JJ asked:


The above question is about contacting a credit bureau about old debt that’s showing on my credit reports. Also, will accessing my credit report or contacting the credit bureau about old debt alert my creditors as to my whereabouts?

Miguel

Tim Gorman asked:




Credit reports provide great details about a person including name, birth date, Social security number, home address, how payments are made, income, employment history, home ownership, previous address, court cases, judgments, and bankruptcy and foreclosure records.

Above all it gives details about a person’s credit history. These include all the creditors with balances and accounts that are closed or in collections. It will also indicate if there are any late payments, and any other irregularity. In addition it will also list the requests for that credit report by creditors during the past year and requests for credit reports including those by employers for the past two years.

These reports are maintained by three nationwide credit bureaus which use slightly different sources to compile the information. Based on the information they have credit bureaus calculate a figure called the credit score. The three credit bureaus Equifax, Transunion, Experian use different formulas to arrive at their score. The credit score can be considered a mathematical way of determining the likelihood of the borrower paying back a loan.

This information can be accessed by creditors, insurers, employers, and others who have been legitimately allowed access subject to conditions through The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). It is clear that accurate information in the credit report is important to everyone concerned not only for the person about whom it is concerned but to anyone else who may want to rely on it for decision making. As such it is important to understand how the credit report is compiled and the accuracy of the information and sources on which that compilation is made.

It is important to know how and at what frequency credit information reaches the credit bureau. On examination of their procedure, it is clear that frequency of reporting varies depending on the creditor. While some creditors will report any changes in the customers’ balances every day, others will report once a month or at longer periods. This is mainly due to efficacy reasons, since with most people there will not be much of a change in credit balances. Because of that creditors will only report if there are any changes in the credit balances. This therefore means that for some people their credit report will get updated about once a month while others may not see any change in their credit reports for 3 or 6 months. On the other hand creditors will report late payments and other negative activities quite promptly.

Carolyn

David Faulkner asked:




Companies providing credit have certain criteria’s to ensure whether u will be able to pay back your loans or not. What ever sort of loan it may be, a car payment, a Visa or MasterCard or Discover or American Express, a department store credit card, a gas company credit card or a mortgage, they are all clubbed under one category and then accordingly a credit score is maintained by all the three big credit companies in United States of America. The credit score is calculated not only keeping in view the current unpaid bills but the complete account history and accordingly they analyze whether their money with you is safe or not and what more can be offered to you. So credit score does make a whole lot of a difference.

Criteria of credit score:

Most of the times a digit most probably ranging between 450 and 850 are allotted to the holder according to which your reliability is calculated by the bureau. The credit score system cannot be said to be fool proof, in fact there are some flaws in it. Some times a credit may be reflecting in more than bureau and as time passes as do the contracts and staff. Any errors that are left are untouched and remain there as it is. The credit company for the lender has changed but the defaults are still carried forward. This is not the case with Mortgage Company, that an exception, as it is reported to all the three bureaus depending upon the amount.

Credibility Of the system:

Another factor which raises eyes on the credibility of credit scores analysis system is the amount of data a credit bureau has to maintain. Such huge data can’t be errorless, not their fault. Not only they Keep track of your current status but also maintain the complete previous record. The total amount of data sums out to billions of records considering the number of businesses and customers in the country. According to studies around 10 percent of the records are corrupted, which is a lot.

No bureau can figure out the worthiness of a customer according to the credit score as the bureaus [http://www.creditscorereportguide.org/Experian_Credit_Report/] do not share their data with each other and a person being very appropriate in one case might be a defaulter with the other bureau. So the credit score is not an exact picture of your credit history but just a hypothetical thing.

What else is the option for us? All we can do it keep a close vigil on our own track record. One should not just rely on one of the bureaus and get regular statements from all the three agencies Equifax, Experian and TransUnion and check them regularly. In case of an error we must report it back and they have to either justify the thing or refund it. This process must be followed at least twice in a year so as to maintain your credit score as it does reflect how you have been in handling credits.

Lonnie

xoookissthisooox asked:


I have bad credit and I am working to establish that credit. I’ve heard of the prepaid credit cards that report to the credit bureau, but some are $30 to start the account. I’m looking for the following:

- Reports to credit bureau, so that I can improve my credit.
- Low start up fee. (Under $10.00)
- Low monthly or annual fee (Under $10 p/month, $60 p/year)

If anyone knows, or has story about a good card, please respond. Thanks.
I appreciate the answers. I am looking for one that does not go through a bank. I don’t want to have to open a new bank account for it. I’m looking along the lines of a mastercard/visa/etc. Thanks.

Helen

julian asked:


I want to apply for a Costco Amercian Express card.I need to know which Credit bureau they check.Thanks for the help.
If experian,what score is acceptable?

Suzanne

Mark Andrade asked:




In addition to disputing incorrect information on your credit report, you can also add accounts to it that make you look more credit worthy. If, when you review your report, you noticed accounts that were not listed on it that paint you in a positive light, you can ask the credit reporting agencies to include these accounts on your report. Doing so will help in your quest to build a more positive credit rating and higher credit score.

There are three types of information you might want to have added to your credit history to build your score:

Explanation of any incomplete or disputed information Positive account histories not included in your report Information demonstrating reliable payment and employment, stability

Often credit reports don’t include accounts that you might expect to find. For instance, some major commercial lenders don’t report mortgages or car loans. Also, local banks or credit unions frequently don’t provide information to credit reporting agencies.

If your credit report is missing credit histories for accounts you pay on time, send the credit reporting agencies a Letter Requesting Inclusion of Accounts, along with copies of recent account statements. Ask the credit bureau to add information on these accounts to your file. While the agencies aren’t required to add account histories, they often do, but you might be charged a fee.

Another option is to go straight to your creditor and ask that they report the information directly to the credit reporting agencies. However, some creditors categorically refuse to do this as they only report to one or two agencies and won’t consider changing their standard business practices. But it’s worth a try.

You may find that credit histories for accounts you pay on time are only missing from one or two credit reports. The third report might already include all your accounts or maybe you focused on cleaning up that report first. If this applies to you, send the agencies with the missing information a copy of your all-inclusive report with a letter asking the missing data be added to your file.

Creditors also like to see verification of stability so consider asking any evidence you have of that be added to your account. Creditors are most likely to add updated information on employment and residences because it’s used in evaluating credit applications. However, if your report is missing data or contains obsolete or incorrect information on your phone number, date of birth, or social security number it is beneficial to update those as well to reduce the risk of account mix-ups.

Once you’ve repaired your credit, request a copy of your report from each credit bureau. You are entitled to one free credit report from each of the credit reporting agencies annually. Look for anything old or inaccurate. Conducting an annual credit check and adding positive accounts previously omitted, can help ensure you maintain the highest credit ratings possible and avoid being a victim of identify theft.

Diana

Conleth Onu asked:




Is bad credit ruining your life? Have you been denied credit because of negative information on your credit report? Do you want to learn how to make a good credit report instantly? If you answered yes to the above questions, you’re in the right place.

Having a bad credit record will make your life difficult in many situations. Nothing can slow you down faster financially than negative information contained in a credit bureau file. Sometimes, the information is true, other times it is deceiving or even totally wrong. What can you do if you believe that you have been turned down for credit because of inaccurate or outdated information?

There are some steps that you can take, to get rid of blemishes on your report. Your first step should be to get your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus. You can get a free copy of your report one time a year, and you can also obtain one at no charge if you have been denied credit within the past 60 days.

Once you have obtained your report, examine it carefully. Make sure that all information is being reported correctly. If you find any incorrect information in your report, you can dispute it with the credit bureau.

Send a letter to the credit bureau explaining your dispute. When filing a dispute, tell the credit bureau what information you believe is incorrect and the reason why. Include any documentation that would help support your claim.

By law the credit bureaus are required to delete negative items from credit reports whenever a particular item reaches a certain age. Also, inaccuarate or unverifiable information must be deleted from credit files.

If there are accounts on your report that need to be settled, you can negotiate with the creditors. Be sure to have the creditor sign and date the settlement proposal and return it to you, before you pay them.

Once you have finished eliminating negatives from credit report, and have a clean clear credit report, it’s time to add positive information on your report.

A secured credit card can help you build good credit. It looks and works like any other major credit card. Secured Visa and Mastercard are issued against your depositing cash in a financial institution. That deposit serves as a collateral for the credit card. If you maintain a good account, your excellent credit rating will be recorded on your report.

Another effective way to add positive credit information to your credit file is to take out a small installment loan from a bank and pay it back promptly.

You can also build good credit by getting Department Store and Gas Company credit cards. By having your very own major credit card, you can qualify for instant credit at many department stores and gas stations.

Once you have established a good credit rating, you will be eligible for loans, credit cards, and other items of credit.

Marie

linz350z asked:


I manage a small used car lot. We do in-house financing hear, and my boss is interested in reporting to the credit bureau, but we are not sure how

Jeffery

sexybi731 asked:


I am trying to fix my credit and i am a little confused, do i send the dispute letters to the credit bureau for each thing i am disputing or do i send them to the person who is trying to collect the money. Also should i send my disputes one at a time or can i send more than one. What should i expect out of this. Please help me out

Brenda

C-Squared asked:


Can a regular person report an owed debt to a credit bureau? I have a judgment that I am trying to get paid on but am running out of options.

Monica