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Susan Jan asked:




Having a good credit rating is important because it allows us many conveniences in life, such as renting property, having credit card, and qualifying for financing etc. However, if you do not pay a creditor on time, your credit report with the credit bureau will be affected, and when your credit rating becomes poor, the above conveniences will no longer be possible. It is imperative that you take immediate steps to repair your credit.

The first step in credit repair is to get your credit report from the credit reporting agency. Once you receive your credit report, examine it closely for any inaccuracies. If you find any discrepancies, you can request an investigation in writing to the agency. The agency must then either respond within 30 days with documentation of the particular discrepancy, or remove that item from your credit report.

An immediate solution to credit repair is to contact your creditor as soon as you become aware of your outstanding debts. Your credit report depends on whether your creditor decides to report you to the credit reporting agency. Usually your creditor will be willing to discuss with you alternate payment options and solutions, because they would prefer to get some payment instead of no payment at all from you. You should propose a realistic payment plan and convince them that you can stick to it.

If your creditor does not accept your new payment terms, then your debt will go to collection, and you will then have to deal with the collection agency. Collection agents are usually more aggressive and may even threaten to take you to court if you do not comply. Bear in mind that collection companies generally buy debts at about half their value, so any payment higher than that is a profit for them. Negotiate ASAP to pay less than the full value of your debt, and collection agents generally agree to a quick payment at a small discount of the value, as they are unwilling to have the process drag on.

Another option is for you to seek the help of a credit counselor. Credit counseling is usually done by non-profit agencies, and credit counselors will advise you on and make you stick to your long term credit repair plans. Good credit counseling organizations also provide workshops, educational materials, and counseling.

Of all the credit repair options, Avoid for-profit credit repair companies at all cost because they are often scams, and propose a one size fits all quick fix. There is nothing that a credit repair company suggests that you can’t do yourself, such as obtaining your credit report etc.

It takes a long time to build a good credit rating, and just a short amount of time to destroy it. There are no quick solutions to a poor credit rating, and you will have to slowly and patiently build your credit rating again from scratch. If you avoid quick credit fixes, and instead focus on long term credit repair, you will eventually gain your good credit back.

Sam

Art Turner asked:




Never been harassed by a credit agency? Lucky you! It could mean that you have never had any financial problems. That’s quite a feat considering all that could get out of whack. But sometimes issues of our life make it impossible to keep up with our monthly payments. After you get about 90 days past due, your creditor is likely to hire a debt collector. Collectors may be real people, firms or even lawyers.

Recent legislation has specified some basic rules for the ways that you can be contacted. Collection agencies can contact you by mail, in person, by phone, via fax or even by telegram. But when and where they get in touch is limited. They may not contact you before 8 A.M. or after 9 P.M. local time. They are also not allowed to contact you at your place of employment.

Certain unfair practices have now been removed from debt collectors’ tool chests. Collection agencies can’t take more than you owe. If you send them a post-dated check, they are prohibited from depositing the check early. Contacting you by postcard, which could be really embarrassing, is no longer allowed. It’s not open season on your property either, so don’t give in to their threats.

Behavior that could be categorized as harassment, oppression or abuse is just not allowed. For example, persistent phone calls specifically planned to bother a debtor are prohibited by law. Any type of violent threats are clearly out of bounds. Even the use of profane or obscene language is off limits for collectors. If they threaten to publish your name on a list, don’t worry. They aren’t allowed to do anything like that. The only people they can tell is the credit reporting agency.

Has a debt collector ever stated something that sounded untrue? They are not allowed to collect a debt by using misleading or false statements. If they aren’t attorneys, they cannot claim to be. Nor can they claim to be from the government. The credit bureau will not call you directly, so don’t believe anyone who says they are. Collectors are also not permitted to confuse you about papers they send–for example calling them legal documents when they really are not. They must be completely truthful about how much debt you actually owe.

Threats of arrest or imprisonment are strictly prohibited. Seizures of property or garnishment of your wages will not happen without the due process of a lawsuit (student loans have special rules, though, so watch out with those). Threatening you with legal proceedings is against the rules if they don’t really intend to take you to court. Sending out false information or official-looking documents (when they are not) could also get the collectors into trouble.

Work with the collection agency as much as possible, even if it is difficult or distasteful. You may not be able to send the total amount you owe, but try to send something to indicate good faith. If you think the collector has done something in opposition to the law, then take you complaint up through the company’s management structure. If you don’t get an acceptable response from the company, your state Attorney General and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission are the next steps. In most cases, however, the fact that collectors broke the law will not alter the fact that you owe a debt. You are still responsible for paying what you owe. The laws are in place to make sure that you are treated with fairness and respect.

Andrea

TheCreditMastersTM asked:

Legal Credit Help, Credit Counseling, Credit Repair, Credit Reporting Agency, Theft of Identity, Credit Fraud, Operation Clean Sweep, 501c3 credit counseling

Monica