John Merris has an above-average credit score. But he felt it was worth taking time and effort to make it even better.
"Although my credit report and score are both good, the credit-reporting agency informed me that my score would be even higher if I had a credit card history," the Shrewsbury, N.J., man explained.
Merris was confused, because he has been using credit cards for more than two decades.
"So, I gathered all the information regarding the three credit cards I have had for the past 20 years. I sent the credit reporting agency a letter listing the three cards, the dates I had them and the addresses where I send payments each month.
"About 2 weeks later, I got a letter from the credit-reporting agency. It stated that I personally cannot submit such information about my credit cards. Rather, the information must come from my creditors. Therefore, all my detective work was for nil because the credit-reporting agency would not accept my information."
It's no wonder consumers get frustrated with credit-reporting agencies. Although federal law gives consumers the right to dispute inaccurate information in their files, it doesn't guarantee them the right to add information about missing accounts.
As Steven Katz, a spokesman for Trans Union explained, "Consumers cannot dispute an item that does not exist on their credit report."
All consumers can do is appeal to the creditor. Start by contacting the creditor and asking if it regularly reports to the credit bureau in question. Although many companies report to all three credit bureaus, some report to only one or two.
"It's possible that some lenders may not have a reporting relationship with a specific bureau," Katz explained. As a result, your credit report and credit score can vary significantly from one credit reporting agency to another.
If the creditor does report to the bureau in question, the consumer can ask the company to make sure the item is being properly reported.
Asa Aarons is a consumer reporter who appears on News 4 You at 5:30 p.m. weekdays on WNBC-TV, Channel 4. His special Daily News column appears Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Send your questions to: Ask Asa, P.O. Box 3310, New York, N.Y. 10116, or you can e-mail him at AskAsa@gmail.com. Questions can be answered only through this column.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Free Website Offers a Look at Credit Reports
Students need good credit to get a good rate on student loans or to pay for necessary expenses. Students can now check their credit report to see just what is going on with their credit.
The Annual Credit Report Web site was created so people can check their credit report safe and free. The site has three consumer reporting companies which are: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. These companies will allow people to check their credit report once every 12 months.
"They can actually view their credit report for free," said Deborah Jacobberger, financial education counselor at the AAA Fair Credit Foundation.
"If they want to see their credit score, it costs $7-10."
The AAA Fair Credit Foundation is a non-profit organization that will help anyone with free financial education.
"Anyone can come here to ask for help," said Jacobberger. "We'll walk someone through a budget, [their] basic expenses, [their] debt and [help] them figure out how to pay it off the best way. We also counsel people on their credit."
Having a good credit report is really important when applying for future mortgage loans, car loans and/or applying for a credit card.
"Mortgage fraud is definitely high in Utah," said Jacobberger. "You have to be careful.
"It affects your day-to-day life [with inaccuracies on your credit report]."
Utah is ranked as the fourth largest state in the amount of debt per capita.
"Utah has a lot of bankruptcies," said Ann House, extension professor with Utah State University. "We have low income and an average to high-cost living. Our wages are very, very low."
House taught the IDA program class, a non-profit organization, to low-income families. She also stated that Utah is known for some of the biggest houses in the United States and the most cars per household.
The AAA Fair Credit Foundation works with other non-profit organizations from United Way to Utah Saves.
Sometimes there are inaccuracies on personal credit reports. Checking one's credit report is important to make sure everything is accurate.
"Someone [might] have a similar name, and identity theft is big now," said Jacobberger. "You just want to check it to see where you're at."
If there is an inaccuracy on your credit report, there are a few different ways of resolving them.
"You can write a dispute letter, either you can go to the Web site [Annual Credit Report] or you can actually write a dispute letter on your own," said Jacobberger. "In 30 days, they need to look into it and get back to you. The AAA Fair Credit Foundation has an example of a dispute letter on their Consumer Cent Web site.
"It's fairly common to see something incorrect on there," said Jacobberger. People write dispute letters frequently, according to Jacobberger, one out of three people will have something incorrect on their credit report.
To avoid inaccuracies and promote store credit, Jacobberger offered advice to students. People should avoid store credit cards, because they usually charges higher interest rates.
"My suggestion is that you want one or two [credit cards], said Jacobberger. "Make sure it has a low balance and you pay it off in full each month. " Make sure that charges and payments are reported on the credit bureau when paid in full each month.
"Find out when they report to the credit bureau and when they report when you pay it off," said Jacobberger. "That way, it doesn't just show a zero-zero balance."
Payment history is 35 percent of your credit score and 30 percent is based on different types of credit a person has. If a person can't get a credit card, they can go to their bank to get a secured credit card. A secured credit card is where a person puts money onto the card before hand.
"Your credit score can always improve," said Jacobberger.
Classes are available at the AAA Fair Credit Foundation once a month to people who want more knowledge about checking accounts, setting financial goals, identity theft and budgeting. Planning a brighter future is important.
"In the long run, [you] want to have a low debt to income ratio, you want to make payments on time and to really have two credit credits at the most," said Jacobberger. "Make sure you have enough money to live within your means."
The Annual Credit Report Web site was created so people can check their credit report safe and free. The site has three consumer reporting companies which are: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. These companies will allow people to check their credit report once every 12 months.
"They can actually view their credit report for free," said Deborah Jacobberger, financial education counselor at the AAA Fair Credit Foundation.
"If they want to see their credit score, it costs $7-10."
The AAA Fair Credit Foundation is a non-profit organization that will help anyone with free financial education.
"Anyone can come here to ask for help," said Jacobberger. "We'll walk someone through a budget, [their] basic expenses, [their] debt and [help] them figure out how to pay it off the best way. We also counsel people on their credit."
Having a good credit report is really important when applying for future mortgage loans, car loans and/or applying for a credit card.
"Mortgage fraud is definitely high in Utah," said Jacobberger. "You have to be careful.
"It affects your day-to-day life [with inaccuracies on your credit report]."
Utah is ranked as the fourth largest state in the amount of debt per capita.
"Utah has a lot of bankruptcies," said Ann House, extension professor with Utah State University. "We have low income and an average to high-cost living. Our wages are very, very low."
House taught the IDA program class, a non-profit organization, to low-income families. She also stated that Utah is known for some of the biggest houses in the United States and the most cars per household.
The AAA Fair Credit Foundation works with other non-profit organizations from United Way to Utah Saves.
Sometimes there are inaccuracies on personal credit reports. Checking one's credit report is important to make sure everything is accurate.
"Someone [might] have a similar name, and identity theft is big now," said Jacobberger. "You just want to check it to see where you're at."
If there is an inaccuracy on your credit report, there are a few different ways of resolving them.
"You can write a dispute letter, either you can go to the Web site [Annual Credit Report] or you can actually write a dispute letter on your own," said Jacobberger. "In 30 days, they need to look into it and get back to you. The AAA Fair Credit Foundation has an example of a dispute letter on their Consumer Cent Web site.
"It's fairly common to see something incorrect on there," said Jacobberger. People write dispute letters frequently, according to Jacobberger, one out of three people will have something incorrect on their credit report.
To avoid inaccuracies and promote store credit, Jacobberger offered advice to students. People should avoid store credit cards, because they usually charges higher interest rates.
"My suggestion is that you want one or two [credit cards], said Jacobberger. "Make sure it has a low balance and you pay it off in full each month. " Make sure that charges and payments are reported on the credit bureau when paid in full each month.
"Find out when they report to the credit bureau and when they report when you pay it off," said Jacobberger. "That way, it doesn't just show a zero-zero balance."
Payment history is 35 percent of your credit score and 30 percent is based on different types of credit a person has. If a person can't get a credit card, they can go to their bank to get a secured credit card. A secured credit card is where a person puts money onto the card before hand.
"Your credit score can always improve," said Jacobberger.
Classes are available at the AAA Fair Credit Foundation once a month to people who want more knowledge about checking accounts, setting financial goals, identity theft and budgeting. Planning a brighter future is important.
"In the long run, [you] want to have a low debt to income ratio, you want to make payments on time and to really have two credit credits at the most," said Jacobberger. "Make sure you have enough money to live within your means."
Do you know what's lurking inside of your credit report?
Half of Canadians don't know what contributes to their credit rating, a new survey has found
Unlike most of her friends, Nanaimo's Jesslyn Gosling is holding off on getting a credit card.
"I don't manage my money very well," admits the 22-year-old.
"If I don't have a credit card then I won't spend."
In today's credit-hungry society, where many people are packing their wallets with two or more credit cards, Gosling may be somewhat of an anomaly. But she won't be for long.
Gosling plans on applying for one "pretty soon" to build up her credit history.
That may mean easier buying power but Gosling and her friend Emma Maddock acknowledge they don't know exactly what goes into credit records after they swipe the almighty credit card.
They're not alone.
A recent Financial Consumer Agency Survey revealed that half of Canadians are unaware of the factors that contribute to an individual's credit rating, and only 15% have requested a credit report.
A credit score is a numerical rating based on the contents of a credit report.
To Julie Jaggernath, of the Credit Counselling Society, it's a "snapshot" of a person's debt history and more important today than ever before.
"It affects everything," she said, noting everything from mortgages, car loans to being able to rent an apartment are dependent on a person's credit history.
Some employers will even run a credit check on applicants to see how they manage money.
"It goes to character," Jaggernath explained.
In Nanaimo, credit counsellor Kyle Peters says he's often surprised at how little people know about managing debt and how it affects credit scores.
"I think that there's just so many factors that influence your credit rating," he said. "People don't really realize what factors are more influential over others. It's not really clear to the public."
A credit score is a number between 300 and 900.
"Bigger is better," said Jaggernath. "If your number is 700, that means 700 out of 900 people are likely to pay their debt.
"Most lenders don't like to see anything under 680."
The Financial Consumer Agency says the credit report is the first place to look for signs of identity theft.
Bad credit doesn't come from being a couple of days overdue on a payment, though paying on time is the best way to keep a good credit
rating.
"You usually have to miss an entire billing cycle before it hits," Jaggernath said.
Having too much credit raises a red flag to lenders as well, she said.
Since cell phone companies report overdue payments to credit bureaus, teens can fall into bad credit early on.
"With a 19-year-old, it's the fastest way to build credit and the fastest way to wreck it if you don't pay your bill."
The good news for credit holders is everyone's slate is wiped clean after six years.
"If people focus on not having too much credit, using it responsibly and paying it in full and not carrying balances all the time, chances are their credit is going to be OK," Jaggernath said.
MTropea@nanaimodailynews.com
250-729-4255
- --
Seek help if you:
- Have no spending plan or budget in place
- Use credit to pay for most purchases
- Use credit to pay for credit
- Spend more than your income
- Don't pay your bills on time
- Have little or no savings
- Receive letters or phone calls from collectors
- Withhold spending information from your partner
Saturday, August 25, 2007
People who qualify for a free credit report
Each of us with some credit history is supposed to get his credit report once in a year. If you are willing to get your credit report from credit bureaus, you may have to pay $15 per bureau. There are many companies advertising about providing credit report at very low rate. But the great idea is why to pay when you can get your credit report free of cost.
According to the laws, each consumer is provided a free credit report each year. Although consumers have to pay some bucks to check their credit score. There are many people who do not prefer to review their credit report.
If you think that your credit report contains errors, then you have a great chance to get a free credit report from all of the three bureaus. People who have been denied credit, employment or insurance because of their negative credit rating will also qualify for a free credit report.
You can check your free credit report at credit report official site annualcreditreport.com.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
How to get a free copy of your credit report
Are you willing to take a new loan or want to go for a new credit card? But before this do not forget to make sure that you have your exact credit report to get the exact stats. So here I am mentioning some easy ways by which you can get your free credit report:
- Make phone calls to credit reporting bureaus
Three big credit-reporting bureaus namely Equifax, Experian and TransUnion provide us our free credit report once a year. So search Internet to get their respective phone numbers and call them to get your free credit report.
- Get your credit report by mail
When you search Internet for big three credit reporting bureaus, try to get a mail address for all of these bureaus. Write a letter to them with your basic information for getting your free credit report. This process is a bit slower than the first one of getting credit report by phone.
- Get free credit report online
Going online is the quickest way to get free credit report. Search Internet and find a website that combines these credit reporting bureaus in to one. Once you get such a site, you can easily get your free credit report and also keep a print of it for future use.
What is a credit report
Credit report is made by credit bureau that includes the information about your credit history. Your credit report includes your identification information, your credit account details, your bankruptcies and your payment related details like you make your due payments on time or not.
So this credit report of you is being used by various credit lenders with your permission to know about your creditworthiness.
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