7 Ways You can spot a Credit Repair Scam

If you have bad credit and you want to make it better quickly with a low amount of effort then you might be consider a credit repair company. You're exactly like thousands of other Americans who also have bad credit; however, being desperate can leave you vulnerable to credit repair scams.

Credit repair organizations are governed by a law known as the Credit Repair Organizations Act. This federal law requires that credit repair organizations fulfill certain obligations. You should avoid any credit repair service that doesn't follow these rules of law.

You could be getting scammed if any of the following are true:

1. You aren't given a copy of the contract to view before you're asked to sign it. 2. You are not given a copy of the "Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law" letting you know your rights to obtain a credit report and dispute credit report information. 3. You contract should contain the following and question it if it doens't: Amount you are being charged Date by which the services will be performed or the time period the service will last Name and address of the organization Details about the services being performed on your behalf Statement letting you know you can cancel the contract within 3 days 4. You're asked for payment before services have been performed. 5. The company asks you to create a new identity with a federal employer identification number or social security number. 6. The company promises to remove accurately reported information appearing on your credit report. 7. You are asked to sign a form waiving your rights under the CROA.

Keith Dienstl is a member of the Financial Empowerment Network Team and Prime Financial Credit Services
you can also visit Ultrafitcredit for more information on Keith Dienstl

Your Credit Score Advise

Does it affect your FICO Score?

Anytime your credit report is pulled, including when you order a copy of your credit report directly from the credit reporting agency, an inquiry is added to your report. Only some of those inquiries appear to creditors and therefore impact your credit score.

Inquiries that were made for credit cards or loans for which you applied will be shown to creditors and are counted in a credit score.

Inquiries added when you request a copy of your own credit report or when an employer checks your credit report do not appear to creditors and will not affect your credit score.

Does Co-Signing on a loan affect your Credit Score?

Absolutely. By cosigning, you are accepting full responsibility for the debt if the other person does not pay as agreed. A cosigned account will appear on both your credit history and the other person's. All loans and credit card accounts that appear on your credit report will impact credit scores.

Do Lenders pull from all three credit reporting agencies?

Not always. Most mortgage lenders will look at reports from all three credit reporting agencies and credit scores calculated using information from each, but other lenders may use reports and scores from two or just one of the credit reporting agencies.

Financial Empowerment Network Team and Prime Financial Credit Services

Loan mods are unintended "score mods"

A 12/28/09 article in Money.Cnn.com showed that even if you are current on your house payment, a loan modification will sometimes be calamitous to your credit score. How does this happen? First off, most loan modifications have a trial period that you are expected to perform in. If you fail to make timely payments for the first 3 to 6 months, then the modification attempt is terminated and the bank will again pursue foreclosure.

During that trial period your Note has not been officially modified, so you are, by definition, on a partial payment plan. Whether it is a partial payment plan on a credit card or a mortgage, it makes no difference. When the lender enters that data to the credit bureaus it will show negatively on your credit. Next, let's suppose you complete the trial period successfully. Once your loan modification plan is accepted, you may still have a delinquent balance carrying forward. This delinquent balance will also serve as a negative mark against your credit even though you are "paying as agreed" based on the loan modification terms.

I don't think the banks are ignorant of the affect these policies have on consumers. Lower credit scores are the pathway to charging higher rates and fees and a loan modification is just one avenue that provides a bank with that opportunity. There is a lot of give and take throughout the loan mod process along with expressed and implied terms. If you think your score has been damaged by a loan modification - remember this, the burden of proof for reporting correctly is squarely on the shoulders of the credit bureaus. To find out how to "audit" the information on your credit reports please visit my affiliate link site.

George Andersen is a member of the Financial Empowerment Network Team and Prime Financial Credit Services
you can also visit Credit Educationfor more information on George Andersen.

Your Credit Score and How it Affects You

Credit Score In our society having a good credit score has become more important than ever. Your credit history and your credit score may be used by landlords, mortgage lenders, employers, utility companies, and cell phone companies. Our society is becoming increasingly dependent on using our credit score as a determining factory to grant us service or give us any form of credit. In today's time our credit history is used for more than just getting a credit card or a low interest rate on a mortgage loan. Many businesses are using our credit history to determine weather or not we are trustworthy and uphold our contract agreement.

Renting a Home When it comes to a place to live your credit places a vital role. Landlords are skeptical on giving consumer with less than perfect score the opportunity to rent an apartment or home. The landlord base your low credit score on how you may or may not uphold to the lease agreement.

Mortgage Loan With the decline of the subprime lender, if you don't have a good credit rating you will not qualify for a mortgage loan. Before a lender approves a loan they want to feel at ease and not have to worry if the client will default on the loan. With that being said you would still like to qualify for the loan at the best rate. This is another reason is why having a good credit is so vital today.

Auto Loan With gas prices rising on a daily basis having an auto loan with the lowest interest rate will ease the blow of maintaining a vehicle. Unless you have cash to pay in full, to obtain a loan with a low interest rate a good credit score is required. Your credit score not only influences the decision of the loan being granted to you, it also determines the interest rate on the loan.

Employment A potential employer looks at an applicant credit history to determine rather or not to hire that person for the job. If your credit history shows that you have late payment, charge offs, large amount of debt and other derogatory information on the credit report, this could be a determining factor for the hiring official. Your credit history demonstrates your past financial history; a potential employer may be reluctant on hiring you for the position if you have a less than perfect credit history.

Utilities/Cell Phone Some of life necessities like your utilities and cell phone are also affected by your credit score. Many of the utility companies and cell phone companies will run a credit report before they will allow you to open an account. If your credit report shows a history of late and slow payments you may denied the service or be required to pay a deposit.

Since our credit score is so important and influence so many things in the world; it's our responsibility to have the best credit score possible. We should all strive to have the best credit score possible. By having the best credit score possible it shows any potential lender, company or employer that we are responsible and trust worthy.

Financial Empowerment Network Team and Prime Financial Credit Services

Your Credit Score Is Yours to Control

Are you confused by credit, and how to create a better credit score? Don't feel bad, many consumers and business people find it hard to understand why their credit score is low. They pay their bills. And when they are a little late on a payment, they pay extra fees to the Lenders to make up for that. The Lenders enjoy great profits, and yet, the Borrower gets penalized more. Is it fair? I say NO! Enough! It's time for us to take control of our credit scores, and get them to reflect accurately, what kind of people we really are. In fact, the United States government agrees. Toady, there are laws to protect us, and allow us to take back control of our credit histories and credit scores.

Use these laws to make sure you aren't forced to pay more for auto loans, credit cards, mortgages, insurance and utilities. Besides costing you more money in monthly bills, we've been hearing more about people who get job offers that are later taken back, because of a "bad" credit score, a result of having been out of work for a year or longer. They didn't use credit to support a luxurious lifestyle. Ironically, they are penalized by taking away the very thing that they need to get back on their feet and to get back to paying their bills. Is it just me, or does it seem ridiculous to you as well? Credit reporting agencies, and Lenders, seem to believe that it's their right to penalize consumers to any level that they choose. The US government says it isn't their right. It is their right to report late payments and defaults on payment agreements, to the extent that they report it accurately. Is the information on your credit report accurate?

Frits Tessers is a member of the Financial Empowerment Network Team and Prime Financial Credit Services
you can also visit Personal Coaching for more information on Frits Tessers.