How Credit Debt Settlement Letters Can Help Settle Past Due Credit Account

Credit debt problems can generally be resolved with just a few simple steps all by yourself. There's no need to hire professional credit repair to restore good credit. You can fix your own credit rating, and in time, improve your FICO credit score.

Here's what you need to keep in mind when you are preparing a credit report dispute:

Credit debt settlement is one way to settle past due balances on your oldest credit account. There are distinct steps to write a settlement letter that will lay out your plan to pay off your debts in exchange for favorable treatment of your credit rating.

Credit dispute options include phone calls and emails and entries in website forms... but the best option, in my opinion, is still writing a letter to fix your credit.

Your credit reference will be tested when you apply for a new loan, buy new auto insurance, and even, more often than not, when you apply for a new job... so you must take steps to fix your credit. Request credit report from each of the Big Three credit reporting agencies: TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. Identify every page of the reports. Take action to get rid of key derogatories that are outdated or untrue. If necessary, add your 100-word explanation to tell your side of the story (i.e., you were late on credit card payments three months due to being unemployed during that period, etc.)

Credit report service availability is available at no-cost from the truly free www.annualcreditreport.com -- so there's no need to pay to check your credit. (It is true, however, that if you want to get your FICO credit score, you must pay a fee for this.)

A credit repair company can indeed offer you professional credit repair services for a fee. But watch out. If you are required to pay for the service upfront or if you are not notified that you can do this yourself, then you may be dealing with a firm that is skirting the law. Stay clear.

So as you can see, it's simple to solve your credit debt problems by yourself. For free tips on how you can fix your own credit rating, and eventually raise your FICO credit score, visit www.FindHow2.com/repair-credit.html. For free sample credit dispute letters and templates to tailor to your own credit relief program, visit http://www.credit-letters.com/.

Should Credit Reports Be Ordered At Same Time Or Spread Out Over 12 Months?

One good question found at the www.AnnualCreditReport.com website revolves around timing to pull all 3 credit scores:

Great question: I've always wanted to get a "snapshot" of my credit all at the same time to compare the different reports. There could be a blemish in one report which isn't showing up in the other two credit reports, and there's no way to know it until you've applied ... and gotten turned down ... for a new loan. Then it's a pain to tackle restoring that credit report. Wasted time.
My take: better to order all three major credit reports at the same time. Review the reports for accuracy. If you find errors or outdated entries, take steps to dispute the credit reports.
More free tips can be found at http://www.findhow2.com/repair-credit.html
Amazon.com has this unique title available:

Free Credit Report: Credit Reporting Agencies and Credit Repair

Q: Should I order all my credit reports at one time or space them out over 12 months?

A: You are entitled to receive one free credit report every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies through the Central Source. It is entirely your choice whether you order all three credit reports at the same time or order one now and others later. The advantage of ordering all three at the same time is that you can compare them. (However, you will not be eligible for another free credit report from the Central Source for 12 months.) On the other hand, the advantage of ordering one now and others later (for example, one credit report every four months) is that you can keep track of any changes or new information that may appear on your credit report. Remember, you are entitled to receive one free credit report through the Central Source every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – so if you order from only one company today you can still order from the other two companies at a later date.

Bad Credit Score Limits Job Prospects

With millions of people on unemployment in this country during this Great Recession, struggling to make ends meet, perhaps falling behind on loan payments and mortgage debts, this article from Philly.com shows how bad credit is keeping the unemployed out of work even longer:
Read full article here

It's a shame employers don't consider all the factors in this. But it's the business. YOUR business is to fix your credit history by getting your credit report cleaned up and working diligently to improve your credit score.

Start today by visiting and bookmarking these free web resources:

http://www.findhow2.com/

http://blog.pay-off-credit-cards.com/

http://www.findhow2.com/restoring-good-credit.html

New credit card laws affect credit debt

The Federal Reserve's newly adopted rules for credit card companies have been in place for nearly 2 years. Has this meant that new credit card protections are still in store for you?
Key changes are: more advance notice and real limits on changes, relief from fees, and simpler disclosure.

Credit card relief will best be felt by limits on credit card interest. Credit card apr and balance transfer credit cards will now have real value to you as you try to escape credit card debt.

Credit card offers may keep multiplying in your inbox and your mailbox as this new law keeps affecting us in every walk of life. Business credit card offers and 0 credit card offers might sound tempting. But it's important to select the credit card that's right for you.

You can visit our website for more free advice on credit cards at http://www.findhow2.com.

And check out these two helpful sites, that can help explain the new credit card laws in plain English:


CreditCards.com


FederalReserve.gov

How To Re-Build Bad Credit, Restore Good Credit

You will need to build credit if you do not have a credit history, and you will need to re-build your credit if you've got negative marks in your credit files.
The two things that will improve your credit score is (1) the passage of time, and (2) the practice of good credit habits -- that is, paying your bills and your debts as agreed.
Building or restoring credit is not all that hard. Here are two free articles to get you started correcting your credit report:
"Re-Building Bad Credit" --
http://www.findhow2.com/how-to-rebuild-bad-credit.html
"Restoring Good Credit" --
http://www.findhow2.com/restoring-good-credit.html

Government cracking down on free credit report websites

Government now demanding that 'free credit reports' must be just that: free.

New post at Credit.com to their affiliates warns that all websites offering such products must comply with FTC rules:

Effective April 1, 2010, the Federal Trade Commission's Free Credit Reports Rule will require new prominent disclosures in all online advertisements for "free credit reports." Any site marketing free credit reports will be required to include a disclosure across the top of each page stating:

THIS NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY LAW. Read more at FTC.GOV.
You have the right to a free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com
or 877-322-8228, the ONLY authorized source under federal law.

The disclosures must also include a clickable button to "Take me to the authorized source" and clickable links to AnnualCreditReport.com and FTC.GOV.

This will help end the confusion, since consumers have complained that they log onto websites seeking a free credit report and/or credit score, and they must pay for 3-in-1 credit monitoring or pay for other services to actually GET the freebie adverised.

You can get free information on downloading, reading, disputing and cleaning up your credit reports from the Big 3 credit reporting agencies - TransUnion, Experian and Equifax -- by visiting our totally-free, no-fee website, http://www.findhow2.com

How to check your credit score for free

There's a lot of questions you'll ask yourself when you are attempting to restore your credit score: What's my credit score? How to I check my credit report? Can you check your credit score at the free website like www.annualcreditreport.com?

Online credit scores can give you a ballpark credit rating. But the best way and the cheapest way to get a free credit score is simply to drive over to your local bank branch and apply for a home loan. No, you don't want to buy a new home; don't tell them this, but you simply want to get your free credit score in the real world.

Sometimes, your bank will charge you a fee to get your credit report and scores. It's often less than $50. If it's more than that, try another bank.

Is this free credit score check wrong? No. Look at it this way: in the event that you view credit report as your first step toward building your wealth portfolio, you could likely be back at this bank once you find a valuable investment property. The right deal could pop up next week. Since you now don't have to ask the bank "Check my credit" to see if you qualify for the deal, you can focus your time and energy on negotiating the best terms and the lowest price.

At that time, your bank will be more than happy you chose them to check your credit score when you did!

If you find you need to fix your credit score, learn the free tips on how to improve your credit yourself at http://www.findhow2.com.

Amazon.com offers more advice on how to improve your credit rating yourself:

How To Repair & Improve Your Credit Score In A Few Simple Steps Without Credit Repair Companies

101 Simple Ways to Easily Improve Your Credit Score: Quick and simple ways to get started immediately.

Your Credit Score, Your Money & What's at Stake (Updated Edition): How to Improve the 3-Digit Number that Shapes Your Financial Future