Ways College Students Can Get Credit Back On Track

Fixing your credit is doable
If you find yourself with less-than-good credit, you are not alone. Business Insider, an online business news website, once reported that one in 50 households owes more than $20,000 in credit card debt. Coinciding with this alarming figure, the site further stated that more than 2 million Americans look to credit counselors each year to avoid bankruptcy.

Before your finances fall into the bankruptcy category, you can take steps to help turn your bad credit around. Just ask James Cheslek, dean of academic affairs at Brown Mackie College - Albuquerque. Cheslek is a retired corporate and trial law attorney who helps college students with bad credit get back on track.

"If you want to be successful, it is important to not let credit card debt get out of control," Cheslek says. "Many people get frustrated because their credit is not up to par. They don't realize how easy it is to fix. It may take some time, but it is doable."

Step one: Request a free copy of your credit report.
Every American is entitled to a free copy of their credit report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Each of the three reporting agencies - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion - is required to provide it once every 12 months, if you ask for it. To order your free copy, visit annualcreditreport.com, or call (877) 322-8228.

Step two: Read your credit report carefully for inaccuracies.
"Spend some time figuring out what all the symbols mean. Learn what's good and what's bad," Cheslek says. "Reporting companies get information from creditors. They simply take the information and add it to your report."

Step three: Dispute inaccuracies.
The FCRA further states that a reporting agency must correct any inaccuracies on your report. To dispute an item, notify the reporting agency of the inaccurate information. "They must investigate by forwarding your information to the company that provided the disputed item," says Cheslek. "When any information proves incorrect, the FCRA calls for all three reporting agencies to remove it from your credit report."

Step four: Request verification of debt.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) gives consumers rights against debt collectors. "Here's the deal," Cheslek continues. "Debt collectors buy old debt for pennies on the dollar. They call and tell you they are collecting on behalf of another company. However, the company that originated the debt has written it off and retired the file."  

This may be the best kept secret in America. The FDCPA entitles you to write to the original company and ask for verification of the debt. They have 30 days to complete the process. Usually, they can't find the file or verify the amount," says Cheslek . "You may need to send follow-up letter to the credit reporting agencies to say, 'Take this off.'"

Step five: Once your credit is fixed, keep it fixed.
Cheslek offers the following rules of thumb to follow in the interest of keeping a good credit score:

* Pay bills on time. Late payments add fees to the balance owed.
* Change the payment due date if the current one is inconvenient.
* Pay more than the minimum due, even if just a little.
* Do not skip any payments. Skipped payments lead to bad credit.
* Do not close old accounts. Creditors look at how long you've had credit.
* Keep one account with no balance.
* Do not apply for loans you don't need. Every loan request shows on your credit report for two years; a denial becomes a negative mark.


EDITOR'S NOTE:

With 27 school locations in 15 states, the Brown Mackie College system of schools (www.brownmackie.edu) is dedicated to providing educational programs that prepare students for entry-level positions in a competitive, rapidly changing workplace. Brown Mackie College schools offer bachelor's degree, associate degree, certificate, and diploma programs in health sciences, business, information technology, legal studies and design technologies. See bmcprograms.info for program duration, tuition, fees, and other costs, median debt, federal salary data, alumni success and other important info.

Article courtesy of ARAContent.com

Credit Reports Can Be Disputed To Correct Credit History

Companies that consolidate information about your credit history are called Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRA's). The most common CRA is the credit bureau.
The information CRAs gather up about you and resell to creditors, employers, insurers, and other businesses is called a credit report. This report forms the basis of your credit score, which is so vital in providing lenders, employers and insurers a "financial snapshot" of your creditworthiness.
If you don't like the picture, then you must take action and learn how to correct credit report by writing and sending a credit report dispute letter to fix bad credit.
Once you are armed with the facts, you can begin the process of reviewing your credit reports and taking action to challenge inaccurate or outdated credit information contained in these credit reports.
Anyone can do this. Here is a free guide on how to do it yourself, correct your credit report and raise your credit score:
"How To Dispute Errors In Your Credit Report"

How To Make Yourself 'Identity Theft Proof'

Ways to fix your credit report BEFORE it gets damaged by identity theft:

The FBI has called it "The fastest growing crime in America." Close to 10 million Americans every year are victimized by it and the costs are estimated at 50 billion dollars annually. Many criminals get off easy while the victims spend years working to restore their damaged credit reports and reputations. Worse yet, there seems to be no end in sight. "The popularity of the crime is simply growing faster than the solutions to stop it" many experts conclude. The task of recovery is so time consuming and tedious, multiple states have resorted to creating "Identity Theft Passports" for victims in an attempt to ease the pain for them as they endure the lengthy and frustrating clean up process. Learn secrets of making yourself virtually identity theft proof in 60 minutes or less (for free).

Expert Author Terry Price shares the secrets in "How to Make Yourself Virtually Identity Theft Proof in 60 Minutes or Less"

U.S. Consumers Turn To Credit Cards Again to Cover Cash Crunch

Want proof that holiday season sales are not so much about the economy getting better, but, instead, about consumers opting for old ways to pay for their goodies?
Hey, who needs a good job or savings in the bank when you've got a shiny new credit card with a gib credit limit tempting you?
Bad credit habits are hard to break.

"Credit card use is on the rise"

Read it here at: http://money.cnn.com

Credit Crisis Far From Solved, More Bad News Coming

We've been amused to watch all the hoopla breathlessly streaming through the media mouthpieces this past week as they breathlessly report record holiday shopping sales. Here's a report from Brett Arends at MarketWatch.com you need to read and pass along to everyone you know before you and your friends get swept up in the "Happy News" ...

The U.S. consumer is still broke... The numbers are not heartening. Despite the lies you read and hear, telling you that American consumers “are repairing their balance sheets,” the truth is total household debts in this country have fallen by a mere 4.5% from the record peak at the height of the bubble a few years ago. They are still 20% higher than they were as recently as 2005, and twice what they were in 1999. According to the Federal Reserve, consumer credit levels are rising. And according to the Commerce Department, households are saving less than 4% of their disposable incomes — a fraction of the levels seen decades ago, and well down even from 6% or more seen in 2008-9.

Read his full article here and be warned for bad news on the horizon: 10 reasons the crisis isn’t over

Contacting Creditors Helps Speed Up Credit Repair Process

Svilen Andreev notes an important factor when you begin writing and mailing credit repair letters to fix your credit history:

Since credit reporting companies are the prime source of information for the lenders to judge your credit worthiness, it is important to send your credit repair dispute letters to these credit reporting companies/bureaus. However, this doesn’t mean that you should not send the dispute information to the erring creditors in question. In fact, it is a good practice to send all the dispute information and documents to the creditors as well… it might help speed up the process and the creditors cannot claim that they didn’t receive complete information on the dispute from credit bureaus.

Read his full credit repair letter article here:

http://www.smart-debt-solutions.com/credit-repair-letters-6-things-you-must-remember/

Are Your Credit Reports In Need Of A Good Cleaning?

Need to spruce up your credit rating with a review for your credit reports? Here are some free tips help you get started the right way right now!

Now is a great time to get your finances - including your credit - in order. So, if you've been neglecting your credit like those old dusty boxes of clothes you can't quite part with yet, use the spirit of spring cleaning to spruce up your finances.


Experian has developed four tips to help you spring clean your credit:



1. Know your report and your score

Despite what you may have heard, accessing your own credit report does not affect your credit scores. Reviewing a credit report results in what is called a "soft pull," or "soft inquiry," meaning it will only be seen on a personal credit report, not the ones lenders use. Everyone should check their reports at least annually. It's part of good credit management. You can get your credit report at http://www.experian.com/. Purchasing a scored report will help you identify the factors in your report that are most influencing your credit risk.



2. Pay your bills on time

Paying your bills on time is the single most important contributor to a good credit score. If a bill is not paid in a timely manner, the delinquent payment may be reported as late to a credit bureau. Delinquent payments and collections can have a major negative impact on credit scores. Even if the debt you owe is a small amount, it is crucial that you make payments on time. In addition, you should minimize outstanding debt, avoid overextending yourself and refrain from applying for credit needlessly.



3. Start paying off your credit card debt and leave the account open

Paying down debts and paying off credit cards is always good for your credit, but closing a credit account could have a negative impact on your credit scores, at least for a short time. Some people start with their smallest debt. They can pay it off fairly quickly, which gives them a sense of accomplishment. That payment amount can then be added to the payments for a larger debt so that it can be paid off more quickly. Others start with a large debt and get it out of the way. Getting a big weight off your shoulders can help knock out the remaining debts faster. If one debt has a higher finance charge, it is always smart to pay the most toward the balance of that account. That's because so much of your money is going toward fees and interest and is not lowering the amount of the debt. When it is paid off, all the money you were paying in interest can be applied to the balance of another account.



4. Use credit wisely

Once you've paid down your debts, continue to use your credit cards and pay the bills on time each month, and keep your balances low. Credit scoring systems not only look at individual credit card balances, they also consider something called your utilization rate (or balance to credit limit ratio). Your utilization rate is the total of the balances on all of your credit cards compared to the total of the credit limits on all of your credit cards. For example, if your credit card's limit is $10,000 and you owe $2,500 - your credit utilization rate is 25 percent. According to Experian, consumers on average are utilizing more of their available credit. At the end of 2009, the average utilization was 22.1 percent compared to the same time last year when average utilization was at 19.1 percent. Closing accounts reduces your available credit, which can increase your utilization ratio or balance-to-limit ratio - a sign of risk that can negatively impact credit scores.



While there is no quick fix for bad credit scores, there are straightforward steps we can all take to help clean up and improve our financial well-being. So when you're clearing out the clutter in your living room, don't forget to review your finances and see what else you can do to get organized for the spring season. For answers to other financial questions and more information about Experian, visit www.experian.com/crediteducation.


Article courtesy of ARAcontent

Recommended reading:

BestCredit: How to Win the Credit Game, 2nd Edition
Living Well with Bad Credit: Buy a House, Start a Business, and Even Take a VacationNo Matter How Low Your Credit Score
The Road to 850: Proven Strategies for Increasing Your Credit Score
How You Can Profit from Credit Cards: Using Credit to Improve Your Financial Life and Bottom Line