achieve better credit|
Achieve Better Credit / Manage Debt
Do you want to take advantage of the slow housing market to get a great price on your first or a bigger home?
Are you trying to buy a new car - maybe one that gets better gas mileage than your SUV? Do you want to go
back to school and need to borrow money? All of these sorts of things, and lots of others, often make people
look into ways to clean up their credit report. And for good reason, too. The better your
credit score is, the
easier it is to get a loan, the less interest you will have to pay, and the overall better credit terms you will be
able to get.

If you want to clean up your credit report, do you know how to go about doing it? Of course, the best and
easiest way to have a great credit history is to pay all your bills on time, keep some outstanding debt, but only
a little, and make all payments on time right from the very start. Not everyone has the life circumstances to be
able to do that, however; that does not mean, though, that there is just no way to achieve better credit.
If you want to clean up your credit report, you should take some time to look into the ways that credit scores
are determined by the three major groups who provide them, and once you do that, you should look at your
own personal financial situation and take the appropriate actions to "Achieve Better Credit".
Learn how to "Achieve Better Credit"
Would you be better off to close that account you only use in extreme emergencies? Would it be better to take a second job for a short time to increase your cash in
hand? Should you use the money in your savings account to pay off your outstanding credit card debt? These are all the types of questions that you should get answered
before you start to do things in an effort to clean up your credit report.
Credit repair is the process of cleaning up your credit report and optimizing your scores. Credit repair has never been so important. Your credit score will determine the
outcome of any loan application you make. This was not always the case. You might be surprised to hear that credit scores were not marketed to lenders until 1989. And
from 1989 until 1995 credit scores were used almost exclusively by a handful of credit card issuers. It wasn't until 1995, when mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac announced that they were to going to begin using FICO scores as an underwriting criterion that this all-important three digit number came into widespread usage.
Your Critical FICO Score
Credit scores began to grow in importance after 1995, but in 2007 there was a major shift in the credit markets
that would make credit repair infinitely more vital than ever before. The pivotal moment occurred in June of 2007
when two Bear Sterns hedge funds collapsed and caused a mass exodus of secondary sub-prime lenders from
the mortgage market. From that moment until now the credit markets have continued to tighten. And, although
one would expect a cyclical loosening at some point, there is no sign of that in the immediate future. And for now,
the issue is so critical that if your FICO score is low you may find that you cannot get approved for anything. And
just as important, if you are approved you will find that the interest rate you receive will be based on your score.
Credit repair, when done right, will optimize your scores and help you meet future lender requirements.
Credit Score Optimization
It is critical to understand that the FICO scoring model has evolved to the point that there is considerably more
involved than paying your bills on time. In fact, it is quite possible to have a perfect payment history for years on
end, and still have dismal credit scores. Credit score optimization, as an essential aspect of
credit repair,
requires an understanding of all of the factors that can influence your scores. Some of the important issues
include account types, number of each account type, account balances, and age of accounts. And this is just the
score optimization aspect of credit repair; when it comes to cleaning up the content of your credit reports you
have a number of legal rights that can give you significant leverage with creditors and the credit bureaus.
Credit Repair, the Credit Bureaus and the FCRA
The majority of legal rights that you will utilize in your credit repair effort are embodied in the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA). Your credit repair effort should always focus on areas in which you have legal
leverage. There is little point in pursuing an avenue of redress if the offending party has no obligation
whatsoever to respond. The FCRA puts a burden of accuracy and fairness on the credit bureaus. The
responsibilities of the credit bureaus include providing consumers with copies of their credit files,
researching the accuracy of information when requested, limiting the reporting period of derogatory
information, and providing identity theft relief measures. Taken together, these responsibilities provide
consumers with all of the legal rights necessary to dispute and correct inaccuracies on their credit
reports.
Credit Repair, Collectors, and the FDCPA
Together with the FCRA, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) provides the foundation for
consumer credit rights in the United States. The FDCPA can play an important role in any credit repair
effort as it gives consumers limited, but powerful, rights in dealing with collectors. These rights
provide the leverage necessary to stop abusive collection practices, gain an advantage in payment
negotiation, and when dovetailed with specific state statutes of limitation even give you the ability to
make bothersome collectors vanish from your life forever. A professional credit repair service will have
an intimate working knowledge of the FDCPA and will insure that all of your rights are exercised. And if
you are managing your own credit repair effort, make sure to study up on this crucial legislation.
Putting it All Together to Achieve Better Credit
Your credit score has a major influence on your financial wellbeing and hence, on the quality of your life. Credit repair is the process of cleaning up your credit report and
optimizing your credit scores. In today's economic environment credit repair is more important than ever. You can no longer afford to ignore your credit scores. Even
small differences in your scores can translate into hundreds and even thousands of dollars in the amount of interest you will pay each year. And when it comes to credit
repair every detail matters. If you are going to attempt the process on your own take the time to educate yourself. If you don't have the time or inclination to learn
everything necessary to do a thorough job yourself, hire a
professional credit repair service. It's your credit, and now is the time to Achieve Better Credit!
Tip #1: Check your latest credit reports from each of the Big Three bureaus: The first step toward better credit scores is to find
out your current score from each of the Big Three consumer reporting bureaus. You can find a number of Web sites that give you
access to this information for FREE.

Tip #2: Immediately correct any blatant mistakes: Download and review each report item by item, circling any blatant errors you
find. Of particular importance are inaccurate unpaid balance flags, the existence of credit accounts that you never opened, and
incorrect information concerning your current address. You must take each of these mistakes quite seriously and address them
to both the relevant credit agency and, when applicable, the lender in question.

Tip #3: Pay your bills on time: This is a common sense item, but people having credit problems often neglect it due to the
snowballing nature of their debt situation. Paying your bills on time is very important, and nowadays even utility companies are
reporting your payment history to the credit agencies. Hint: to improve your score even more, make your monthly credit card
payments before the end of the statement period. This has the positive effect of keeping any charges made that month from
even showing up as a balance on your cards, thereby improving your ongoing debt-to-credit limit ratio (see Tip#4).

Tip #4: Improve your debt-to-credit limit ratio: In calculating your credit worthiness, the Big Three credit agencies factor in
heavily your debt-to-credit limit ratio. As the term implies, this ratio is simply the result of dividing your total current credit card
debt by the total credit limit across all of your cards. The ratio is always a number between 0 and 1, with numbers below 0.5
being most favorable. There are two ways to reduce your debt-to-credit limit ratio. One way is to simply reduce your credit card
balances by paying them down. Another option that many people fail to consider: request an increase in credit limit from your
creditors.

Tip #5: Pay off debt, don’t just move it around: While it can be a smart move to transfer debt from your higher interest credit
cards to your lower interest cards, this does not substitute for actually paying down your overall debt. Just moving your debt from
card to card is not going to improve your score.

Tip #6: Avoid closing credit cards just prior to a loan application: Some people believe that closing out some of their credit
cards immediately prior to applying for a loan is a good idea. However, this is not true. On the contrary, it has the effect of
suddenly increasing your debt-to-credit limit ratio, which is a credit score no-no. In fact, as long as you have the will power to
use your credit cards wisely, it can be a good idea to keep multiple cards. Then, use these additional cards from time to time,
charging small amounts and then quickly paying them off. This reflects positively in your credit scores as your having a healthy
ability to manage your debt.

Tip #7: Understand the influence that bankruptcy has on your score: As a final note, beware that having declared bankruptcy in
the past can make it especially hard to achieve better credit scores.
Bankruptcies can stay on your credit report for 7 to 10 years.
Facts about Credit

.....You do not have to talk to Collection Agencies: The Fair Debt
Collections Practices Act prohibits them from calling at your request.

.....Credit Bureaus
are not Government Agencies:  They are in business
to make money, Example:  Selling your information!

.....Anyone can dispute information on their credit report,
free form.

.....Negative information remains on file for 7 years

.....Bankruptcies remain on file for 10 years

.....Judgements and Tax Liens could remain on your credit for 15 years

.....According to
The Fair Debt Reporting Act (FDRA), if you file a dispute,
Collection Agencies must respond within 30-45 days.  Whatever
cannot be verified, must be deleted.

.....Potential employers can check you credit file

.....Insurance companies determine rates based on your credit

.....Nine (9) million Americans have their identity stolen each year

.....Even with bad or no credit, you can still get credit
How to Stop Collection Agencies


You can stop collection agencies from contacting you in a number of
ways. There is a federal law called the
Fair Debt Collection Practices
Act (FDCPA) and you can use what it states to cease any efforts of
collection agencies to collect any monies from you. It's true!
Remember, this applies only to collection agencies - not creditors who
may employ them. You don not have to suffer the harassment of
collection agencies anymore.  If you feel that you are being harassed,
then you should definitely utilize any or all of the following methods:

Method 1: Write a cease letter.

Federal law requires collection agencies to stop their attempts to
collect a given debt if they receive a written cease letter. There are
many online to use as samples. Basically, they simply state that you
wish for their organization to stop any type of attempts to collect from
you. You further state that you will deal only with the creditor that you
owe the debt to.

Method 2: Attorney cease letters.

If your personally written cease letter fails to be effective in stopping a
collection agency's attempts to settle debts with you, a letter written
from an attorney will normally do the trick. Federal law requires
collection agencies to cease contact with any consumer when that
consumer is known to be represented by an attorney.

Method 3: You can work out an agreement to pay with the collection
agency.

You can certainly stop a collection agency from calling you by agreeing
to pay. That's what they're really after anyway. Aggressive debt
collectors are paid based on what they collect in a given time period.
They become more zealous about their endeavors to collect when they
believe that you are simply ignoring them. If you talk with them in a
professional manner and come to terms for repayment, they will be
much more polite. Remember, if you strike a deal with a debt collector;
tell them you will not pay anything until you receive the deal in writing.

Method 4: Bankruptcy.

There is an automatic stay on collection attempts that goes into effect
when you file for personal bankruptcy. In order for any debt collector to
further attempt debt collection, he or she must obtain specific
permission from a bankruptcy court. This is a rare occurrence. Also,
bankruptcy courts will never grant this permission to anyone attempting
to collect unsecured debts from you. As you know,
bankruptcy is a most
serious act. It should be reserved for use only in cases of severe
financial turmoil.   
Contact Information
Equifax 800-997-2493   www.equifax.com

TransUnion 800-888-4213   www.transunion.com

Experian 888-397-3742   www.experian.com
Ways to Achieve Better Credit

Establishing a good credit history has never
been as important as it is today.

It's not just that you'll need good credit to get
decent rates when you're ready to buy a home
or a car. Your credit history can determine
whether you get a good job, a decent
apartment, a deal on your cell phone and
reasonable rates on
insurance. One seemingly
minor misstep -- a late payment, maxing out
your credit cards -- can haunt you for years.

If you're just starting out, you have a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a credit
history the right way. Here's what to do to
achieve better credit and what to avoid.
Read more at:
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Fixing Your Credit - Don't Wait Another Day
Almost everybody, at some point in their lives, suffers
from credit issues. You or a friend might even be in
this situation as you read this article. Bad credit can
keep you from moving forward and achieving better
things in life. Clearly, credit repair is important for
various reasons. Taking immediate action is therefore
vital.
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Chane_Steiner
The Federal Trade Commission,
The nation's consumer protection agency, has
prepared a brochure,
Your Access to Free Credit
Reports, explaining your rights under the FCRA and
how to order a free annual credit report.
http://ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/credit/rights.shtm
Current Money / Credit News
Find the most up to date information on money,
credit, stocks, employment.  CNN the leader in News,
offers many articles to choose from.
http://money.cnn.com/?cnn=yes
Building Good Credit
these tips will help you build good credit.
http://credit.about.com/od/credit101/u/creditbasi
cs.htm
What is Credit Repair?
So, everything you need to know to help you
begin repairing your unfairly damaged credit is
enclosed. Please read through the entire kit
(this website) very carefully before you begin. If
you follow the completely
http://mix6.com/credit/
Find Student Financial Aid
Find the answers to your questions about
college, FAFSA, financial aid.  Free online
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http://www.CollegeCashDirect.com
Yourcreditcompany.com Provides All Your Credit Related Needs On One Site.
Your door to a better credit score! Your credit company is the premier portal for people looking for education and resources related to personal finance.
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regarding your application, please contact your lender directly. Remember, Our only goal at Better Credit Network is to help you Achieve Better Credit.
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