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Will Creditors Help You?

Nov 29

Posted by Lynn Daniels in Credit | Comments off

Yes, you read that correctly. It is not a mistake or a typo. With so many Americans feeling the financial crunch today it is possible to get help from your credit card company.

If you’re like a lot of people and have either maxed out your credit cards or simply taken out more debt than you can afford to pay back you may want to contact your credit card company and ask for a forbearance to help you regain control of your financial situation.

Some credit card companies can grant forbearance if the consumer has lost their job or has had some unexpected financial emergency like a medical situation recently.

Forbearance is simply a postponement of your payment and may last from 6 months to a year (or possibly longer). This could also include reducing your minimum monthly payment, reducing your interest rate and possibly eliminating some fees that were assessed on your credit card. Forbearance does not eliminate your debt but it can help put it off for awhile so that you can try and recover from your financial situation. The Credit Card Company may report this postponement to the credit bureaus but they may be willing to hold off on the reporting it. Usually if you have had a good payment history with them up until this they may be more willing to work with you. On the other hand if you were someone that was habitually late with your payments you may need to dispute this information later if it is reported incorrectly. Note this is only a temporary solution to your problem because soon you will have to start paying back the credit card balance.

If you find yourself having financial difficulties or have had some financial emergency come up, it’s best to contact your credit card companies as soon as possible before the problem gets worse or to a point where the credit card company can no longer help you.

Ovation Credit Services provides premier credit repair and credit report repair services. Founded by attorneys, Ovation has helped more than twenty thousand consumers overcome bad credit.

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Making store cards work for you

Nov 6

Posted by Samatha Ferguson in Credit | Comments off

If you can comfortably clear the outstanding amount on your store card when the bill arrives and are a regular customer of that particular retailer, it may be worth using a store card, as there could be plenty of benefits in doing so. Not only do you get a discount on your first purchase, there are usually other perks, such as bonus reward schemes, free catalogs or magazines, and special shopping days, where you can avoid the crowds and shop in peace. Jim Black gives customers 1% of what they spend in store back in the form of vouchers, for example, so if you are a regular customer this could be worth having.

Some retailers have launched credit cards alongside their store cards so you get the usual rewards of a store card for spending on the retailer-branded credit card. The danger is that while the APR tends to be lower than on a store card, it isnt as cheap as some of the best credit cards. And as you arent restricted to one store but can use it in whatever outlets you like, you could run up more debt on it than you were able to before. Check the APR before spending ” and if it isnt that competitive (and you dont clear your balance every month) dont use it at all.

Set up a direct debit to pay the full amount due on your store card each month. Then, if you forget to pay one month ” perhaps because youre on holiday ” it will be paid regardless so you wont run up any interest.

As well as persuading you to take out a store card, many retailers will try to force you to buy card protection and, just for good measure, card payment protection as well:

Card protection: Covers you if your card is lost or stolen. A single call from you can cancel all your plastic and usually costs around $7 a month.

Card payment protection covers your store card repayments if you lose your job or become ill and cant work.

You would want to avoid both types of cover, as they are expensive and usually a waste of money. Dont be talked into signing up, no matter how persuasive the salesperson is. If you really want some card or payment protection, shop around for a good deal rather than automatically taking out the policy the store card provider offers: There is no obligation to do so and you will find a better deal elsewhere. Make sure you read the small print before signing anything.

How to Invest is a free website dedicated to helping people get through the BS details and down to what is important; making money. How to Invest is updated daily on what matters to the investor and a knowledge base for those still learning the art of investing.

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Have You Considered Challenging Negative Items on Your Credit Report?

Nov 3

Posted by Ben Casey in Credit | Comments off

How to Dispute Your Equifax Credit Report

Anxious to remove bad credit from your Equifax credit report?

In this process, obtaining a copy of your Equifax credit report is tantamount in order that you may review the credit report for any negative information listed. Following is a list of items which will affect your credit negatively:

third party actions involving charge-offs

court decisions, such as judgments

bankruptcy proceedings, such as Chapter 7 or Chapter 13

bank-initiated foreclosure proceedings

repossessions, i.e. auto, boat, or other personal property

garnishments

delay of payments

collections, paid collections, settled accounts

public records/judgments

A dispute letter to Equifax is the next step. You should draft a letter which outlines your reason for believing the reported information is inaccurate. Be sure to include your personal information in the letter.

Finally, you will need to wait 30-45 days to receive Equifax’s determination.

After I Mail My Dispute Letter, What Happens?

If you win your dispute with Equifax, you should continue to clear up any unresolved issues, including remaining inaccurate bad credit. Once you eliminate all traces of bad credit, you should focus on resolving any other discrepancies such as address and employment information.

Equifax will delete any negative item that cannot be verified. Be aware that Equifax, when notified by creditors, will update items on your credit report. Depending on what the creditors report, this could be bad or good information. For example, Equifax might revise your credit report to show additional late payments.

Expect the negative item to remain on your credit report for 7-10 years if you lose your dispute with Equifax. However, don’t lose heart! There are other options available to continue trying to rebuild your credit.

Methods beyond a simple dispute are more advanced and require the help of a credit professional. Some techniques an attorney might use include negotiating directly with the creditor, payment for deletion, or debt validation.

Keep in mind that credit reporting by a creditor is voluntary, while the seven year limit is imposed only on credit bureaus. As such, a convincing attorney can often persuade a creditor to erase a negative item from your credit report.

Discover how I raised my credit score from 582 to 745 in four months with the help of Lexington Law. Learn the truth about quickly and effectively deleting bad credit at www.creditforcouples.com.

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Beat Credit Card Debt By Losing The Guilt Associated With It

Oct 30

Posted by Matthew Highlander in Credit | Comments off

Every day more consumers fall behind on their credit card debt payments and leave themselves open to being threatened by credit card debt collectors. Some people simply cannot afford to pay their growing minimum-monthly credit-card debt payment(s), as a result they begin to feel hopeless and guilty.

Some who go through this, however, realize that they do not need to feel guilty and submit to debt collectors.

They understand they can use a proven legal strategy to make the debt collector prove the debt is owed. Denying and disputing an unsecured credit debt with a debt collector, not the original creditor, works, according to Credit Card Debt Survival Guide. This strategy forces the other side to prove their case.

Credit card debt collectors must, according to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:

1] Unless the consumer disputes the validity of the debt, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector and

2) Says that the consumer must dispute the debt, in writing, within thirty days of dispute.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act also allows consumers to write to the credit card debt collector stating that they refuse to pay the debt, or that they would like the debt collector to stop all communication regarding the debt.

If a consumer follows this advice and refuses to admit to the credit card debt, by disputing it and denying it, and then writes to the credit card debt collector asking them to cease communications regarding the debt, that may cause the debt collector to decide to collect from other easier-to-deal-with consumers. For them to proceed with the task of recovering this debt, they will need to prove the debt exists by getting copies of original documents from the credit card company and sending them on to the consumer.

With an unsecured, unsigned credit card debt, a debt collector has to get the consumer to admit to owing the debt. Effectively they need an admission of “guilt”. The initial exchanges between consumer and the credit card debt collector set the tone of all communications between them. If a consumer denies and disputes the alleged debt, and also forbids further communications, often the collector will look for an easier target.

Matt Highlander researched and wrote the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide for consumers seeking to educate themselves about credit card debt relief.

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What to Do with a Court Summons for Credit Card Debt

Oct 17

Posted by Matthew Highlander in Credit Cards | Comments off

Too many, in fact most consumers do not respond to a court summons for credit card debt. Collection attorneys have become accustomed to filing a summons, winning be default and collecting money with the court’s help.

A two or three page answer is enough to begin defending against a court summons for credit card debt. The answer to the summons is only the beginning of the case from the court’s perspective. The answer needs to make the collection attorney properly document the alleged debt, according to the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide.

Collection attorneys know the consumer has a right to proper documentation, but frequently they cannot produce it. Most credit card agreements do not have signed contracts. Producing a complete accounting of the alleged amount owed can be a challenge as well. Debt buyers buy large batches of discharged credit card accounts from banks. Collection attorneys for debt buyers have trouble documenting the ownership of the individual accounts in the batch.

Answers to summonses for credit card debt are answered differently in different state courts. The local rules of civil procedure provide the guidelines for acceptable answers. They also dictate the proper method of summons and answer service, as well as the amount of time the consumer has to answer before going into default.

Legal defenses that pertain to defending against a credit card debt should be worded carefully so that they comply with the local rules of civil procedure. As a start a resource like the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide will give the consumer a generically worded answer. Then, the consumer can ask a local attorney to comment on the wording of their answer for a small fee, if the consumer cannot afford to pay him to do more.

It is a common practice for collection attorneys to “fish” for defaulting consumers with a batch of court summons. Most credit card debtors do not answer these summonses. For the few that do, the attorney simply withdraws the claim focusing on the easy money from the defaulters he has netted.

To beat them, civil summonses for credit card debt need to be answered!

This content is not intended as a substitute for legal advice. If you need an attorney in your local area, please contact a licensed attorney in your state.

Matt Highlander has researched credit counseling, debt settlement, debt collectors and collection attorneys. If you are seeking credit card debt relief, read Credit Card Debt Survival Guide Matt writes for the Guide.

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Repairing Credit: I Was In Good Shape With my Credit

Oct 15

Posted by Brad Morgan in Credit | Comments off

by Brad Morgan

Credit card offers can be very tempting, and we certainly get enough of them in the mail everyday. Even people with poor credit scores are inundated with these “pre-approved” offers.

Part of the allure of credit cards is the belief that you need one, “just in case.” As a result of such thinking, these offers are not discarded as they should be. Instead, you keep one or two to look at for those “just in case” situations.

Credit card companies are masters in the art of temptation. They can draw you in with promises of incredibly low APRs, zero percent balance transfers, and more. Plus, who wouldn’t want a card that you could personalize to fit your style? Recently, many credit card companies offer to design a card just for you, making it even more irresistible.

You may apply with the intention of using it strictly for emergencies. Isn’t that a safe and responsible thing to do, you say to yourself.

While you wait for your card to arrive, you fortify your intention of using it only when absolutely necessary. You won’t borrow money to pay for extraneous and unneeded items.

Maybe you forgot about the personalization, the colors, and the dolphins, until one day it arrives: your credit card, your instant money.

You rush to open it, and it is everything you wanted. You call the number, activate it and think about all the possibilities.

Now that you have the credit card in hand, ready to go, your mind drifts to what you can buy with it. You’ll definitely pay the balance in full each month, so a few little purchases won’t hurt. And isn’t it better to use it and pay it off than to let it gather dust in your wallet? A few small, inexpensive items, and then only for emergencies.

It is easy for your good intentions to be thrown by the wayside, and the consequences of credit card spending can be unpleasantly reiterated when you get the first bill.

And so you enter the cycle of debt in earnest. Instead of paying off the entire balance, which you told yourself you would do each month, you pay a minimum payment. Instead of cutting your spending, you continue to use the card and pay only this small amount.

It is easy to spend, but not so easy to pay. Soon, your card has neared or reached its limit. The solution? Another credit card, of course. You start using that one, maybe with the same good intentions of using it for emergencies only. Soon, you are making minimum payments on two cards, and your debt is getting out of control.

You buy more and pay the minimum on three cards. Before you know it, those precious twelve months are up, and you are buried in 23.6% APR rates and late fees. Your couple of hundred or thousand dollars owed has now tripled, and it is still skyrocketing!

You fool yourself to prevent the reality of your increasing debt and lowering credit score.

You make plans to pay off the entire balance with tax refunds or bonuses. But these get sucked up in everyday purchases, and still your debt grows.

The car payment is due, the mortgage is due, and you need a new water heater. The cards remain unpaid and your mailbox is as full as your missed and avoided call list. You have lost control.

Start boldly and decisively to take back control. Take your three credit cards and cut them up. Be merciless. If you work hard to pay them down, you don’t want the temptation to start using them again. Once you’ve paid them off, you want them out of your life.

If you do decide to keep one card, make a concerted effort to pay it off in full. This may mean making some sacrifices, but it is well worth it to dig yourself out of debt. Use if for emergencies, but make sure you have a clear definition of emergency. A great sale on shoes is not an emergency. Fixing your car so you can get to work is.

It is then time to begin answering those calls with a game plan in mind. Credit card companies are not fans of delinquent account holders, but they will work with you to get the money they want.

Work out a payment plan with them that you absolutely know you can pay. Realism is the foundation here.

It is easy to view credit cards as a way to get what you want without having to pay for it. The reality, though, can hit you when your credit score is in shambles and you are getting collection calls. This is real money, and it is your responsibility to repay it.

Time allowed this debt to get out of hand, and time is required to get it back in control. This problem will not dissipate overnight.

This can be frustrating as you pay and see no immediate effects. But as you continue your efforts, you will see both your debt load decreasing and your credit score increasing. In a year, you could significantly decrease the amount you owe, or you could let it continue to grow exponentially. The choice is yours.

Credit repair requires an immense amount of honesty with yourself and your creditors. It can be an uncomfortable position to be in, but if you learn from your debt mistakes, then you can start making real progress towards improving your financial life.

About the Author:
A great way to repair credit is with the free credit report technique and reviewing your free credit report.

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Loan And Interest Basics

Oct 15

Posted by Graham McKenzie in Credit | Comments off

by Graham McKenzie

As the interest rate on credit cards & other loans continues to increase, lots of people have turned to home equity loans as a method of borrowing funds at a low interest rate. The equity of your house is the difference between the value of your house at any given time & the amount of funds you owe on the total balance. A home equity loan is a great tool for consolidating high interest loans & credit cards.

Another Mortgage ? Can You Afford That? Home equity loans are also known as second mortgages, & can provide you with lots of benefits that don’t exist with other types of loans. The interest rates can be much lower than credit cards. It is not uncommon to see equity loans which have interest rates which are at least 60% lower than credit cards. They are also tax deductible for up to $100,000. This makes them the obvious choice for those who have equity in their homes. Equity loans are flexible, & homeowners can also use a revolving line of credit to borrow funds.

Your Home As Collateral – A home equity loan differs from most other loans in that it uses your home as collateral. This means that actual value of your home is used to secure the loan. It does not depend on how much you bought the house for but on how much it is currently worth. If you bought a home for $200,000 and it has increased in value to $250,000, you now have an extra $50,000 that you can borrow against the value of the home. This setup allows you access to the profits of increased home value without having to sell your home. The catch, of course, is that your home can be taken from you if you default on your payments.

What Are My Lending Options? Home equity loans are not often denied by banks and mortgage companies. The finance industry understands that you take your home ownership very seriously, and expect that making your payments will therefore be a priority for you. For a lender, a home equity loan is very low risk. They are always looking to lend to responsible homeowners, who are likely to also have a good credit history.

Another common use for home equity loans is higher education. As the cost of education continues to rise, it will become harder for lots of families to send their babies to school. Lots of parents pick to use a home equity loan to invest in the education of their babies. Despite this, lots of federal student loans have low interest rates as well, & parents will need to weigh all their options carefully before making a decision. Home equity loans which are used for education have lots of tax benefits.

Lots of people pick to use home equity loans for remodeling their kitchens or bathrooms. Remodeling a part of your house is a great way to increase its value. It is also easy to get approved for loans which you plan on using for remodeling your home. They tend to have low interest rates, & the amount you pick to borrow should be dictated by how you plan to remodel the home.

My mother said: “Prevention is better than cure” Since many Americans have no health insurance, accident or disease for the use of capital loan is a great way to avoid debt. He became much more difficult for people to file for bankruptcy, so it is not easy to escape from a situation where you have a sudden illness. Profit-sharing can be protected from situations where you have high medical bills without insurance. As health care costs continue to rise, equity loan or line of credit will help you a lot.

About the Author:
Graham McKenzie is the content coordinator for a leading South African leading Homeloans and Bond Origination portal which provides access to Nedbank Homeloans.

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Debt Consolidation Loans and How to Pick One

Oct 12

Posted by Layla Vanderbilt in Credit Cards | Comments off

by Layla Vanderbilt

In order to get the lowest interest rates on debt consolidation loans, we first need to look at what terms and rates exist. The companies that lend money have to compete with each other, so they have to offer low rates. Finding a loan with a rate that is even just a quarter percent lower saves you a significant amount of cash. Also, the kind of loan you pick may have major financial considerations.

Choosing the Debt Consolidation Loan that Fits You: Loan seekers have two debt consolidation loans to choose from — secured or unsecured. What is the difference? If you get a secured loan, it is made with your home or other property as the collateral. Some people decide to use the equity in their home or other property to pay off all their debts. Another type of secured loan is a home equity line of credit, which can also be sued to pay off your bills. Both of these loans allow you to deduct the interest on your taxes.

If you go for unsecured debt consolidation loans, be sure of a higher interest rate just like in those unsecured personal loans. The interest rate can also be a bit higher than usual if you have a bad credit rating. Having a steady income source is mandatory before accessing this type of loan.

Remember; be sure to include all the money facts when you are choosing the type of debt consolidation loan to get. The secured loans have fees, and the interest rate may be a bit more than what you received on your primary mortgage. But, they are tax deductible. Because of this, if you are thinking of using the loan to pay off a lot of bills, a secured loan is probably the most logical choice. It also offers a longer time frame to pay off the fees you will pay. On the other hand, the unsecured loan is the best choice for anyone who doesn?t own a home or other property and may not have as many bills to pay off.

Where to go to find that loan? Whether you decide on a secured loan or an unsecured loan, the way to go about finding someone to give you the money works the same way. First, call up several companies and ask them how much their rates are for debt consolidation loans. It isn?t always the well known places that offer the best rates, sometimes a less known lender can give you the best rates. The Internet offers a great source of information on lenders that may offer these types of loans. to start by requesting quotes and terms from several lenders. You may be surprised to find a lesser known lender offers far better rates than national financing companies. Also, use the internet to speed the process by requesting information online.

Information on any applicable fees as well as any upfront and early payments should also be included. With all these costs in mind, you establish the true value of the loan. By now, you should be having a shortlist of the best lenders. Try to find out from your list if there are any discounts or customer service offered. Some lenders offer discounts for first time customers or those applying online. Since you know all the facts about the different lenders choose the one that you feel comfortable dealing with.

About the Author:
Layla Vanderbilt is the content coordinator for a leading website that offers for instant bad debt consolidation advice and guidance.

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Beating Credit Card Debt Collectors at Their Own Game

Oct 11

Posted by Matthew Highlander in Credit Cards | Comments off

by Matthew Highlander

Consumer debt collectors! Credit Card debt collectors! There ought to be a law against them! Fortunately, there is a law, and educated consumers have learned how to use it to fend off these debt collectors by making their job difficult.

Time is money for a credit card debt collector, who is in the business of collecting unsecured consumer debt, most of which happens to be credit card debt. These consumer debt collectors and collection attorneys work on a percentage of what is collected. Most people think there is a debt collector for every debt, when the reality is there is only a debt collector for every easy-to-collect credit card debt.

Consumer debt collection has grown and prospered with the expansion of the credit card industry.

Consumer credit went from $133.7 billion of in 1970 to $2.5 trillion of debt in November 2007, according to the Federal Reserve and Business Week.

According to a trade group for the debt collection industry, ACA International, each year debt collectors put more than $40 billion back into the U.S. economy.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 173 million credit cardholders in the United States in 2006.

According to the American Banking Associate, in the first quarter of 2009, 4.75 percent of bank cards were delinquent.

The point is, there are millions of delinquent credit card accounts to go around to ambitious debt collectors.

The Federal Reserve compels credit card companies to budget for bad debts. The credit card companies usually sell those bad debts after they are written off to junk debt buyers for no more than 10 cents for each dollar of debt. Given that bargain, junk debt buyers do not expect to collect on 100 percent, or even 50 percent, of the accounts they purchase, nor do the collection agencies and collection attorneys who work for them.

Debt collectors make the same empty threats to both resistant and non-resistant consumers holding credit card debt. Usually, however, they only follow-up with more threats and intimidation with the non-resistant majority of delinquent credit card account holders. The secret is learning the correct response to those initial threats and how to use the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

While credit card companies are original creditors not covered by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, collection agencies, collection attorneys and junk debt buyers are subject to that federal law. According to the FDCPA a debt collector (Attorneys collecting consumer debt are considered debts collectors by this law.) must notify the consumer in writing of their right to dispute the debt and have it validated. Validation means the collector must send copies of original documentation verifying the debt. The FDCPA also says the consumer can instruct the debt collector to cease collection attempts until they properly validate the debt.

Should the debt collector invest their time with those who properly dispute and request validation or those who put up no resistance?

About the Author:
Matt Highlander writes for the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide. Learn about debt settlement and legal nonpayment strategies for eliminating credit card debt.

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Easy Credit Solutions

Oct 4

Posted by Jeff T Engels in Credit | No Comments

by Jeff T Engels

Credit is something many of us require at various times. Sometimes the pay cheque will not last out until the next pay day or we might have to make an emergency purchase at short notice. At times like this we need to gain credit as easily as possible.

Borrowing money from the bank or traditional lending bodies can be time consuming and involve a lot of time spent form filling. And even then you may be let down and not receive the loan. But in recent years we have seen the growth of the high street money shops which offer easy credit options and allow people to borrow money quickly with the minimum of formalities.

Most of us live within easy travelling distance of a money shop making them a convenient service for offering easy credit.

One of the most common form of loans is the pay day advance which enables you to borrow cash when you most need it – which is usually when money is running short in the days before you are paid. The beauty of this kind of loan, particularly for those who have had financial difficulties in the past and have been refused by the traditional lenders, is that there are no credit checks to under go. This means you can have the money in your wallet to spend as quickly as possible.

Need a larger loan? Money shops can also help you with one of those as well. This can be arranged by visiting the shop, ringing them or surfing the internet to find money shop websites. As there are a lot of money shops you will also be able to hunt around to gain the best deal possible. Remember to avoid those who want to charge you for unnecessary insurance policies or impose a fee for early repayment. Also avoid those shops which have unnecessarily prolonged application procedures.

There are many easy credit options available for the public, and one is to use your car to borrow money against. To qualify for this type of loan, you must have paid off any previous finance on the vehicle. The car must also be MOT’d, and have current road tax and insurance. When receiving this kind of loan you still retain possession and have use of the vehicle.

Another easy credit option available from the money shops is the cheque cashing service. Instead of having to await cheques – such as wage, benefits, insurance and tax refund – being cleared through your bank, the shop is able to clear them immediately.

All of this goes to show, if you need easy credit, with a range of options, then your high street money shop should be your first port of call.

About the Author:
Xtra are a Hull finance company offering low cost log book loans and the best value pay day loans in East Yorkshire

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