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Credit Cards: What You Need To Know

Studies have shown that people generally maintain a business relationship with their first card issuer for 15 years, which is why creditors want to get customers when they are young. The relationship lasts so long because the young consumer doesn’t know how to find better deals.

Many people are suggesting that credit card companies are aggressively trying to get students hooked on credit by luring them with T-shirts and other freebies when they apply for cards. This guide is designed to give you the facts you need to be a wise consumer and the tools to use credit to your

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Your National Credit Score (United Kingdom)

The information in your credit report is key to getting the loans you need, but it is only half the story.

Before deciding whether or not to lend money, many organisations take your report, plus additional information included on your application form, and generate a credit score. This score predicts the risk involved in granting you credit.

Calculating your score

Computer programs score your application by looking at how past customers with similar profiles to yours repaid their credit commitments. Every lender uses a slightly different formula that represents its own and industry experience and these may be adjusted according to the type

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Protect Yourself From Credit Repair Scams

Every day, companies promise consumers who have poor credit histories that, for a fee, they’ll clean up their credit report so they can get a car loan, a home mortgage, insurance or even a job. The truth is, these companies can’t deliver an improved credit report using the tactics they promote.It’s illegal: No one canremove accurate negative information from your credit report. So after you pay them hundreds or thousands of dollars in up-front fees, you’re left with the same credit report—and a lot less money.

Indeed, attorneys for the Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protectionagency, say they’ve never seen

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Debt Collection – A Guide for Consumers

Debt Collection FAQs: A Guide for ConsumersIf you’re behind in paying your bills, or a creditor’s records mistakenly make it appear that you are, a debt collector may be contacting you.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from you.

Under the FDCPA, a debt collector is someone who regularly collects debts owed to others. This includes collection agencies, lawyers who collect debts on a regular basis, and companies that buy delinquent debts and then try to collect

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Personal Bankruptcy Issues

When searching through the Internet, you will often see advertisements for personal bankruptcy aid, but how do you know the best choice to make for your situation? This article will give you valuable tips on making the best choice for yourself.

Personal Bankruptcy is a legal action that empowers you to extend some or all of your personal debts.

The most recent bankruptcy policy was established in 1978, and was recently amended in the spring of 2005. The end of the bill is to supply relief and structure to those of us who have gotten ourselves so far into debt that

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Debt Settlement and Bankruptcy – when divorcing

As things change in ones life, there may come a time when bankruptcy is the only way for debt settlement to happen. Most people fall in love and marry thinking that they will grow old together. When the marriage doesn’t work, there are expenses that need to be paid in order for the divorce to work. That can mean only two things. First, both adults have a lot of money and they just pay everything off before divorcing, or the more likely scenario of declaring bankruptcy to settle the joint estate.

All debts must be settled; it is easier to

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When To Use A Credit Counseling Service

If you are consistently paying your bills late, credit counseling services may be able to help you negotiate lower interests and payment plans with your creditors. A credit counselor determines your eligibility for a debt consolidation program or debt management plan. The main advantage is that you only need to make one payment per month to a credit counseling service, which then sends the payment to your creditors. You save by paying lower interest rates and avoiding late payments charges. It is also easier to manage a single debt as all your debt repayments are consolidated into a single monthly

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Improve Your Credit Rating (United States)

As surprising as this may sound, the vast majority of consumers don’t know what their credit score is. That fact is almost as bad as not knowing what your blood pressure is, because by the same token, by the time you discover that it is not where it should be, it is frequently too late to avoid the detrimental or adverse effects of a poor credit score, or high blood pressure.

Sometimes, credit scores go by the name of FICO scores. Approximately ten percent of your FICO score pertains to a detailed analysis of the number and types of accounts

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How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country, but the factors are similar, and may include:

Payment history – a record of delinquent payments, generally being more than 30 days, will lower the credit rating.
Control of debt – Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means. Experts estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15 percent of the borrower’s after-tax income.
Signs of responsibility and stability – Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the borrower’s home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability.
Re-Aging

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Credit history or credit report (United States)

Credit history or credit report is, in many countries, a record of an individual’s or company’s past borrowing and repaying, including information about late payments and bankruptcy. The term “credit reputation” can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score.

In the U.S., when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank, store or credit card company, their information is forwarded to a credit bureau. The credit bureau matches the name, address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the bureau in its files.That’s why it’s very important for creditors,

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