Credit Repair Services – Consider the Fine Print
When you contemplate signing up with a credit repair agency in an effort to reset your financial priorities and boost your credit score, you need to know what you are getting yourself into for the long haul. Not all agencies claiming to help with credit repair services are operating on the up-and-up. Many are just in it for the money and counting on your ignorance of the law and desperation for better credit to make a fast buck – or in the case of credit repair scams – a fast couple thousand bucks.
Here are some tips to help you avoid getting taken in by countless credit repair scams and what you should know about credit repair service contracts.
- Beware promises that are not realistic such as claims of ‘overnight credit repair’ or ability to remove all negative information from your credit report. Both co
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Five Ways to Fast Credit Repair
Thorough credit repair doesn’t happen overnight, but what if you need a better credit score now? Sure, hiring expert legal help may help tremendously, but there are things you can do now, on your own, that may provide a little score boost before applying for a new loan that may save thousands over time. Consider these tips for a quick fix:
1. Pay down your credit card balances. High debt is one of the primary catalysts of a low credit score. Carrying too much debt can hinder your credit utilization ratio, or the amount you owe vs. your total credit limit. Initiate instant results by paying down balances and keeping your ratio below 25 percent.
2. Increase your limits. Credit repair requires skill. If paying off debt isn’t an option, use a different strategy to lower your credit utilization ratio. Ask
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Financial Experts Advise Caution with Zero-Percent Balance Transfer Credit Cards
Now that the spending holidays have passed, there is a lot of consumer concern about eliminating the debts incurred on credit cards and starting credit repair initiatives. For consumers that overspent on credit and now face the inability of being able to repay their debts, it is important to explore debt relief options before choosing one, especially for those considering a zero-percent balance credit card.
Balance transfer credit cards give consumers the option to transfer existing credit card balances from other cards with the theory that it is easier to pay down one debt, especially at a zero-percent interest rate. However, there are some precautions to take with a zero-percent balance transfer card.
Consumers are being advised to look at every detail of the credit card offer before signing on to transfer balances.
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Credit Card Rewards Are Better than Ever
Weve been covering the rapidly improving quality of credit card reward offers in the U.S. in a series of articles on our blog for the past year. And its been quite a story. Card issuers began ramping up their rewards programs somewhere in late 2010, even as their charge-off and delinquency rates were still at near record-high levels. Then the issuers gradually whipped themselves into a rewards frenzy, frantically trying to outdo the competitions latest incredibly attractive offer. The result is that Americans with very good credit scores are now getting the best credit card offers ever.
Ruth Simon has done a lot of work to bring us up to speed on the current state of affairs in an excellent piece for the WSJ and she finds that credit card rewards programs just keep getting better.
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Five Ways to Save During Tax Season
April 17 is fast-approaching, and now is the time to get serious about your tax return. Just like credit repair, the power to save money and strengthen your financial life begins with decisive action. Incorporate the following tips into your routine this season. The results may afford you additional savings.
1. Skip the accountant. Sure, you may be nervous about filing taxes solo, but the cost of accounting services can be steep, especially close to tax time. Avoid the extra expense, and put some faith in your own abilities. Go to the IRS website to take advantage of their free filing instructions and e-forms. If you are looking for long-term solutions, invest in commcercial software to help you file for years to come. The bottom line: why pay for something you can do yourself?
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Sign On Bonuses Raise the Ante
For some time, weve known credit card companies have been in heated competition for your loyalty. Everything from lower APR, to waived annual fees to bonuses that are designed to impress, its all about bringing the American consumer back into the credit-fied world.
Unfortunately, the credit card industry has faced tough scrutiny when it comes to federal laws. These new laws and regulations have significantly limited the fees they can charge, which is good for Suzy Shopper, but in many ways, also ups the competition factor. Its not realistic for the collective industry to keep dropping interest rates, so theyre devising clever ways to draw us in.
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Credit Cards Back in Demand
Credit card companies are showing more evidence that the economy of the United States is getting stronger. Results of latest studies show more consumers are using their credit cards once again, showing more charges recently than in the last year.
In 2011, American credit card holders charged almost $48 billion in new credit card purchases. This is a huge leap from the charges completed the previous year and 577 percent more than in 2009. Credit card companies were also very aggressive in both 2009 and 2012 in writing off bad debts from defaulted accounts. Consumers are still shown to default on their credit card accounts with a total of $44.2 billion in defaulted debts.
Credit card companies are also more actively promoting credit card accounts in new ways to increase consumer use.
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What is an Escalated Information Request?
The credit dispute process is a clean-cut and highly documented procedure. In that regard, the Web houses thousands of articles about when and how to combat negative credit information. So, what happens if your credit dispute or challenge fails? If you are like many consumers, the initial process may not yield favorable results. Read on to learn more about the steps following a dispute rejection and how to get the results you deserve. Denial isn’t the end of the line. When a credit dispute is rejected, it is up to you to take your claim to the next level. Before resigning yourself to defeat, follow the steps below to escalate your information request.
- Draft another set of letters to the credit bureaus and a new one for the creditor in question. O
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