Why Do Real Estate Agents Require Websites?

During the past ten years, the Internet has changed the way people buy houses and the way real estate agents and brokers do business. The Internet makes it easy for home buyers to quickly to sort lists of available properties in their local area and provide them with a combination of written information, photos and virtual tours. Large national real estate firms such as Realtor.com and ReMax operate web sites that furnish access to real estate listings across the country.

A consumer in the market to purchase a new home can quickly search available properties, 24 hours a day from the comfort of their own home. No longer do potential buyers have to contact a real estate agent to see local homes that meet the buyers situation. Today, with a simple online search, home buyers can easily find a real estate listings for houses that meet their needs. In most situations home buyers can obtain specifics of the listing, view photographs of the home and in some case take a virtual tour online before they contact a real estate agent to arrange a viewing. .

Based on a study conducted by the National Association of Realtors, in 2007 nearly 84% of all home buyers utilized the Net while looking for real estate. This figure has virtually doubled since 2001 and is up considerably from the 2% of all home buyers who used the Internet in 1995. More important is the fact that almost 82% of these buyers used a real estate agent to complete their purchase.

These numbers show how necessary it is that real estate agents and brokers have be visible online. If future home buyer finds a property of interest on-line, it is important that they can quickly contact the listing agent through the same page or via the agents website.

One of the biggest on-line real estate resources is Realtor.com, this internet site is operated by the National Association of Realtors. Realtor.com provides over two million real estate listings. One of the features Realtor.com offers is the ability to provide contact information and a link to the listing agents website. Realtor.com is an excellent example of how the internet can be used as a well-formatted marketing and product presentation tool.

Online Marketing for Real Estate Agents

In today's market place it is necessary that every real estate agent or broker have a personal internet site that at the very minimum provides a future client with the agents contact information. More sophisticated internet sites can often be easily set up to provide supplementary listing information and pictures of available properties. Every web site should include phone numbers, office address and email address for the agent. Remember, the key to any successful real estate website is to make it easy for the home buyer to contact the real estate agent.

Other outstanding way to promote any real estate business is a blog. Blog is short for "weblogs" and are one of most efficient online marketing tools. A blog allows you to discuss your local market or specific listings as well as providing a method to market yourself and share your thoughts on the real estate industry.

Social Networking or Web 2.0 sites is the latest online marketing phenomenon to have emerged in many areas of business today. Online social networking is rapidly gaining popularity within the real estate industry.

So what is Social Networking?

Online social networking is a internet based community that allows people with similar interests discuss, contact and interact with each other. Members of these social networks can send messages to other member, chat, post video, share files and post to blogs. Some of the most popular social networking sites include Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Real Estate Voices and Zolve

Hosting your website

Regardless of the marketing methods plan to use, you must have a professional, informative website that connects the buyer and real estate agent together. It is important for a realtor to consider the following when selecting a web hosting company.

What type of web site do you plan to develp? Are you planning a simple brochure site that just provides information, or one that offers listings and virtual tours or a blog. If you are planning to offer customers virtual tours of your property listings you should select a web host who understands the technology behind "virtual tours" and offers web hosting plans that provide the features and bandwith that allows them to be included in the website.

When considering any web hosting company, the first thing you should look at is where you want your online business to be in the future. Look at things like, how much traffic do you expect? How many sites do you plan to build? What type of server software will you be using? Do you require a dedicated IP address? Once you have established your needs you can begin looking at web hosting companies.

Generally a successful real estate website will also provide potential buyers with more information on a property than is available through the national MLS listing. The realtor's web site should be comprehensive, personable, and provide clients with as many options as possible.

Author Biography:


Steve Wilson is a writer for eBizHosting.com, A leading canadian business web hosting provider that specializes in providing web hosting solutions for personal and small business websites.

Old women and young men relationship and cougars

There is no matter that what the age group or difference and there are so many motivation issues at work when it comes to the relationship. It is two individual for older women and younger men. If they have any dating relationship, there are many issues behind it like attraction, willingness, etc.

Women have made important stumps in removing the differences and double standards that were so usual a generation ago. It means changes are going on but the society has not reached at the equal opportunities for women. Older woman younger man relationships in some places are fixed, not only for some time. It is really shameful to dating with different age group. The fact behind it that both are attracts each other while enjoying together.

Now these days older woman younger man relationships and dating know as cougar dating. The dating older women of age 30 or above that ready for these types of relationship and dating are called cougar. A cougar becomes a making fool like a men usually are when they looking at a women. Age gap is the main logical reason that cougars exist but other reasons are also takes place. It is a also a double standard that the label put only on women and it is really disrespectful. This label not put with the man if they go after younger women but when a woman goes with younger men, she called a cougar.

How to fix your credit report by yourself

Mike Ferrara wants to buy a house in a few months and is worried that mistakes on his credit report will keep him from obtaining the loan he will need.

His concern is legitimate. You'd think with a credit score of 650, he'd be fine. But not now. With banks less able to lend money than they were before the housing crash, mortgage loans are tougher to get unless people have credit scores in the mid-700s or higher.

So Ferrara, who lives in Harwood Heights, Ill., is right to want to erase mistakes from his credit reports — the records three credit bureaus assemble to show lenders a person's lifelong history of paying bills. If Ferrara can get the credit bureaus to fix even one or two errors in his credit history, it could make the difference between receiving the loan he wants or not.

But Ferrara, like many consumers, knows nothing about the credit maze and doesn't want to bother figuring it out.

"Tell me who can do it for me — someone legitimate," he said in a telephone conversation last week. "I have seen mistakes in my credit report. But I don't have the time to work on it. I drive a truck at night and need to sleep during the day."

"Sorry, Mike," I had to tell him. "If you try to turn this over to someone, you might not end up sleeping easily."

Unfortunately, there are some slimy characters out there — firms that run ads making it sound as if they can make your credit messes vanish in a snap. If you have high bills and are trying to work on them, too often they collect a few hundred dollars from you and still leave you with your problems. Sometimes they make your credit score worse.

The Consumer Federation of America found in a 2003 study that many credit counseling firms charge excessive fees, promise quick fixes that are deceptive and provide improper advice. They put clients on payment plans they can't afford and sometimes collect money from clients without paying their bills.

The most reputable firms can be found through the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (800-388-2227 or www.nfcc.org), but they are not in the business of credit repair.

Too many credit-repair firms have a history of deceptive practices, and the Federal Trade Commission has accused several.

"You should be very cautious about using a 'credit repair clinic,'" said Evan Hendricks, author of "Credit Scores & Credit Reports: How the System Really Works; What You Can Do."

Instead, roll up your sleeves and go to work on your credit report. Even if you could find reputable help, you couldn't walk away. Only you can start the process by looking at your credit report and spotting credit card accounts you never had or late payments that weren't late.

Begin by ordering a free credit report from each credit bureau through www.annualcreditreport.com. Don't respond to the ads you have seen for other sites that promise "free credit reports." Only annualcreditreport.com was set up under government rules to provide completely free reports.

You will need to look for mistakes in three credit reports; one from each credit bureau: Equifax (800-685-1111), TransUnion (800-916-8800), and Experian (888-397-3742). One bureau might be correct, and another might have errors. All three matter.

Sometimes people find that their report reflects accounts held by someone with a similar name. Other times, people find unpaid bills they didn't know were delinquent. Medical bills can show up in reports while people are still seeking payments from insurers.

You won't see a credit score on the credit reports. But the credit score reflects the payment history you see in your credit reports, so cleaning up errors should improve your score. You can buy your credit scores at MyFico.com.

Trans Union Credit Report Repair

The feeling of rejection is all to familiar to people with a low trans union credit score. Being denied financing for cars, mortgages and other loans is frustrating. And when you actually get approved for a loan the payments and interest are so high you often wonder why you even bothered n the first place. There are however ways you can turn your luck around, by implementing some simple trans union credit report repair tactics you can be on your way to better credit and enjoying the financial opportunities it presents.

Regardless if you are going to do credit clean up on all three credit scores or just your trans union score you will first need to decide how your going to accomplish it. Many people choose to use a credit repair company for their credit restoration. While they can be effective, credit repair companies are often times expensive and most do not offer any guarantees for their service. Its basically a game of chance for the customer.

The alternative to using a credit company to fix your credit is to actually fix your credit on your own. While it may sound overwhelming at first self credit repair is easy and can be done by pretty much anyone. The first step to increase your credit score is to purchase a good credit repair book that will walk you through the whole process from start to finish and provide you with the required tools and instructions needed to successfully do trans union credit report repair yourself.

There are many E-books and down loadable courses available on the internet. Just use caution and make sure the course you purchase provides you with everything you will need, and keep in mind the initial E-Book cost will be offset many times over by the lower interest rates you will soon be qualifying for.

Need help choosing between a Credit Repair Kit or credit repair company? Get FREE credit repair information that can help you decide at http://www.fixcreditreportscore.com

Fast Improvement For Your Credit Rating

The first thing potential lenders, employers and landlords require is a credit report and your credit rating must be good. This will give them access to your credit score. It will show them firsthand what your money managing ability is.

From this information, the people you are trying to impress will glean, at a glance, just how trustworthy you are when it comes to repaying debts.

Your credit score will follow you throughout your adult life. It will be the deciding factor for many important events in your life. Will you be given a loan to buy that car you want so badly? Can you convince the landlord of that great apartment that you will be on time with rent?

If your credit score is high, the answer to these questions would be a resounding YES! Financial agencies will BEG you to let them loan you money.

However, there is the other end of the spectrum. People who have either below average or poor credit will find themselves scrambling to save up hefty deposits and down payments so they have a car to drive and a place to live. The good news is that it is not a hopeless situation. There are ways to improve a less than great credit rating.

All of your positive and negative financial information is what will determine your credit score. Some of this information will affect your score more than others. Keeping this in mind, when you are trying to raise your credit score, you will want to begin with the more negative information that is affecting you the most.

• The first thing you will need to do on your quest to improve your credit score is start making payments on time. Payments are reported to the credit agencies at least every quarter to 30 days. The good news is that if you pay your bills on time, your credit score is going to go up within at least 3 months.
• You will also want to review your credit report for accuracy. For example, a creditor may have reported you as making late payments, but it is false. You will need to write the credit agency disputing this late payment report and request a correction be made to your credit. If you have proof of what you are saying, this correction can happen immediately. However, if you only have your word that you paid on time, prepare for it to take awhile.
• Another thing you can do is get pre-paid credit card. The terms of these types of credit cards are sort of awful for consumers, but if you are trying to repair your credit, it is these terms that will help you rather than make the situation worse. Loading only a small amount of money onto this card keeps your spending low and also helps you make your payments on time. You are only taking on this credit card to prove that you do have responsible money management, as the pre-paid creditors will report your payments to the credit agencies each month.
• Having a savings account is an excellent way to help you improve your credit score. If there is a balance of at least $500, you can ask for a personal loan, using your savings account as collateral. Nothing boosts your credit rating faster than a bank loan.

If you have a really bad credit score, you must accept that there is no overnight resolution for this. You have spent years getting it to this point. Try not to become discouraged. Instead, look ahead to just 3 short months when these measures you have taken will start to kick in, showing a noticeable improvement in your credit score.

Which credit repair course reveals ways of easily and quickly getting high-limit, credit-building loans and credit cards? Find out now at credit repair kit. David Kamau is offering a free self credit repair special report today.

New authentication device embedded on the credit card

There has been persistent increase in the electronic bank fraud. The governments around the world have been in search for the strong authentication for online banking and securities trading to guard against the $4 billion financial institutions lose annually to fraud.

The most common authentication measures used by banks around the world are OTP key fob tokens and software programs. The key fobs are bulky and most often do not provide the reciprocal authentication. Software programs have been proven vulnerable to hacking and are tied to a specific computer.

Recently the 12-button Credit Card Embedded Authentication Device has been developed by eMue Technologies and Innovative Card Technologies. This device is user-friendly and remedy for the persistent problem of electronic bank fraud. The device is embedded on the credit card itself and has a built in keypad

The Credit Card Embedded Authentication Device has an embedded alphanumeric, electrophoretic display, a 12-button keypad with buzzers, circuitry, and an algorithm-storing chip.

These electronics have been placed into the space used by a standard payment card. A one-time pass code is generated which is unique to the device and dependent on the user's correct entry of a secret PIN code. With the entry of a PIN code, an embedded algorithm (the seed is unique to each card and is tracked by the backend server) generates the resulting OTP – thus achieving reciprocal authentication. The firmware inside the card is currently configured to generate different OTPs respectively for email, web, and phone applications. The menu is scrollable with the ‘mode’ button. Thus, an OTP generated for one mode is not transferable to other modes.

When users logs into their account via electronic interface or by supplying an OTP to a bank associate via phone would not only need to physically possess the card in order to generate the correct OTP, but would also have to know the secret PIN code.This protects against both theft of electronic information (static userID and PIN alone cannot access the account) and physical theft of the card (useless without the correct PIN). In these situations, the OTP is entered into the interface by the user or phone operator and is validated instantly by a backend server. Lastly, the magnetic stripe can also be coded to permit physical access via a swipe lock, such as at an ATM terminal inside the lobby of a bank after hours.

The device is with ISO size specifications. There is a magnetic strip via which, the card can facilitate full payment card capabilities. For the user, the card is taking up the wallet space of a regular credit or debit card and is also providing strong authentication for electronic and phone access to their accounts.

Tips for improving credit report

Find out what a credit report contains, how it’s used and what you can do to improve it – and your chances of getting the credit you need.

Improve Your Credit Rating: Who has a Credit Report?

If you’re over 18 and have ever taken out a credit card or loan, apart from a student loan, then you have a credit report, which is held securely by a credit reference agency – Experian is the UK’s largest.

Lenders usually check your report when they decide whether to make you an offer and what terms, such as interest rates, to set. It helps them to make informed and responsible decisions.

Improve Your Credit Rating: What does a Credit Report Contain?

As well as listing your credit accounts and showing whether you make repayments on time and in full, your credit report contains a range of information that helps lenders to assess whether you are a reliable borrower and can afford to take out more credit. This data includes details of any court judgments against you for non-payment of debts, plus bankruptcies or individual voluntary arrangements you’ve taken out.

The electoral roll shows if you have registered as a voter at your current address. Lenders check the roll as a precaution against fraud, to make sure that you live where you say you do.

Another section lists the people with whom you share a joint account, such as a credit card or mortgage. These people are known as your financial associates. Their credit report details don’t appear in your report but lenders may look them up separately because their circumstances could affect your ability to repay what you owe.

All this information comes from two major sources. Some is from public records, such as court records and the electoral roll. The rest is contributed by lenders. Some lenders only share negative information, such as missed repayments. Others also share positive information, such as regular repayments.

Improve Your Credit Rating: Can I view my Credit Report?

Only you can view your credit report. Lenders are allowed access to check your credit history but only when you’ve given them consent. You have a statutory right to see your credit report – see your Experian credit report for free with a 30-day trial of CreditExpert, the UK’s leading online credit monitoring and identity fraud protection service.

Improve Your Credit Rating: Who Views my Credit Report?

Lenders use credit reports to assess whether potential borrowers are reliable, stable and do not already owe more than they can comfortably repay. To calculate the chances that you’ll make your repayments, they take the information in your application form and credit report and allocate each item a value. They then use a unique formula to calculate a credit score. Generally, the higher your score, the easier you’ll find it to borrow.

Improve Your Credit Rating: How is my Credit Rating Calculated?

You don’t have a single credit score because every lender uses a slightly different formula in their calculations. Some even use different formulae for different products, so you could get different decisions if you applied to the same lender for a car loan and a store card.

Your credit score also changes over time, as your circumstances change. For example, paying off a loan could improve your score, while missing a couple of repayments could cause it to fall.

Improve Your Credit Rating: Tips to Improve Your Credit Rating

Regular checks on your credit report help you to take greater control of your finances. It gives you a snapshot of what you owe and how well you are coping. It could also help you to see where your money is going and identify areas where you could cut back.

Tips to Improve Your Credit Rating: Regularly Check your Credit Report

It makes sense to check your credit report before you apply for a new credit account. Remember, these aren’t limited to obvious cards, loans and mortgages – they include anything where you get access to products or services and pay for them later, from utility bills to catalogue accounts.

Monitoring your credit report also provides valuable protection against identity fraud – one of the fastest-growing crimes of the 21st century. Because your credit report contains a record of your credit accounts and tracks the applications you make, you can easily spot unfamiliar entries or credit account searches that could indicate an attempt to borrow money in your name. That allows you to stop problems before they have a chance to develop.

Tips to Improve Your Credit Rating: Be Cautious

Don’t take a scatter-gun approach to getting credit. Each time a lender searches your report in response to a credit application, it leaves a record, known as a footprint. Other lenders who see a lot of these may think you’re desperate for money or even suspect a fraud. Either way, lots of footprints could count against you.

Tips to Improve Your Credit Rating: Redundant Accounts & Voting

If you fear that your credit history isn’t good enough, don’t make any new applications. Instead, work on improving your credit report. In the short term, you could close down redundant accounts and register to vote. Longer term, you should work to pay off some of your debts. You could also roll up several more expensive debts into a single, cheaper loan.

Tips to Improve Your Credit Rating: Check for Errors

If you uncover any errors, contact the lender who supplied the information and ask them to amend it. Be prepared to provide proof – for example, that you closed an account after repaying it in full.

If there are special circumstances surrounding an entry, you can contact the credit reference agency and explain what happened. For example, you might have missed a few repayments because you had an accident but have never had problems before or since. They can add a note about this to your credit report, which will be seen by future lenders. Again, be prepared to provide proof.

Checking your credit report shouldn’t be a one-off, emergency measure. To keep on top of your finances, you should monitor it regularly and ensure it remains up-to-date and accurate. See your free Experian credit report now.

Identity theft prevention way outs explained

Approximately 10 million Americans became the victim of identity theft last year according to Federal Trade Commission. Although in most of cases results of identity theft are not out of pocket expenses for the victims of identity thefts but it is most stressful and time consuming process to clear your name after an identity theft.

The process of undoing the damage due to identity theft can be both complicated and disruptive as well. You have to notify lots of people including creditors, credit bureaus and law enforcement. Some times it can take months or years to clear name of identity theft. There are some steps you can take to avoid to become the victims of identity theft:

1. Be sure that no one is watching or noticing your activities when entering your PIN number, your credit card number at an ATM, phone booth or on a computer you are using.


2. Be careful while using Social Security Number and don’t carry your Social Security Number in your wallet and never print the number to your personal checks.


3. Use your Social Security number only when it’s absolutely necessary.


4. Keep your computer safe and never use easily guessed PINs or passwords. When you are creating passwords, do not forget to include numbers with letters.


5. Check your financial statements including your credit card statements, bank statements and phone bills for inaccuracies and unauthorized use. In case you get some discrepancies, immediately notify your creditors.


6. Get your free copy of credit report from all of major credit agencies using www.annulacreditreport.com once every year and check them carefully for inaccuracy and for any kind of disputes.


7. Be very careful when sharing your personal information with an individual you don’t know and avoid talking about your financial matters with public around


8. Do not carry your checkbook with you and if required carry one or two blank checks with you in your wallet.


9. Do not carry all of your credit cards when you go out or are in the public. Keep one or two credit cards with you and keep the rest at home.


10. You should be extra cautious when using an ATM machine. Please not that anyone is around you when you are using ATM machine.


11. When you are using your credit card for online payments, be sure that the sites via which you are making the purchase are using SSC technology.


12. Destroy documents containing personal information like your credit card receipts and pre-approved credit applications.


13. Never use common numbers like your birth date, last four digits of your social security number, your phone number, your house number or any other number related to you as your ATM password. If you have done so, I would suggest you to change that immediately.

Credit repair with RMCN

Are you looking for buying a new house, new car or refinancing your existing house, then you have to make sure that your credit report is error free and there are no inaccuracies in it. If there is even single negative information in your credit report, that can cost you interest points. And even single extra point can cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars during the life of your home, car or personal loan.

This is where credit repairing services comes in work. Repairmycreditnow.com (RMCN) is a company that is offering credit repair, clean credit, repair credit service. If you are looking for a company that can clean or repair credit in an easy and fast way, then you should try RMCN credit repair service.

RMCN are helping its clients to clean their credit using their “V” shape phase process for their repairs. This “V” stands for their collaboration by auditing the credit bureaus and creditors to your application. With ten years of experience in the industry, they are offering the best results to improve your credit.

When you join their credit repair service, they will make sure that information that is available on your credit report is accurate. This way, you may be able to save hundreds or thousands of dollars per year that you have to pay in case of inaccuracies or bad information in your credit report. And you know even single bad information on your credit report can result in denial of new credit, extension of existing credit or even denial of job. So I would suggest one to use RMCN, the credit repairing service for their credit repair and clean credit in a fast and easy way.

Credit Counseling

Credit Counseling is a tool which gives idea to Debtor to improve his Credit History or helping out debtor to avoid incurred debts. In other way it’s help to educate the debtor. In the same way we can call it as a Debt Counseling Agency.

These type Debt Counseling Agency deal with Creditor to build up a Data Management Plan. Data Management Plan is a criterion to improve the debtor reputation in terms of financially Output. That can be in terms of Repayment, Reduce the fee, Interest rate or Percentage. This plan works like an intermediate between Debtor and Creditor and build healthy relationship.

Benefits for Data Management Program :

1. DMP helps debtor to consolidate the total payment in one Installment and then pay it to creditor. Mostly people who are having credit card when they are going to pay the bill the bank prefer the lowest Amount. Generally some DMP advertise to reduce the payment up to 50% but infect it would not be above 10-15%.


2. Second benefit of DMP is reduction in interest rate. With default credit card a person would be pay interest rate 40-50% that should be 10-15%. Like a debtor who is going to clear his debts with in 10-15 Years with interest rate 30-40%, through DMP he could be repay it with minimum interest rate. It also feasible to make it with lower interest rate.


3. Third benefit of DMP it improve the Financial goodwill of a person e.g. if one of customer is not paying his debt on his due date and he delayed it for 2Month so the creditor could consider his payment 60days past due. Through DMP you can pay your money to creditor on time or if delayed that DMP will negotiate for you and your monthly payment would be on due month.

So these are all the benefits which DMP gives to customer. That can represent a customer negative report in Positive manner. At the time of checking through credit Bureau your credit score would be helpful for you.

Background of Credit Counseling :

The first credit counseling agency created in 1951 in USA. According to W. Patrick Boisclair, Chairman of the NFCC's Board of Trustees, "The NFCC initially monitored legislative and regulatory activity for its retail credit members" and "also conducted public awareness campaigns on credit." The agency found as an education tool to educate the lender and give them their credit valuable output. But they did not find for collection the debts and repay the amount for debtors. Their main objective was to promote financial awareness and avoid debtor to bankruptcy. The first local agency emerged in 1960 to serve debtors and educate customer directly.

There is some credit counseling agency which belongs to any trade organization e.g. AICCCA or AADMO. But it’s not mandatory that every agency does not belong to trade organization nor are they required to do so. In United States there are 1000 active credit agencies. Credit counseling is a profit making industry in Europe for Debts Management as well as charities.

Who all have access to your credit report?

When you apply for a new credit – whether for a credit card, an auto loan, or a home mortgage – lenders want to know the likelihood of you paying back to them. To help them in assessing your credit worthiness, credit scores are used. Apart from your lenders, there are plenty of others who view your credit files and scores to get an idea about how you manage your finances.

1. Insurers - The majority of auto insurance companies use your credit score to decide whether to issue you a new policy or not. They also look at your score to decide whether to renew your existing policy or not. Your credit score also helps them in fixing the price that they will charge you for your insurance.


2. Landlords - Landlords view your credit report to give a check to your payment history, and if it comes out that you have been delinquent or have been late in paying your bills then in all possibilities your rental application will be turned out. In case a landlord accepts your application for rent, you may have to find a friend or a relative to co-sign your lease or you might have to pay a higher rent or a lump sum amount as security deposit.


3. Employers - Employers can pull your credit report to evaluate your eligibility for "employment, promotion, reassignment or retention." Employers view bad credit as a signal of financial irresponsibility, some might even think that you'll spend more time in bothering about your financial worries rather than concentrating on the job.


4. Cell phone service providers and utility providers - Utility providers (like gas and electricity services) may pull your report to check whether you pay your bills on time or not. If you have a good score then you might even qualify for favorable rates. Even cell phone service providers use your report prior to signing you up for a plan.

How to remove the errors from your credit report

What you will do in case you get your credit report and there are some negative marks printed on it that you were not involved in or were not part of? This error situation happens in many people’s credit report and can happen with your credit report as well. So what will you do if you find some errors in your credit report?

No doubt, it will not be easy to remove these errors from your credit report. But always there are some ways you can follow to solve a difficult problem even. So here some steps to follow to get the information corrected in your credit report:

When you get some error in your credit report, the first step you have to follow is contacting the credit reporting agency that issued this report in written. In your letter to the credit reporting company, you should attach the relevant documents that show that the information is incorrect. With this you should include information like your name, address, explanation of error situation at hand and why you are reporting the errors in your credit report copy. You should also mention the entries that need to be deleted or edited from your credit report.

Now send this letter to the respective credit reporting company via certified mail and keep a copy of your letter at you in case there are some disputes at their end. When your credit reporting company gets the dispute letter from you, they will start their investigation if they think the dispute can be true or there is some seriousness in it. Normally they start investigation within 30 days of receiving the dispute letter. In their investigation, report providing company will send all the documents and disputes to the company in question in order for the company to do their own investigation and find out why they have placed a particular entry in to that credit report. When that company or organization completes their investigation, they will send their statements about the disputes if they were true or not and support their statements with the evidence of their own.

In case there was some error in credit report, that company will inform all of the credit reporting agencies about this error and get it corrected. Once all this process is completed, your reporting company will send you a new copy of free credit report with all of errors removed from the report.

How Closing Credit Cards Affect Your Credit Score

When it comes about managing many credit cards, you have to make decision about closing any or some of your credit cards. But before thinking of closing any of your credit card account, try to understand what will happen to your credit score.
If you are thinking that closing of some of credit cards will raise your credit score, then officially it is wrong. Officially closing some of your credit card accounts will lower your credit score as that might reduce your credit history length which counts the 15 percent of your credit score and will also lower the amount of credit available to you, which will increase your debt to credit ratio.

So closing of credit score will not:

• Raise your credit score


• Erase credit card history from your credit report


• Keep the history from being included in your credit score calculation

So in case you are closing your credit cards account, don’t do it as that will not help you in raising your credit score. But closing some of your credit cards will lower your credit score. Your credit score will drop if you decide to close a credit card:

• That still has some balance to be paid


• Has some credit available when other credit cards don’t have


• Was the first credit card that you opened


• No other credit card or loans

So for the sake of your credit score, it is important for you to calculate your decision before closing any of your credit card account.

Negative information life on a customer credit report

When you have true negative information on your credit report, it will be removed by passage of time that can be 7 years, 10 years, 15 years or forever. According to FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act), Negative information stays on a consumer credit report for seven years but there are some exceptions to this rule for some type of negative information’s.

1. Bankruptcy information may be reported for 10 years from the date of file


2. Criminal convictions related information may be reported without any time limit


3. Delinquency information regarding collections and late payment stays on a consumer credit report for 7 years from the date of delinquency.


4. Charge off remains for 7 years and 180 days from the date of reporting


5. Student loan defaults remain for 7 years


6. Foreclosures remain for seven years from the date foreclosed


7. Lawsuit or judgment stays for seven years from the date of filing


8. Paid lax liens information stays for 7 years from the paid date


9. Unpaid tax liens stay for 15 years


10. Line of credit or loan information stays for 10 years from the date paid in full or close


11. Closed amounts related information stays for 10 years if paid as agreed


12. Credit related inquiries stays for 2 years placed by you and the creditors


13. There is no time limit if credit information is reported in response to an application for job with salary greater than $75,000


14. Credit information reported in case of a application for a credit or insurance of worth $150,000 has no time limit

You have a regular or instant credit report

So what is the difference between instant credit report and regular credit report? When I try to find out the answer for this question, I found certain websites offering instant credit report. When I check more, I found that most of credit reports are instant. The main difference between instant and regular credit report is time and how you are planning to receive your credit report.

Our credit history is monitored by three credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. By law, we are provided with a free copy of credit report from all of three major bureaus on request. Your credit report will be instant or regular depends upon how you order it and how you choose to receive it.

1. In case you chose to get your credit report online and then have mail to you, then your credit report is instant or quick. The information about your credit history is available to all of major credit agencies. So whether you chose to go for one or 3 in 1 credit report, that information is instantly available and can be easily tracked by your social security number, name and address. Once this info is provided to these agencies, their database can do it quickly or instantly. So this way you will have instant credit report.


2. Second way of getting your credit report is mailing to FTC (Federal Trade commission). This way you mail to the Government and get your free credit report. In this case the information about your credit report will be processed and then mailed to you. This is a slow process and can take few to many weeks for completion. So this way you will get your annual free credit report and will not be considered as instant credit report. But getting your credit report via mail will make you feel safe as getting it using internet.


3. Third way of getting credit report is making a call to Federal trade commission or any of credit agencies you are willing to get report from. Every year you are entitled with a free copy of credit report. And how you go about it, it is up to you. Getting credit report by calling is faster than mailing. But it will still take some time and you will need to submit your personal information like your name, address and social security number. Once you have made the call for a copy of your credit report, they will mail you the copy of your credit report. So this will not be instant credit report as it will take some days for the report to approach to you.

We will have a new credit scoring formula

We have to be aware about our credit score if we are looking for a home loan or some general purpose loan from a bank. Most of the time we don’t look satisfied with the credit score we have and have been complaining that the credit scores are unfair. But now the companies that calculate our credit score are doing something about it.

Many of us will have some or at least one late credit card payment and we would also have a genuine reason for this delay most of the time. "If I was late, it was just because I misplaced a statement," said card use Scott Shultz.

But now days, we people have been using credit cards just to get by. With rise in credit card debt, late payments are sure to happen sometime at least. Now FICO (Fair Isaac Company) that calculates the credit score is trying to get a credit score that exactly shows what is happening to an individual life.

Fico the credit calculating company has a secret formula that gives the credit score in the range from 300 the worst credit score and 850 the best credit score to determine person credit worthiness. According to John Gilligan, consumer credit counselor, diversity is good for consumers. "They like to see people have a mortgage, car payments, a credit card maybe...maybe two," he said.

With current scoring system, even one late payment could cause us loss of 100 points. But the new credit scoring formula will be more forgiving but will not be helpful for guys whoa re always late in their credit card payments.

"If you're delinquent on 2 or 3 of those items they will probably reduce your credit score more than they have in the past," Gilligan said.

Currently Fico credit score is just by 90 percent of Banks here in US. The new credit scoring formula will be in effect from this spring.

Via Link: 13wham.com

Fico credit score or Fako score to use?

We have been aware about Fico score the credit score developed and administered by a company Fair Isaac. Most of lenders and creditors use Fico score to decide whether to give you credit or not. With Fico score, there is one more credit score that is Fako score heard about quite often. We need to know what these credit scores are actually and which one is best and right for us to go for.

Let’s discuss it. Credit score is a generic term that is used to refer to numeric value given to your credit history. Our credit score is calculated on the basis of information available in our credit report.

There are many companies in the market today that sell credit score. All of three major credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experian and TransUnion have their own version of credit score. Exuifax has created Plus, Experian Beacon and TransUnion has developed Empirica.

Fako score is the term used for a score that is not Fico score. Fako score is that we obtain from individual credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. If you have purchased your credit score from anywhere but myfico.com, then that score is Fako and not Fico. Fako score is hardly used in credit industry and that’s why people call them Fako score – fake score.

Both Fico and Fako use inquiries from your credit report to calculate your credit score. Fico uses the inquiries made in the past year and Fako uses the inquiries that are made in the past 2 years.

All of creditors and lenders use credit score from companies they have business relationship. It can be credit bureau’s credit score or fico score or lenders own credit score. If you are aiming at improving your credit score then use Fico as your basis. If you are able to improve your fico credit score, all of other credit score will also automatically improve.

It is always a good idea to check credit report before applying for new line of credit. Fako scores are useless and Fico score will only give the true picture of your credit score.

Shopping more without dropping credit score with 14 days rule

Credit inquiries will not have much impact on your score much if you are able to make all of your shopping in a shorter period of time. Suppose I make some shopping on the April 1 and the lenders will have my credit score that day. In case I make some more shopping in April month, then all those inquiries will not have an affect on my credit score. But the inquiries that are making in the past months will still be counted.

Credit inquiries that are made in 14 days period will be counted as one. Suppose you made lots of shopping from April 1 to April 14, all of those inquiries will be counted as one. And in case you spread all of your shopping from April 1 to April 28, all of those inquiries will be counted as two. So you are going to harm your credit score in case you spread your shopping to many months.

But recently 14 days period rule was extended to 45 days rule in the new version of Fico rating system. It is up to the lenders whether they want to go for 14 days rule or 45 days rule. But from the customers prospective, still 14 days rule is in progress.

There can be some situations when you have to shop at different times. But to minimize the adverse effect on your credit score, try to make all of shopping in 14 days period or less.

Credit report freezing fee for Georgia consumers

According to a bill passed by Senate, Georgia consumers could pay a fee to freeze their credit reports. Senate Bill 361 would allow the bank officials to decide how much the credit report freezing should cost.

The House passed a similar bill in late January, capping the cost at $3. In case the two chambers agree on a compromise and also require Governor Approval, Georgia will be the 40th State to pass a law to freeze credit report. Credit reporting agencies have been demanding higher fees for this service.

Texas consumers have the lowest credit score

Report from a Credit research group shows that the Texas consumers have an average credit score that is 26 points lower than the national average credit score. Texas average credit score for six month period that ended in July, 2007 was 666 compared to 692 the national average.

Approximately 27 percent of people find their credit score decreasing during the study period with less than 1 percent finding their credit score down by more than 100 points. 41 percent of consumers were able to maintain their existing credit score and 33 percent of consumers were able to increase their credit score.

3 out of every 10 US customers were able to increase their credit score by 50 points in the six month period as indicated by Experian National Score Index. 33 percent of consumers improve their credit score by 50 points in the States of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont.

What our credit score includes?

Our credit score is a three digit number and its range varies from 300 to 850. Our credit score is a big indicator of how we are paying our bills and whether we will have problems in getting new credit or will get it with ease and with lowest of interest rates. Credit score is calculated using the information available in our credit history.

When we apply for new credit, the creditors and lenders check our credit score to determine our credit history. By viewing your our digit credit score, the creditors just decide whether to give us new credit or not. The creditors and lenders can decide the same thing by viewing our credit report. But checking our credit score make their decision making process quite easy and less subjective.

Although there are many versions of credit score available. But the most commonly used version is Fico score developed by Fair Isaac Company. Today Fico score is used by many creditors and lenders before making decision about providing new line of credit or extending the existing credit to the customers.

There are many parts of your credit history that taken into consideration when calculating your credit score. There are some parts in the credit history that are more important than the other one’s like your payment history. Here is the list of information that is used to calculate credit score with their percentage of use:

• Payment history 35 percent: 35 percent of your credit score is determined by your payment history. Creditors and lenders are more interested in knowing how you have paid your bills in the past. If you are paying your bills late then they look at how late they are. Your late payments, collections and bankruptcy all affects the payment history part of your credit score.


• Your debt level decides 30 percent: How much you are currently in debt deciding the 30 percent of your credit score. The amount of debt you have taken in comparison to your credit limit is known as credit utilization. The higher the credit utilization you have, the closer you are to your credit limit and more lower your credit score will have. And if the case is reverse, you will have higher credit score. The best key will be to keep your credit card balances to 30 percent or less to that of your credit limit.


• Length of credit history determining 15 percent: the length of your credit history determines the 15 percent of your credit score. In general, the longer credit history is in favor of the customers and will help them in increasing their credit score. When you have a long credit history, the creditors and lenders will have better idea about your spending habits and paying habits as well. Thus factor also look at the age of your credit accounts and how long you have been using your credit accounts.


• Credit inquiries 10 percent: approximately 10 percent of your credit score is determined by how many credit accounts you have established. This factor take into consideration the number of accounts you have, their age, your requests for new credit and the length of time since credit report inquiries were made by potential lenders. Every time we apply for a credit, an inquiry is added to our credit report and remained there for the next two years. When we make too many applications for new credit, that indicates that we are in dire need of credit or are in some form of financial problems. Credit score take into consideration the inquiries made within a year.


• Mix of credit is 10 percent: approximately 10 percent of your credit score is based on overall mix of credit cares, loans, installment loans etc. The more balanced this credit mix is, the more credit score you have. In case you have different kind of accounts that’s in your favor as that indicates that you have experience in handling mix of credits.

Credit report freezing benefits and drawbacks

A credit freeze is a tool available to people here in US where they can block their credit report so that it becomes really hard for the identity thefts to get new credit and open new accounts by your identity. When you have set the status freeze on your account, no one even you cannot open an account by your name. Even the creditors, lenders and employers will not have access to your credit files. There are some benefits as well as freezing down your credit report:

After adding the freeze status to your credit files, your identity will have higher level of protection. In fact credit freeze is a good way to protect you against identity thefts. There are many drawbacks to this security freeze but this advantage may be worth enough to go for it.

1. Freezing of credit report is a time consuming and expensive process. You have to provide many certificates and pay $10 to each of the credit reporting bureaus.


2. In case you need credit or open new account, you will have to request the credit reporting bureaus to lift the freeze status on your report and once you have established the credit you will again have to ask them to refreeze your report. All this process will be time consuming and also have to pay more fees.


3. The security freeze will not stop the pre-screened credit card offers.


4. Existing creditors still will have access to your credit files and can send you promotional offer about their products and services


5. Freezing of credit report could also create some inaccuracies in your report when the companies' tries to update account information have problems in accessing your accounts.


6. Credit freeze cannot stop an individual to buy items from a stolen credit card number. Some critics consider credit freeze just a problem fro the consumers where they will not be able to apply for a credit card, or a loan or refinance a mortgage without lifting the freeze on their credit report and lifting the freeze will take time and money both.

Steps to follow for getting free credit report via phone

In case you are not willing to get your credit report online, then getting it via phone will be the best option. When you get from credit report via phone, you will be able to escape from hundreds of fraud website on the Internet that claims to be providing you credit report for free. Here is the exact process you have to follow to get it via phone:

1. Make a call to the number 1-877-322-8228 from your phone


2. With this type, you will have to provide some information about you like your name, current address, social security number, birth date


3. Once your identity verification has been completed, you have the option to choose which company credit report you want to get


4. When you chosen the companies/company credit report you are willing to get, will get it via mail within next four to five week time

Some tips to keep your credit healthy

• You should be sure that the information available in your credit report is accurate. Get a free copy of your credit report from all of three credit reporting agencies.


• Keep your credit usage to than 20 to 30 percent of your credit limit


• Think of keeping some credit cards with higher level of credit limits. In case any of your card issuer increases the fees or changes the terms, you have the option to transfer your balance to another card and stop using that/those cards.


• With high level of credit limit, you will be able to protect your credit score as the reduction of some credit by the card issuer will not look as if you are maxing out on your credit

Via Wall Street Journal

How to get your credit report via mail

Consumers often ask where they can get a copy of their credit report via mail. There is a provision in FACTA; consumers, who are not willing to get their report online, can get it via phone or mail. Follow the following steps to get your credit report via mail:

1. Download the PDF document (Require Acrobat Reader) available here


2. Take print of this document


3. Fill in all the information required in this form


4. Then send it to
   Annual Credit Report Request Service
   PO Box 105281
   Atlanta, GA 30348-5281


5. Your credit report is being processes in 15 days time and then mailed to your mailing address.

Getting free credit report online

Getting free credit report online is the easiest way to get it. You can’t obtain it from the individual credit reporting agency website. You have to visit the official website set by these agencies to get your credit report. Here the steps that one has to follow to get his free credit report online:

1. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com. This is the only authorized website for getting free credit report


2. From the window in the middle of the page, just below the "Start Here" select your state from the drop down menu available.


3. After selecting your State, press the "Request Report" button available


4. Then from the page that appears, fill in all the personal information required. In case you are staying at the current address for less than 2 years time, then you have to provide the information about your previous address as well


5. Then press the "Continue" button available at the bottom of the page


6. Select the company or companies from which you are interested in getting free credit report from the page that appears next. You have the option of getting free credit report from each of three credit-reporting bureaus once every 12 months.


7. It is a good idea to have your financial records in hand as the company you are willing to get credit report may ask your financial information to verify your identity.


8. The companies will offer you some other additional services with some fee. You should not go for these services except you really need them.


9. Then press the "Accept" button to admit their service agreement.


10. Now you have your free credit report available for print

How to Get a Free Copy of Your Credit Report

The information available on your credit report decides whether you will be able to get credit card, loan or a mortgage. The information available on your credit card can even play a big role in chances of being able to buy a home or earn a job. According to passage of Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) in December 2003, the consumers can get a free copy of their credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies TransUnion, Equifax and Experian every year via request. There are many website that offers you free copy of your credit report but most of them are scams. You can use this privilege by getting a free copy of your credit report and use that report to monitor your credit history. Here is how you can get your free copy of credit report under FACTA:

1. Via Phone: Make a call to the number 877-322-8228


2. Online service: Get a free copy of your credit report online from website www.annualcreditreport.com


3. Via mail: You can get your credit report via mail by printing a request form (https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/requestformfinal.pdf) and mail that form to the address listed on the form

It is not advisable to request a free copy of credit report to all of the credit reporting agencies separately. With free credit report, you will not get your credit scores for free. Your credit scores are not part of this offer and you have to pay for this service.

Other situations when you have access to your credit report for free

There are some other situations when you can get a copy of your credit report for free. All of these instances are outlines in the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) passage and these situations are:

1. You have been the victim of identity theft and there are errors in your credit report.


2. You don’t have a job and looking for a job in the next 60 days


3. You are on a welfare


4. You have been denied for credit insurance or job based on the information available in your credit report. You can request for a free copy of credit report within 60 days from the date you know of the denial. The company will send you a notice with information including Credit Bureaus contact information that provided the report used in making decision.

All about credit inquiries

Credit inquiry is an item on a credit report that shows copy of credit report has been requested with permission by a business. To be very exact 10 percent of consumer credit score is determined by the inquiries made on their credit reports. All of credit inquiries are added to a customer credit report when a business demands for a copy of his/her credit report. According to The Fair Credit Reporting Act, there are some acceptable reasons within which businesses can request a copy of a consumer credit report: to grant credit, for collecting debt, in case of Underwrite insurance, Employment, License issuing and for legitimate business transactions. There are two types of credit inquiries hard and soft inquiries.

Credit inquiries on a credit report can indicate a borrower risk factor. In case, there are too many credit inquiries to a consumer report, it means he/she is in some financial trouble and is in dire need to credit. Greater amount of credit inquiries to a consumer can lower his/her credit score.

If you have a long credit history, an additional credit inquiry might not affect your credit score. But if you have a small credit history with fewer accounts, an additional credit inquiry could lower your credit score by few points. Credit inquiries are listed on a consumer credit report for the next two years. But the credit score is calculated on the basis of inquiries made in the last one year with the recent inquiries have the bigger impact.

Do you know the worst things about your credit report?

We as a human being make lots of mistake in our daily life. And making mistakes in credit handling is not an exception. But there are some mistakes that can be so harmful that you never want them to enter in your credit report. Since the creditors and lenders make decision about your credit request after checking your credit worthiness from your credit report. So there are points you will never want to see in your credit report and showing up to the creditors:

1. Charge off or pay off


2. Fair debt collections


3. Bankruptcy
   

   Bankruptcy is a legal process in which the debtor asks the court for relief from its creditors and lenders. After the debtor has filed for the bankruptcy, the court will discharge the debt, propose a payment plan or dismiss the case. Bankruptcy stays on a Customers credit report up to 10 years from the date of your file for bankruptcy.



4. Facing Foreclosure
   

   Foreclosure is a legal proceeding in which the bank can take possession of and sell a mortgage property of the debtor in case he/she doesn’t meet the contractual obligations. When the lenders to recover the amount of mortgage, that can severely damage your credit history, are foreclosing your home and you will have little chances to get new credit in the neat future. Foreclosure remains in a customer credit report for seven years.



5. Tax lien
   

   Tax lien is the right normally by county, state or federal Government, to take possession if the property due to a delinquency on property taxes or income taxes. When we don’t pay property taxes on our home and other piece of properties, the Government can grab our property and auction it to get the unpaid taxes. Although your home is being foreclosed for tax lien, you still are responsible for mortgage loan. Non-paid mortgage is going to hurt your credit history. Paid tax lien remains in your credit report for ten years and unpaid tax lien remain in your credit report for 15 years.



6. Lawsuits or judgments
   

   Lawsuit is an order to pay certain amount of money to someone who has files a court case against you. In case the creditor, lender, attorney, debt collector or some other party files a lawsuit against the debtor and wins, then the judgment is being made against the debtor. The judgment goes start into your credit report and stays there for the next seven years from the date the lawsuit was filed against you.

Fair debt collections

The debt collectors are well known for their sneaky tactics they apply to collect debt from the customers. Many collectors just get away with their underhanded tactics because most of the customers are unaware about the laws dictating how the creditors can deal with them and how they cannot and how they can collect their money from you.

The Fair Debt Collection Practice Act also known as FDCPA is a federal law that governs the actions of parties working as credit collectors for personal debts like auto loan, home loan, medical bills and your credit card accounts.

Things not allowed to credit collectors under FDCPA act

When your creditor uses some third party to collect debts from you, that third party is bound to work according to FDCPA rules. There are many things that credit collection agency cannot do under FDCPA rules

• Calling you before 8am or after 9pm


• Making call to you at work


• Abuse, oppress or harass you


• Lie to you or try to imply that you have committed a crime


• Using unfair ways to collect debt from customers


• Hiding their identity on the phone


• Ignoring your request about stopping further contact

Communication Guidelines to follow

The law also makes it clear how the debt collector will communicate with the customer and other people. The FDCPA has given some guidelines according to which the debt collector has to behave with the person except the debt collector. The debt collectors are refused to inform about your debt to any anyone except you and your spouse. Even they are not allowed to call you owe a debt.

The debt collector is also not allowed to communicate with you via post card or some symbol or language used on an envelope that shows that they are debt collector. And once the debt collectors are aware about the fact that you are being represented by an attorney and have the contact information, they have to communicate with attorney.

Debt collector cannot use any form of harassment or abuse while trying to collect debt. They are not allowed to use any form of violence against the debtor, their property or their reputation. With this, the debt collector is not allowed to use obscene language while communicating via phone or mail with the debtor. Even the collection agencies and their collector cannot publish a list of customers who haven’t paid their debt except while sending it to consumer reporting agency.

What to do when your rights are being violated

In case your rights are being violated under the FDCPA act; you can file a lawsuit against the debt collector within a year from the date of violation. You could get up to $1,000 in addition to actual damages and attorney fees.

Ex-hospital employee sent to jail for identity theft

An ex-employee Robin A. Hayes at medical Center was sent to jail for 39 months for stealing the identity information out of patients files.

With this Hayes was asked to pay $3,320.44 as compensation to two victims. According to Federal authorities, Hayes admitted her crime of stealing identity information from the patients files while she was an employee in the hospital. She used all of those identities to open new credit card accounts as a secondary user and had delivered all of those credit cards to different addresses she used throughout the Panhandle (Via NewsHerald.com).

What is Charge off?

Most of us think that when a debt has been declared Charge off or pay off by the creditor, it has been canceled. But this assumption is totally wrong. In case of being "Charge Off", you will still have to pay the existing debt but will not be able to your credit cards for further purchasing.

Creditors and lenders have benefits and losses as well. They make money from profits and lose money from losses. When the creditor or lender has declared your account as "Charge off", it is declaring that your account is no longer an asset for it but it is a loss to the company.

Although the creditor has accepted you as a loss to its financial records, yet it will not let you get away free. It will add a negative entry to your credit report in the form of charge off and will keep on making efforts to collect the debt from you.

Any credit account is normally charged off after 6 months of less than minimum payment. The Charge off status remains in your credit report for the next seven years in normal cases. And in case you pay the debt, the status will be changed to “Charge off paid” or “Charge off settled”. Either of the situations is not desirable but is better than being Charge off.

To remove the charge of status from your credit report, you have to wait for the next seven years from the day of being charge off or make some settlement with your creditor to remove the “Charge off” status from your credit report after you have made the total payment.

3 in 1 credit report and its usability

No one will be contented to see just one third part of their medical report or the inspection report about their car. So why should we be satisfied to get just one credit report out 3 available. Single credit bureau report may not be covering the all aspects of your credit worthiness. So to get the complete view of your credit history, 3 in 1 credit report will be the best option.

Before taking a loan, the lender what exactly he does check your credit worth ability. There are three major type of Credit Agencies that check or count your credit score and update your credit report from time to time. Generally borrower goes to one credit agency to update the credit report. May be some lender go to the particular bureau and some lender may opt for another bureau. So there is little bit confusion that which credit agency borrower has to choose.

The evaluation of credit standing is done according to the need of lender. If someone choose only one credit bureau to update his credit information it’s not sufficient. Because One Bureau could miss out any important information that can be a great impact on his credit report. In such case 3-in- 1 credit report help borrower to update right and correct information.

Why we need 3 in 1 Credit Report:

1. Such type of credit report gives a comprehensive look to report that how lenders see it.


2. It also help borrower to escape identity theft.


3. It helps you to improve your credit worthiness and complete all your debts.


4. It helps to give us the accurate credit report


5. It’s enhancing the financial strength for a borrower.

By using such type of report a potential lender can check your credit information and all related information directly. Almost 70 %( According to U.S. PIRG) of agency having error while updating the credit report that 3 in 1 Credit report reduce such type of risk. And not also your 3 in 1 credit report gives you information but it’s also providing you a clean and understandable format. Other side you can go for comparative check if you are having all three reports in your hands.

What necessary information a credit report have:

1. Any credit account that has been opened by your name


2. Subsequently checking by credit agencies or lender that has been done time to time


3. Any other loan e.g. home loan, Personal loan that you have taken in past


4. A complete breakdown for your payment history


5. A line by line comparison report that all three credit agency done based on your existing information

Why 3 in 1 credit report is better than a single credit report:

These three credit agency having different type of information which they gather based on exist data and they don’t share all information to each other. So the Personal and Financial information that a credit agency is having may not be same that other credit agency having. A 3-in-1 credit report lists all of your credit accounts, which allows you to quickly view how all three federal credit bureaus are reporting your credit.

There are so many sites where you can get it 3&1 credit report that could be free or there may be some charge to view the same. 3-in-1 credit report is the way to move forward if you are to avail a loan. But be sure that you seek the report from an online agency, as the report generation is fast.

Different credit score?

To determine your credit score, credit bureaus use five factors namely payment history, level of debt, type of credit, credit history length and applications for new credit. Each of these factors has a role in deciding your credit score with payment history playing the biggest role.

Since there are three different credit reporting agencies, it’s possible that you receive different credit score from each of credit bureaus with each using different models for calculating your credit score. All of three major credit bureaus Equifax, Experian and TransUnion operating separately and not all financial institution reporting to all of major credit bureaus, it’s quite possible that the you have different credit history with all of credit bureaus. And this difference in your credit history will be visible in your credit score as well. So depending upon the information credit bureaus have about your credit history, your credit score can vary greatly from one credit bureau to another.

It is not only the information about your credit history but also the kind of credit scoring model being used by various credit agencies may bring variation in your credit score. According to Fool.com, Equifax is the only credit reporting agency that is selling the credit score to the consumers and the term being used to refer to credit score is BEACON by Equifax. Equifax credit score range varies from 350-850.

Experian and TransUnion use the Fico scoring model to calculate a consumer credit score. Experian credit score is known as Experian/Fair Isaac Risk Model or PLUS and its score range varies from 330-830. TransUnion credit score is known as EMPIRICA and its range varies from 300-850.

Mother and Daughter arrested for changes of identity theft

Two women accused of identity theft were arrested in Benton County on Monday. 55 years old mother and 36 years old daughter were accused of opening $24000 line of credit by someone else name.

Both mother and daughter were at the Sears trying to pick the goods they had already purchased of worth $16000. Their purchases include:

"There were electronics, large screen plasma televisions, Apple iPods," said Chief Layne Erdman, of West Richland Police. "Also they were going to pick up a treadmill that they were unable to pick up because we arrested them, there was some fitness equipment in there and there appears to be some furniture purchases, so pretty much setting up house," he said.

Credit report security freeze explained

Definition of security freeze

Security freeze is the best alternate to prevent someone from borrowing and opening new accounts by your name. When someone to open new accounts or to borrow money uses your personal information that’s known as identity theft. Security freeze is a notice that is placed on a consumer credit report upon his request that prevents the credit reporting agencies from sharing the consumer credit information to a third party without his/her permission. Credit reporting agencies such as Equifax, Experian and TransUnion can inform the third party that the security freeze has been placed on the consumer credit files.

How to add security freeze to credit files?

In order to place security freeze on your credit files, you have to write to each of the credit reporting agencies like Equifax, Experian and TransUnion for putting a freeze. Here are their mailing addresses to write to:

   Equifax Security Freeze
      P.O. Box 105788
      Atlanta, GA 30348

   Experian Security Freeze
      P. O. Box 9554
      Allen, TX 75013

   TransUnion Security Freeze
      P. O. Box 6790
      Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

All of the credits reporting agencies allow consumers to request security freeze via certified mail and there are some additional methods by which you can request credit agencies to place a freeze on your credit report. When you are write to credit agencies, don’t forget to mention your name, your current address, social security number, date of birth, copy of police report in case you are the victim of identity theft. To know more about each credit agencies policies about security freeze contact them.

Once the security freeze has been added to your credit report, it’ll take 10 business days for the credit bureaus to mail you the PIN (personal identification number). This PIN will be used in future for making any changes to your freeze status.

How much to pay for adding a security freeze?

According to the laws credit agencies can charge up to $10 for placing, temporary lifting and permanent removal of security freeze. You will not be paying anything in case you have been the victim of identity theft and have attached the police report document with your freeze request. In case you lose your PIN, the credit agencies may charge up to $10 for replacing or reissue a new PIN.

Equifax requirement and fees for security freeze here

For Security freeze via Experian here

For complete information about the fee, securities freeze Faq via TransUnion here

How long it take for the security freeze to become effective?

After the credit reporting agencies receive your certified mail, they have 5 business days to complete your request.

Opening new account with security freeze on my credit files

Yes, it is possible for you to open new account or make a request for new credit. But before that you have to request credit agencies to temporarily lift the freeze on your credit files. When you asked the credit agencies to freeze your credit report, they must have sent you a PIN and the instructions about lifting the freeze. So you can use this PIN to lift the freeze via phone. It takes 3 business days for the credit agencies to lift the freeze on your credit files and they can charge up to $10 for this temporarily lifting.

How long a security freeze will remain effecting?

Security freeze will remain on your credit files by the time you don’t request for its temporarily or permanently lifting.

Will a creditor have access to my credit files in case they are frozen?

No the creditors will not have access to your credit files. The only thing that the creditors will get is a code or message indicating that the files for this consumer have been frozen. But the certain entities like existing creditors; collection agencies will still have the access to your credit report. These agencies can review or collect on your account.

Need to get a freeze from all credit reporting agencies

Yes, you have to freeze your credit reports from all of the major credit reporting agencies. Different creditors use different credit agencies report to check your credit worthiness. So in case you want to freeze your credit report from everyone, freeze it from all three major credit-reporting agencies Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

My credit score will lower when I have frozen my credit reports?

No. The existing creditors will still have access to your credit files and are able to report your credit behavior.

I still will be able to get my credit report with security freeze in work

Yes, you will still have access to your credit report and can get it from credit reporting agencies when you want to them.

Employers will have access to my credit files when they are frozen

No. You have to lift the freeze on your credit files to allow them your background check.

Security freeze Vs fraud alert

A fraud alert is a message available on a consumer credit reports that the creditors receive when checking their credit rating. This alert tells the creditors that there may be some fraud involved in this account. When a consumer has fraud alert on his reports, it slows down his ability to get new credit. On the other hand, security freeze prevents creditors, insurance companies or employers from checking your credit files. Most of the business companies will not offer you new credits or new accounts before checking your credit history.

How do I read my consumer credit report?

Once you have your consumer credit reports in hand, you should review them carefully. The reports from each of the consumer credit reporting agencies differ in format, clarity and completeness. Some are easier to read and understand.

There are several critical pieces of information you should check for in every report you receive:

1. Verify that all of the information about your identity is correct. Check to make sure there are no errors in your name, address, current employment and social security number, or in any other personal information such as your date of birth or the name of your spouse.


2. Make sure that debts charged to you are truly yours. Check to make sure that there are no accounts, debts, bankruptcies, tax liens or other judgments that do not belong to you or are still listed as open even though they have been resolved.


3. Make sure your payment history and balances are accurate.


4. Verify that errors you successfully disputed have been corrected.


5. Check that information is accurate and not misleading. Make sure that the status of your accounts is correct. Some accounts may be inaccurately marked as delinquent or in collections.


6. Make sure that your information reported by each of the three bureaus is complete and consistent.

Maryland residents access to credit report freeze

From now residents at Maryland will have the right to freeze their credit reports. According to a law that took place yesterday, Maryland joined 35 other states and the districts of Columbia that that allow the residents to place a security freeze on the sensitive information about their credit score. Five other states allow this facility to the victims of identity thefts only.

The security freeze on consumer’s credit reports saves them from identity thefts from opening fraud accounts by their names and getting new credits. With the security freeze in place, the credit reporting agencies cannot release consumer credit information without his/her permissions. Although this law doesn’t prevent existing banks and credit card companies from accessing consumers credit files for legitimate purposes.

The credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experian and TrnasUnion are allowed to charge up to $5 for adding security freeze to the consumer’s credit files. And this service will be free of cost for the victims of identity thefts.

According to FTC (Federal Trade Commission), Maryland is ranked 11th in the nation among the accidents of identity thefts with 10080 fraud cases taking place in 2006.
Maryland has already taken some steps to avoid the cases of identity thefts. Social security numbers were removes from the paychecks one year back.

Things you should have be aware about before getting a credit report

Before going for getting your free credit report there are some points that must be very clear to you like your financial information, how to get your credit report and which companies/company to chose to get the reports/report. So here is the detailed list of things you must be worry about before getting free credit report:

1. Keep your financial information with some of your earlier addresses, as they may be required when you go for getting credit report as a way to verify your identity.


2. Your credit report information can vary from one credit bureau to another, as most of the companies do not report your information to all of three credit bureaus. They may prefer to report to just one or two of them.


3. Often Lenders and creditors who are willing to do business with you, check your credit worthiness from one of the credit bureaus only. And incase there are some inaccuracies or errors in that credit report, that can have really bad impact on your reputation.


4. Consumer Union recommends that one should not get credit report from all of three credit bureaus at a time. They should look to get it after every 4 month from the credit bureaus i.e. get one from Experian today, then get it from Equifax after 4 months from today and then get the last one from TransUnion four months after that date.


5. But the Motley Fool recommends that you should get all of your first credit reports at a time and then look to get these reports after a interval of 4 months one at a time.