports

How many credit reports do you have? It would make sense to most of us to only have one. Right? Somewhere in the credit industry somebody came up with the great idea to have more than one credit report. Why?

As it has worked out over the years there has become three major credit bureaus and each one of them keep records on consumer credit. When a consumer inquires about credit at a bank, (that is they submitted an application to get a loan) the bank will then run a credit check. This is how the credit bureaus make their money. The information sent from the credit bureau to the bank called a credit report or credit file is paid for by the bank or financial institution. The credit check/credit report fees are many times then passed down and paid for by you, the consumer.

Anyway, three Credit Bureaus means three different yet similar credit reports to keep track of and repair. That means that you may have accounts on one credit report that is not on the other two.

I highly recommend obtaining all three credit reports if you are going to do credit repair on your credit.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Credit Repair Tips

At Credit Innovations, we always try to hammer home one major point to our credit repair services clients, and that’s how important it is to regularly check your credit reports; not only for possible account errors, but also to help fight against identity theft.
But what is it exactly you should be looking for on your report when you check it?  What are the signs that point out something may be amiss, and how can you root them out before they become a major issue?  Well, look no further than the list below…
How to spot inaccurate account information
One of the first things our credit coaches will check on a consumer’s credit report is name, address, and social security variations (if any) listed in the personal information section.  While having the wrong address on your report won’t trip up your credit score, having the wrong name or SS number can really cause a problem.
If you see your name misspelled on your report, or a wrong SS number – even if they’re only off by a letter or number – make sure you bring it to the credit bureau’s attention as soon as you can.
As to the actual accounts listed in your report, you’ll want to make sure the account history matches your own records, that all of your open credit accounts are listed as open (having them reporting closed can affect your score), and that any negative information that may have shown up in your credit history is being reported within the Federal and State statute of limitations.  If they’re reporting past the 7 year timeframe, they can be disputed.
Rooting out identity theft
Always make sure to check your credit report for accounts that aren’t your own.  When you pull a fresh copy of your report, check each of your credit accounts thoroughly to make sure they’re not only reporting accurately, but that they’re yours to begin with.  Any accounts that don’t look familiar at all should be disputed with the credit bureaus.
Another good way to nip any attempt at identity theft in the bud is to check over your recent credit inquiries.  If you see inquiries from companies that you didn’t authorize to check your credit report, or that you never applied with, it may be time to consider putting a hold on any credit applications and inquiries unless expressly authorized by you and only you.  No sense in having to go through debt settlement for an account you never knew you had to begin with.