According to "Mistakes Do Happen: A Look at Errors in Consumer Credit Reports " a recent report by public issues watchdog U.S.Public Interest Research Group (USPRIG.) There is a one in four chance your credit report contains an error serious enough to cause you to be denied credit. 79 percent of credit reports examined in a recent survey contained either serious errors or mistakes of some kind.
54 percent of the credit reports contained personal demographic identifying information that was misspelled, long outdated, belonged to a stranger or was other wise incorrect.
According to Ed Mierzwinski, USPRIG Consumer Program Director, "It is outrageous that inaccurate credit reports could damage one-in-four consumers’s ability to buy a home, rent an apartment, obtain credit, open a bank account, or even get a job."
Have you ever stopped to think what having BAD CREDIT is costing you? How much have you paid in additional interest and fees due to your poor credit rating? One estimate is that a poor credit rating costs the average consumer $3000 per year or $50,000 in a lifetime due to extra charges that are assessed simply because of a low credit score. Unnecessary deposits, excessive interest, higher insurance rates, lower paying jobs are just a few of the financial hardships faced by those with credit problems. This dollar figure does not include the extreme inconvenience, additional stress, low self-esteem, and loss of dignity associated with being considered a second class citizen in a society that is based on credit worthiness.
Put an end to your credit problems… it costs MORE to keep bad credit than to RESTORE YOUR CREDIT STANDING.Why would you want to pay MORE to have so much LESS???
Automobile Financing: If you are financing a car and have bad credit, you are probably paying thousands of dollars more than you would pay once you had restored your credit. This extra interest shows up every month in a dramatically higher payment. One of the first things that our members often do once they have restored their credit is to refinance their automobile for a fraction of their current payment or buy twice the car at nearly the same payment. Take a look!
Home Mortgage: The “American Dream” of owning your own home is out of reach for most people with credit problems. As you see below, even mildly damaged credit will cost a small fortune in additional interest. This forces credit challenged consumers to raise families in less desirable neighborhoods and to pay off someone else’s mortgage for them leaving the credit challenged with only several years worth of rental receipts.
Myth # 1 - When I pay off a past-due account, such as a charge off or a collection account, it will show “paid” and no longer be negative.
It is difficult to fully restore your credit without paying your outstanding debts. However, paying off a debt can actually hurt your credit. Negative items on your credit report are allowed to stay on your credit report for a maximum of seven (7) years, except for bankruptcy that can stay for up to ten (10) years. This 7 or 10-year clock begins ticking at the date of last activity. Making a payment represents new activity and restarts the clock. When paying an outstanding debt, you will change the account status to paid collection, paid charge-off, satisfied judgement, or paid ‘was xxx days late”. This is still considered very negative and appears as though you had to be strong-armed by the credit bureau to pay the account. It is almost always prudent to have a professional help so as to not further damage your credit by trying to do the right thing.
Myth # 2 - If a negative item is successfully deleted from my credit report, it will just come right back on my report.
The credit bureaus have cleverly spread this myth through the news media and government agencies. In truth, the credit bureaus will often temporarily delete a negative listing if they have not heard from the credit grantor for 30 days since an item has been disputed. Should the credit grantor submit verification a week or two later, it will be re-inserted. (This is called a soft delete.) Most of the time the creditor simply fails to respond and the negative item is permanently deleted. If the creditor verifies the item the account may still be deleted later in the process as the challenging process is intensified.
Myth # 3 - There are items such as bankruptcies, foreclosures, and tax liens that are impossible to remove from the credit report.
There is no type of negative listing that our attorneys have not successfully removed from a credit report - thousands of times.
Myth # 4 - Disputing a credit report is easy. Any consumer can do it themselves.
Disputing a credit report is easy. Getting results from the credit bureaus as a layperson is amazingly difficult, complex, and infuriating. The Federal Trade Commission receives more complaints against credit bureaus than any other type of business . In February 2000 the 3 major credit bureaus paid a fine of 2 ½ million dollars for ignoring consumers requesting information regarding their file. Remember the credit bureaus are primarily interested in protecting their profits. Investigating consumer disputes consumes these profits. Short of sparking a mass number of lawsuits, the bureaus do everything in their power to impede your progress with credit restoration. Restoring your own credit is like repairing your own transmission or representing your self in court; it is possible, but you have to be willing to invest the time to learn the processes, assume the risks of your inexperience and realize that it will probably take you longer and you probably will be less effective than a professional.
Myth # 5 - The credit bureau allows me to submit a 100-word explanation as to my side of the story. Creditors will read my statement and take it into consideration.
No known creditors consider the information submitted in you’re statement. This statement only verifies some of the negative items on your report. The 100-word explanation should be the first thing deleted from your credit file.
Myth # 6 - The credit bureaus are…a branch of the government, infallible, or otherwise above reproach.
The credit bureaus are publicly traded companies in business to impress stockholders. They are not government agencies. In fact, they are one of the most heavily regulated industries. The strict regulations stem from a public outcry of abuses and mistakes. A recent survey by an independent research group revealed that 70% of credit reports contained mistakes or errors. The prevalence of errors has lead to consumer protection legislation that allows consumers to challenge the bureaus and force the removal of inaccurate, outdated or unverifiable information.
Myth # 7 - I can create a totally new credit file by getting a federal tax ID number or changing a few numbers on my social security number.
This fraudulent scheme has proven to be complex, difficult and illegal. Lying on a credit application is a criminal offense and with the linking of computer systems it is virtually impossible to get away with. It is in your best interest to hire adequate representation and face the music by confronting the credit bureaus armed with the rights congress has granted you through the consumer protection laws.
Myth # 8 - If I build enough good credit, it will offset my bad credit and make me creditworthy.
Any amount of bad credit is devastating to your chances of being approved by a creditor. The approval is almost never in the hands of a human sitting across a desk from you. It is a computer achieving a point total. The slightest amount of negative credit will cause an auto loans interest rate to skyrocket. Generally, even a little bad credit (regardless of the amount of good credit) will cause you to be declined.
Myth # 9 - Nonprofit organizations like Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) can help me restore my credit.
Nonprofit debt counseling services assist people who are over their heads in debt and are seeking an alternative to bankruptcy. CCCS are funded and controlled by credit grantors and credit bureaus. When you are working with CCCS your creditors will often note this on your credit report. This is a huge red flag for prospective credit grantors - treated the same as Chapter 13 bankrutcy. Some of the very worst credit reports that we see are or have been participants in the CCCS or similar programs.
Myth # 10 - It is illegal for creditors to take off a negative-listing on my credit report. The law requires that these items remain on the credit report for at least seven (7) years.
When you speak to credit grantors, collection agencies, or credit bureaus, their typically under-educated staff may tell you all manner of such pseudo-legal nonsense. The law "limits" negative information from appearing longer than the legal seven (7) year maximum. The credit grantor or credit bureau may choose to delete the item whenever they see fit (Or, whenever our attorney convinces them to).
Give me a call and I will help you get started on the road to good credit! www.CreditRestorePros.com
Fooled into satisfaction by the fact that they can make a larger down payment on a new home with funds received from the sale of their “old”, some sellers fail to address negatives on their credit reports and thereby suffer such consequences as higher interest rates and additional costs associated with obtaining their new home loan.
Simply put, Home Sellers should repair their credit before selling a home and buying a home. It’s easy to get out of focus when you concentrate on your current home’s selling price. Points, prepayment penalties and higher interest charges on your new home can easily erase all the profits you gained in the sale.”
There is a difference between strong credit and the credit needed to obtain a mortgage. Indeed, you can buy real estate with poor credit but you’ll pay higher, non-prime interest rates. Consider: a mortgage loan of $150,000, 30-year, fixed rate mortgage, interest rate of about 5.72% will cost approximately $870 monthly. With poor credit, the interest rate could easily exceed 9% costing over $1,200 in monthly mortgage payments. That means that, over the course of the mortgage, you could pay the price of a second home in mortgage payments simply because you didn’t take the time to repair your credit.
When buying a home or selling a home good credit can be a big difference in mortgage payments which could help you buy the home of your dreams or purchase an additional property, so do what you can to have the best possible credit rating.
Good credit is important in America today because so many of the things that we want
to buy must be financed or purchased on credit.
And once you have had a bad credit rating it is almost impossible to avoid detection.
A network of credit reporting agencies keeps track of every person who buys on credit.
Each time you apply for credit, the prospective lender will check your credit with at least one of these agencies.
But Did You Know…both Employers and Insurance companies also make
determinations about you based on your credit score? That means that you could be paying higher insurance rates, or be passed over for that better job or promotion because your credit score is too low. We estimate the average person with below excellent credit scores could be penalized $12,924.00 or more each year for low credit scores! (See our report “Keeping Bad Credit Costs More Than Repairing It “ for more info)
It is easy to see how low credit scores have the ability to hold a family down, and keep
you from getting ahead.
How Do Credit Scores Work? (The Basics)
A Credit Score is a number assigned to a consumer that, based on 5 principal
determining factors, statistically determines the probability that you will become 90 days late or more on any loan obligation over the next 2 years.
- The FICO score is the most widely used scoring system, and is what most mortgage
lenders use.
- There are three (3) major credit bureaus in the U.S. who have business relationships
with thousands of creditors across the country, and that is why you may have three
"scores" that are being reviewed. Those creditors will "report" the information they have
about you to these credit bureaus at various times. They do not have to report their
information to the bureaus, and some creditors only report to one or two of the bureaus.
Therefore, it is very hard to increase your credit score if you don’t know to whom
your creditors are reporting.
- A credit score is calculated by taking all of the various information about your credit
profile and running that data through a computer model, where points are added and
subtracted based on a "perfect" credit model. (This "model" is proprietary information to the FICO organization) Once the calculation is complete, out pops a credit score for
that bureaus’ credit file on you.
- When we are referring to your credit score in the mortgage business, we are talking
about the middle score out of the three (not an average, but the actual score that is not
the highest or lowest).
- Credit scores are affected by almost everything about your credit data, ranging from
the length of time you have had an account, to the ratio of the balance available vs. the
balance owed. And of course there is the obvious negative impact of any derogatory
history.
The Good News - Rebuilding Your Credit
Millions of dollars are spent to convince you that nothing can be done about your bad credit. But it’s Not True!
If you are one of the millions of Americans who have had credit problems, do not despair. Even with negative items in your credit file, such as collections, late payments, liens, bankruptcies, or foreclosures, we can help! There is no kind of negative item that we do not regularly see removed from our members credit reports.
First Financial Freedom Foundation offers credit repair services through an affiliated attorney network. Everyone knows that under the law, if you are accused of anything, the burden of proof lies with your accuser. In other words, if the credit bureaus are going to promote and sell information about you that can cause you economic hardship, they must back it up to the full letter of the law. An Attorney enforces your consumer rights.
Congress has provided consumers the right to challenge information that is deemed to be inaccurate or information that is not properly validated under the law must be removed regardless as to whether it is accurate or not. Regardless of the accuracy, credit bureaus are often unwilling to invest the resources necessary or unable to get the credit grantor to invest the resources necessary to properly verify the disputed item.
Oftentimes, it becomes a matter of economics. If the case is presented properly, it is
often more difficult and expensive for the credit bureaus to substantiate the item
than to simply remove it.
The law requires more than a form letter to verify that an item is accurate. If the credit
bureau confirms an item on your report, the assigned attorney will “ratchet up” the
intensity of our challenge and represent it. This forces the bureau to invest additional
time and expense to conduct the new investigation.
Credit Repair and First Financial Freedom Foundation (4Freedom)
What are the advantages of using our Attorneys? While there are many companies who brand themselves as credit repair organizations, most of them lack the legal clout and experience necessary to adequately represent your dispute efforts. Some of the specific advantages of using our affiliated attorneys are:
Attorneys enforce your rights under the various federal laws.
Attorneys can do everything a credit repair organization can do, and file a lawsuit if necessary.
Attorneys keep abreast of consumer laws as well as changes to, interpretation thereof, and applicability of those laws.
Attorneys govern themselves according to the rules and principles of professional conduct.
Attorneys practice the methodologies and structure like any law-practicing firm.
Attorneys will review your case and impose legal opinions when and if necessary.
Attorney-Client privilege protects your confidentiality.
Cost of Bad Credit Automobile Financing: If you are financing a car and have bad credit, you are probably paying thousands of dollars more than you would pay once you had restored your credit. This extra interest shows up every month in a dramatically higher payment. One of the first things that our members often do once they have restored their credit is to refinance their automobile for a fraction of their current payment or buy twice the car at nearly the same payment. Take a look!
Home Mortgage: The” American Dream” of owning your home is out of reach for most people with credit problems. As you see below, even mildly damaged credit will cost a small fortune in additional interest. This forces credit challenged consumers to raise families in less desirable neighborhoods and to pay off someone else's mortgage for them leaving the credit challenged with only several years worth of rental receipts.
A Trustworthy Resource “Credit Repair” has not been kind to the American consumer. In fact, the name is synonymous with fraud. This is the stigma we face as we offer our Members an alternative to “Credit Prison”. The nasty reputation of credit repair often forces us to defend the ethics of our association. The legal services provided our Members via our affiliated attorneys are analogous to work done by any defense attorney. Our Member's attorney takes an affirmative defense: offers a reasonable alibi and leaves it to the bureaus(s) to substantiate their allegation. If the bureau(s) claim to have affirmed the allegation, the decision is appealed. EVENTUALLY, MOST BAD CREDIT ALLEGATIONS ARE UNTENABLE AND REMOVED FROM THE CREDIT PROFILE.
Now that we have dispelled the misconceptions, spun by Credit Bureaus, to convince you that you have no legal options to remove bad credit from your credit reports...
What Are You Going to Do? Everyone knows that if you commit murder, rob a bank, or get a speeding ticket that you have legal rights. It is ridiculous to think that you have no legal recourse against accusations made about you without your permission on your credit report.
The credit bureaus public relations machine will stop at nothing short of sparking costly law suits to convince consumers that nothing can be done regarding bad credit allegations they put onto your credit report. Our affiliated attorneys are often surprised at how consumers are oppressed by credit bureaus and debt collectors. Our members report being shunned by these businesses and are frequently told that they have little to no say over what is reported about them.
What Does Congress Have To Say? Findings - The Congress makes the following findings:
Consumers have a vital interest in establishing and maintaining their creditworthiness and credit standing in order to obtain and use credit. As a result, consumers who have experienced credit problems may seek assistance from credit repair organizations, which offer to improve the standing of such consumers.Sec.402 (a) CREDIT REPAIR ORGANIZATIONS ACT. Title IV of the Consumer Protection Act (Public Law 90-321-, 82 Stat.164)
Are You Skeptical???? You have good reason to be skeptical. Let us prove our capabilities to you. CALL NOW and take advantage of our FREE - NO OBLIGATION credit report review and strategic legal proposal. Send us recent copies of your credit reports. (We will gladly help you obtain them if needed.) Upon receipt of your reports, we will provide you with NO COST or Obligation:
Comprehensive credit report analysis.
A plan detailing attorney recommended legal strategies
Information on any additional MEMBER SERVICES recommended helping you achieve your creditworthiness goals.
Several successful case studies of members who came to us with a similar situation as yours.
We will show you actual “before & after” credit reports.
By email a list of thousands of derogatory items (similar to the ones on your credit report) that have been permanently erased or amended to a favorable status.
Several email addresses of MEMBERS that initially felt very skeptical, but after enrolling, have completely restored their credit rating, purchased a new home, bought a new car at a favorable interest rate, or regained their dignity & feeling of self worth.
Mistakes Do Happen
Report available online - Research conducted by PIRG Public Information Research Group, Washington, D.C.
Twenty-nine percent (29%) of credit reports contain serious errors, false delinquencies, or accounts that did not belong to the consumer.
Forty-one percent (41%) of credit reports contain demographic information that was misspelled, outdated or incorrect.
Twenty percent (20%) of credit reports were missing major credit, loan, mortgage or other information to demonstrate the credit worthiness of the consumer.
Twenty-six percent (26%) of credit reports contain accounts that were closed by the consumer but incorrectly listed as open (or) “closed by credit grantor”.
Altogether, seventy percent (70%) of credit reports contain errors or mistakes
By email a list of thousands of derogatory items (similar to the ones on your credit report) that have been permanently erased or amended to a favorable status.
Click Member Services and ask a representative to send you the complete report (with no cost or obligation of course).
FTC 1997 – June of 2003: Complaints filed against Credit Bureaus
FOIA No. 2003-470
* Identity Theft began a crime in 1998. The FTC began accepting consumer inquiries and complaints about identity theft in October 1999.
Keeping BAD CREDIT costs more than fixing BAD CREDIT Have you ever stopped to think what having BAD CREDIT is costing you? How much have you paid in additional fees due to your poor credit rating? One estimate is that a poor credit rating costs the average consumer $3000 per year or $50,000 in a lifetime due to extra charges that are assessed simply because of a low credit score. Unnecessary deposits, excessive interest, higher insurance rates, lower paying jobs are just a few of the financial hardships faced by those with problematic credit. This dollar figure does not include the extreme inconvenience, additional stress, low self-esteem, and loss of dignity associated with being considered a second class citizen in a society that is based on credit worthiness. Put an end to your credit problems…if it costs MORE TO KEEP BAD CREDIT THAN TO RESTORE YOUR CREDIT STANDING. Why would you want to pay MORE to have so much LESS???
What a Value! As a Member You Get All of This!!
Legal Credit Audit, Verification, & Restoration (ERASE BAD CREDIT LEGALLY): Included in your membership we will provide you with an attorney experienced in credit bureau law that will represent you against the credit bureaus in removing negative items from your report. Members only pay a $5 correction fee per item deleted or corrected on each of your credit reports. Add Positive Credit To Your Report: All members are automatically approved for a $5,000.00 line of credit. Additionally our Free Credit Card Search service allows members to see what credit lines that they qualify for by cross-checking credit card issuing banks around the country with your current credit status information.
Advisory Services: Members receive legal advice via a nationwide Law Club, tax advice via My Tax Man, a 1 hour IRS Defense Consultation and Unlimited Personal Finance Coaching. Never a charge, advice is always highly professional, personalized and confidential.
Banking Assistance: Members who have trouble establishing a checking account, appreciate the *guaranteed approval* SECOND CHANCE BANK ACCOUNT with $400 overdraft protection.
Educational Services: Members are able to take part in a college level Personal Finance course.
PPO Health Services: Members enjoy a Discounted Health Program that saves their entire family up to 80% on the cost of Healthcare. Members may save more than the cost of their membership.
Guaranteed Financing for a Computer: Enjoy automatic credit approval for a computer.
Credit Reference Service: We will provide a credit reference letter at anytime for valid members.
Many additional Added Value Member Benefits Are Included in Membership: Those that join today enroll and receive our current offering. Those that have been with us a while, know that what we will offer tomorrow will be even better.”
You Are Not Alone… It's sad but very true that a large percentage of us suffer from blemishes on their credit reports. A single blemish may prevent one from obtaining credit Bad credit is embarrassing, humiliating, and depressing. Most creditors believe that a bad credit report dictates a persons worth and value as a human being.
Most people with bad credit are not “deadbeats” nor are they unwilling to pay their obligations. In fact, most of our members, maintained a good credit until some unforeseen circumstance like a layoff, medical problem, or divorce prevented them from making payments in a timely manner.
In our experience most members struggled long and hard to meet their obligations, but the money coming in simply didn't meet the bills going out.
You are not the first person to decide to put food on the table or keep the lights on rather than pay a credit card bill. Most people faced with the decision will protect their family and love ones first and then pay their creditors. Even the collection agents, would certainly protect themselves first, if faced with the same tough decision.
By knowing and exercising your legal rights 4FREEDOM will assist you in taking the steps to regain your good credit and reward you by rebuilding your financial independence and freedom. Our members tell us the added confidence and feeling of self worth is one of the biggest benefits they receive from our service. Of course, you must protect your new credit report with honesty, integrity, and common sense.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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