carlacatering asked:


I hit a really tough time about 2 years ago, it started with the birth of my daughter and loosing my job afterwards. It seems like bad luck has just been following me! Is there a best way to go about repairing credit? I heard consolidation was not good.

Jennifer K. C asked:


I a trying to build up and repair my credit score . Can someone give me some good advises on this?

Mark Aucamp asked:


If you believe everything in the news these days, it’s almost impossible to get a good deal on credit. Luckily, that’s just not true. If you have a good credit rating, you can still qualify for some great deals – whether you want a card, loan, mortgage or simply the right mobile airtime package. Follow these tips and you could see a real improvement to that all-important number.

Month 1

Understand credit ratings

When lenders decide whether to grant you credit and what interest to charge, they calculate your credit rating (also known as a credit score) to assess the likelihood that you will repay what you owe them. They do this by allocating a value to items from your application and your credit report – the personal history of your credit accounts, such as loans, cards and mortgages – and adding them up to get a single number. In general, the higher your score, the easier you’ll find it to get credit.

You don’t have a single credit rating, as every lender uses a different formula. Your credit score also changes over time, as your circumstances change – which is where these tips come in.



Check your credit report

It’s crucial that this is up to date and accurately reflects your circumstances, so lenders don’t turn you down unnecessarily or lend more than you can really afford to repay. Start by getting an overview of your credit accounts and how well you’re managing them. You can see your Experian credit report online with a 30-day free trial of the credit monitoring and ID fraud protection service CreditExpert.

It’s an urban myth that your credit rating suffers every time you look at your own report. In fact, checking your credit report regularly could help you to manage your finances better and build a better credit score.

Month 2

Register to vote at your current address

The electoral roll is used to confirm that you live where you say you do – you may lose points if you don’t appear and lenders may ask you to provide further proof of residence or even turn you down.

Set the record straight

If you find any discrepancies on your report, such as an account that is closed but is listed as open or a late payment that you know you made on time, get in touch with the relevant lender and explain the problem. Be prepared to provide proof and ask them to amend the entry.

Month 3

Give yourself some breathing space

Look for zero per cent balance transfers or spending deals on credit cards, which will give you some breathing space while you sort out your finances – but remember to save up the money to repay them when the introductory period is up.

Close unused accounts

Target unused accounts listed on your credit report and close them down. Lenders take into account the amount you could borrow when they decide what to offer you. Lower that total and you could increase your credit score.

Month 4

Make the most of savings on your mortgage

If you have a tracker mortgage that has benefited from the record lows in interest rates, now’s the time to consider whether paying off more of your home loan will leave you better off rather than using the surplus to repay other debts. Check first that you won’t be penalised for any early repayment.

Rationalise your borrowing

Get out your statements and work out which of your remaining accounts are costing you most in interest, then do your research to see if you can roll them up into a single, less expensive loan. If that’s not possible and you have spare cash, use it to pay off these debts first – you’ll be better off than if you keep the money in the bank and, as your balance falls, your credit rating could rise.

Month 5

Explain yourself

Past financial problems such as missed repayments stay on your credit report for at least three years, while IVAs and bankruptcies are there for a minimum of six years. If special circumstances explain why you got into trouble, you can ask to add a note of explanation that will be seen by lenders. For example, you might have had an accident and skipped a few repayments but have never had any problems before or since.

Sweep up your footprints



Every time you make an application for credit, the lender will search your credit report and leave a record known as a footprint. These stay on your credit report for 12 months and lots of these in a short space of time can make them fear that you’re desperate for money or even suspect that a fraud is being planned, so if you spot something listed as an application when you were only asking for a quotation, contact the lender and ask for it to be removed. When you want to know what kind of a deal you can get, be careful to ask for a quotation search that won’t count against you.

Month 6

Protect your ID



ID fraud is one of the fastest-growing crimes of the 21st century. It takes place when a criminal gets hold of enough of your personal data and impersonates you, take over your accounts, borrow money in your name – and trash your credit rating. When you check your credit report, look out for unfamiliar transactions or applications and tell the lender immediately if you think you’re a victim. The Home Office recommends this as an effective protection.



Update your relationships



One section of your credit report lists your financial associates – people with whom you have a financial relationship, such as a mortgage or joint credit card account. Lenders may check the credit reports of your financial associates when you apply for credit, as their situation could affect your ability to repay what you borrow, so it’s important to ensure that the list is up to date – or you could be penalised for someone else’s financial problems. It’s always best to close joint accounts when a relationship ends.

So how are you doing?

See whether you’ve boosted your credit rating by ordering your Experian Credit Score for £5.95 at any time when you check your Experian credit report with CreditExpert. It won’t be exactly the same as one calculated by a lender but it will demonstrate the impact of your credit history on your credit score and help you to track your progress.

Ian Webber asked:


Become a Credit Repair Powerhouse

Credit repair requires a bit of finesse. It is essential to approach your credit repair project from several different angles simultaneously. This multi-faceted of approach will insure the best possible outcome. Leave out a single aspect of the project and your credit repair effort is likely to languish, or even fail in spite of the most belabored struggle. Are you ready for great success? Here are the credit repair secrets of the pros. Follow along and watch the magic happen.

Rebuild Your Credit Now or Fail

It does not matter how bad your credit is when you begin your credit repair journey, you need to start rebuilding your credit today. Credit cards are the most powerful tool available. You may be thinking that it would be better to wait until your credit is better before making application for a credit card, but that is not correct. Revolving credit takes up to six months to yield solid credit score benefits, so you cannot afford to wait. And if you are concerned about getting approved just apply for secured cards. Two is the correct number of cards for optimal credit repair results. Once you have them in hand just follow these rules.

Revolving Debt Rules

Once you have two new credit cards open you need to manage them in a very special manner for the first year of your credit repair and recovery journey. Use them right away and never let the balance go all the way to zero. In addition, you need to learn about the magical relationship between your balance and your card limit. If you want your credit score to shine you should reduce your balance below 20 percent of the card’s limit. For example, if you have a credit card with a three hundred dollar limit you should keep the balance under sixty dollars.

Credit Repair Timing is Everything

For clarity, I should point out that you can do anything you want with your credit card balance if no one will be looking at your scores. Running a high balance has no long term effect on your score; as soon as you pay down your balance your scores will pop right up. Just make sure to get your balances down at least sixty days in advance of needing your scores, as it can take that long for the credit bureaus to get the updated balance information. How much of an impact will this have on your credit repair results? It can change your life. The difference between a low balance and a maxed out card can translate into a whopping 150 points. See the light!

The Right Stuff

Stay away from store cards and consumer credit such as furniture, appliance, and electronics store loans, at least while you are trying to fire up your credit repair project. If you have this type of debt right now try to pay it off as soon as possible. The FICO scoring model has a bias against this debt and your score will pay the price. Once again, it doesn’t really matter if you open an account at every store in town as long as you don’t need your scores to be at their best right. Store cards and consumer debt can be convenient and even financially beneficial if used right, just make sure to clean things up at least sixty days before you need your score and you will see the credit repair results you are looking for.

Learn About Statutes of Limitation

If you really want to fire up your credit repair weaponry and do some serious damage against the evil-doers you must take the time to understand the importance of statutes of limitation and their significance in dealing with errant collection accounts on your credit report. A statute of limitation is the period of time that a debt may be collected through the court system. In the vast majority of cases the statute of limitation is far less than the reporting period limit. Debts beyond the statute of limitation become extremely negotiable. If a collector has no leverage, and they know that you know, they are likely to become entirely docile and willing to accept a small settlement. In addition, you can stop any collector from contacting you with no worry about legal ramification, simply by sending them a cease communication letter. Want to learn more about this powerful credit repair tool? Statutes of limitation are state and debt type specific and are all easily found on the Internet. So logon and learn. Good luck!

Copyright © 2009 Ian Webber. All Content. All Rights Reserved.

Ian Webber asked:


Credit Repair in the Fast Lane

Credit repair does not have to take forever. There are things that only time will heal, but the right strategies can turn your credit scores around quickly. Are you ready to do what it takes to see your numbers pop? It’s not hard if you know what to do. Here are the best short term credit repair strategies available. Put them all together and you get credit repair magic.

FICO ’08 and Authorized User Accounts

Fair Isaac Corp has finally shut down the authorized user account broker industry. The latest release of the FICO ’08 scoring software is carefully designed to eliminate all benefit from purchased authorized user credit card accounts. But there is credit repair gold hidden in the news. Fair Isaac makes it abundantly clear that legitimate authorized users will continue to reap the same score benefits as always. So call Mom or Uncle Bob and have them add you to one or two of their excellent credit cards.

Get Two or Three New Secured Credit Cards

You should see a significant jump in your scores from the new authorized user accounts, but this is not a substitute for building new credit in your own name. If your scores are too weak to get regular credit cards, just apply for a couple of small secured cards. This is a powerful credit repair strategy. Make sure to use less than 20% of the available limit on the card. If you max these new cards out it will be credit repair suicide. You have the power. Don’t blow it; use less than 20% of the card.

Pay Down Revolving Balances

Maybe you have plenty of credit and don’t need authorized user accounts or secured credit cards. If you have existing revolving debt you have the ability to move your scores very quickly by paying your balances down. There are five levels of card usage acknowledged by the credit scoring model: 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100%. If you want to boost your credit scores you should go for the gusto and pay your balances down below 20%. If you don’t have the resources to do this you should think about borrowing from a relative or friend. Make it happen if you can. This can add up to over 100 points.

Pump Up Your Credit Limits

There are two sides to the balance vs. limit formula. If you can’t get the balances down see if you can get the limits up. If you can reduce the ratio of card usage you will get the benefit regardless of how you did it. Just pick up the phone call each of your credit card issuers if they will increase your limits. It can’t hurt to ask. Sometimes credit repair takes nerve.

Challenge Your Collections

Get a copy of your three credit reports. Identify the collections and dispute all of them. Sound crazy? Actually, it’s almost crazy not to do this. Collections change hands often. It’s the nature of the industry. Did you know that the FTC requires collectors to withdraw reporting of collections if they sell the account to another collector or return it to the original creditor? Unfortunately, there is no incentive for them to cease reporting and no punishment if they don’t. If you dispute a collection and the collector no longer owns the debt it will be removed. But take care and read the next section carefully, because there is some potential credit repair danger.

Credit Repair and Your State Statutes

Challenging collections is a smart and justified credit repair strategy. But there are cases where it is simply not advisable. If the collection is larger than $1000 and within the statute of limitation (SOL) for collection through the courts, you just might wake a sleeping beast. The SOL for collection is usually less than the reporting period limit, and in many cases as short as three years. Check the SOL for your state and the state in which the account was open; the longer period applies. If the SOL has expired you can dispute with no fear. If the collector verifies the information as it appears on your report you should be able to negotiate the balance and maybe even have the account removed from your credit report.

Credit Repair Assistance

Credit repair help is always just a phone call away. There are many things that can be done to clean up your credit report and get your scores moving in the right direction. If you don’t have the time to do the job properly, call a credit repair professional. Don’t do the job half-way. It’s far too important. Pick up the phone and let a professional make your credit repair project a great success.

Copyright © 2008 Ian Webber. All Content. All Rights Reserved.

Kelly B asked:


If so i would like to talk to you, i want to start my own credit repair company but not sure about all the technicalities. I help repair credit as of now but on the side out of my house, usually on the weekends.

Ian Webber asked:


An Urgent Need for Credit Repair



Credit repair has become a necessity. Prior to the recession you could afford to have blemishes on your credit report; lenders didn’t really care. If your credit score was a little low you would simply pay a modestly higher interest rate. Not the end of the world. But along with the recession came the most dramatic credit crunch ever. It started with mortgage lenders as they scrambled to mitigate risk in their real estate portfolios. Over the following year every other creditor followed in step. One thing leads to another and now millions of people are finding that without some form of remedial credit repair effort they are unable to purchase anything on credit.

The Credit Crunch



The severity of the credit crunch has taken many by surprise. In mid-2006 money was flowing freely. The economic froth was beyond anything the world had seen since the roaring twenties. Even then credit repair paid dividends, it’s true, but there was no desperate need. You could purchase a home with credit scores in the low 500s. You might even get an interest rate as low as one percent, albeit an adjustable rate mortgage. But, oh, how times change. Now, for millions of people, the lack of an intelligent credit repair effort can mean no loan at all. And the non-availability of credit can mean real hardship. Just think of something as simple as automobile financing. Can you do without a car? Urban dwellers might get by with public transportation, but that is not the case for most of us.

Is Credit Repair for You?

Credit repair can change everything, and quicker than you may think. Credit repair can be done by you, but for most people it is worth considering employing the services of a professional credit repair service. A professional service will offer comprehensive clean up and restoration with a focus on credit score optimization. If you are shopping for the right credit repair company, make sure they offer more than just credit bureau disputes. Your goal is to improve your score and make your credit as lender-ready as possible. The right company will produce the right results. How about you, are you a candidate for credit repair? If you have examined your credit reports and imagine that there is little benefit to be had, I would like to share a little information that might inspire you to take a step towards credit repair today.

A Lot of Mistakes



Almost three-quarters of all credit reports contain errors. Not all of these errors are significant enough to cause major financial disruption, but a lot of them are. How many? According to a series of studies conducted by public interest research groups over the last decade about half of all credit reports include errors serious enough to cause consumers to pay premium interest rates or to be denied outright for loans. To put these statistics into perspective it helps to know that the three major credit bureaus each report on just over two hundred million Americans. Half of the total is one hundred million. That’s a lot of mistakes. Where do you stand? Here are some things for you to consider.

Your Credit Repair Opportunity



Credit reporting errors are not always easy to spot. You may have multiple errors which could use credit repair attention, and not even know that they are present on your credit reports. One of the most insidious forms of reporting errors is caused by the redundancy of illicit collection accounts. The cause is simple. Collectors buy and sell debt on a regular basis. By law, a collector is supposed to withdraw their reporting of a collection account immediately upon the sale of the debt to another collector. And yet this rarely happens for the simple reason that there is no punishment for compliance failure. Other common errors needing credit repair attention include duplicate accounts, accounts reported as open with balances that are closed and paid, underreported credit limits on revolving accounts, and file merger errors causing other peoples accounts to report on your credit.

Reach Out Today



It’s time to reach out for credit repair help. Shop the internet; call three or four credit repair services before making up your mind. Most legitimate companies offer a free consultation. I suggest that you take advantage of this. You should make a list of questions that you want to ask. Be organized. Think about the issues that are of concern to you. Make notes. It is important to feel comfortable with the company you hire. Take your time and do it right. Your credit repair project is bound to succeed. Good luck!

Copyright © 2009 Ian Webber. All Content. All Rights Reserved.

zachary b asked:


Who can start a credit repair business?

Jim Kemish asked:


Credit Repair in Changing Times



Credit repair has the power to transform your financial life and help you meet creditor guidelines. We are in a period of hard economic times. For the last three years lenders have tightened their requirements. Consumers everywhere are finding it difficult to get home loans, automobile financing, and even credit cards. Millions of credit cards holders have been contacted by their creditors and told that their credit limits have been reduced, and in many cases even informed that their cards have been cancelled.

Meeting the Challenge Head On



Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal noted that credit card issuers will be cutting credit card lines by two trillion dollars in 2009. Credit repair provides a means of restoring, rebuilding, and optimizing your credit reports and credit scores. An intelligent round of credit repair is exactly what these hard times call for. You do not have to sit back and watch passively while the availability of credit becomes a distant memory. Start your credit repair program today and regain the favor of lenders and access to the low cost financing you need.

A Complete Approach is Needed

There are three aspects to successful credit repair that you must address simultaneously. You must clean up the content of your credit report, rectify any credit deficiencies you have, and fine-tune your credit for credit score optimization. If you neglect any of these tasks your credit repair effort will struggle, or even fail in spite of your otherwise capable and hard work. Many credit repair programs focus on credit bureau disputes to the exclusion of everything else. And as exciting as it is to see derogatory information corrected, you are likely to face disappointment when the time comes to apply for a loan and you find that your credit scores have not improved and that the content of your report does not meet the lenders requirements. Here is an overview of the three pronged approach that will insure you end up with truly usable credit.

The Credit Repair Clean Up

Cleaning up your credit report with credit repair requires patience and a proper understanding of all of your legal rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. And if you have accounts reported by collectors on your report you must have a working knowledge of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and all relevant state statutes of limitation. With the proper tools your job will be easy and rewarding. If you fail to learn the rules you may trigger unanticipated trouble in the form of new collection activity and lawsuits. If you don’t have the time to invest in the learning process don’t worry, just contact a legitimate credit repair service. They will insure that all of the necessary precautions are taken before sending dispute letters to the credit bureaus.

Removing Credit Deficiencies

Rectifying credit deficiencies as part of your credit repair program is every bit as important as cleaning up your credit report. This is necessary for anyone who does not have any open mainstream revolving accounts. Credit cards are the most powerful way of jumpstarting your credit scores. You should have a minimum of two credit cards. Given the state of the credit markets today there is a good chance that you will have to apply for secured credit cards. Secured credit cards are every bit as good for credit rebuilding as unsecured cards. Once you have your two credit cards you need to follow three simple rules to optimize your credit scores. Make your payments on time, don’t pay your balance down to zero, and keep your balance under twenty percent of the total credit line available on the card. As an example, if you have a card with a five hundred dollar limit, you should keep the balance under two hundred dollars.

Fine-Tune and Optimize

Fine-tuning the content of your credit report for credit score optimization requires some understanding of the FICO scoring model. There are certain types of debt that are favorable for your score and others that should be avoided at all costs. In addition, there is an optimal balance between different types of debt that you should work towards. You may need to open accounts, close others, pay down balances, and understand the pace at which these changes should take place depending on your own credit needs.

Picking Your Path



Do you need help? You can succeed at credit repair on your own, or you can hire a reputable credit repair service to manage the process for you. Credit repair is a unique task that requires a fair amount of knowledge if you want to produce the best possible results. If you are going to go it alone please take the time to educate yourself. If you are going to hire a credit repair service, pick up the phone and interview a few. Make a list of questions to ask and pick the company that you feel comfortable with. Good luck!

Copyright © 2009 James W. Kemish. All Content. All Rights Reserved.

Jasmine B asked:


I am interested in finding a credit repair company that has proven to have a very positive impact on your credit score. I know that the best way is to do it yourself so I would not like to hear responses from people who have no actual company in mind. Thank you.