Credit University
All You Ever Wanted To Know About Credit Repair & Were Afraid To Ask
- Creditors
- The Credit Bureaus
- The Fair Credit Reporting Act
- Credit Repair
- Credit Repair Companies
- Some Statistics
- Verifiable Information
- FICO
- Credit Scores
- Debt Consolidation
Creditors
These are the nice folks that lend you money. Depending on your credit report, they may charge a small interest rate (for those with really good credit) or a large interest rate (for those with damaged credit). Or, if your credit report is bad enough, they won’t lend you money at all. Your financial problems may be behind you, but creditors only look at credit reports coming from the “big three” credit bureaus. Since the bureaus aren’t nearly as concerned as you are about keeping your records verified and up to date, creditors may be getting inaccurate information which can cost you a bundle in interest rates.
The Credit Bureaus
Equifax, Experian and Trans Union are the “big three” credit bureaus and are the only ones we deal with when representing your best interests. There are thousands of smaller credit bureaus but it isn’t necessary to deal directly with them because they purchase their information from the big three. These credit bureaus are not government agencies but rather businesses in business to make money. They make a bundle collecting and selling your personal information to creditors and mailing lists – billions of dollars annually. Until the passage of the Fair Credit Reporting Act in 1970, credit bureaus operated with complete impunity, collecting and selling information about consumers whether the information was accurate or not. While the Fair Credit Reporting Act does not require credit bureaus to maintain and sell only accurate information, it does give you the right to make sure that the information being sold from your credit report is accurate and verifiable.The beauty of this little tidbit of information is that the onus of verification is placed on the credit bureau, which has a limited amount of time to verify and respond. If they can’t or don’t respond in a timely fashion, the item must be removed from your report.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act
If you’re so inclined you can click this link. It’s 86 pages of riveting legalese. We know it by heart. We have to because we use it to your advantage.
Credit Repair
In the aftermath of financial problems, obligations may have been met or discharged in bankruptcy but the scar of a bad credit report often remains until someone other than the credit bureaus does something about it. A bad credit report often robs good people of access to affordable credit, affordable insurance and even some job opportunities. Credit repair can positively impact your scores, usually with dramatic results. There is nothing on your credit report that cannot be removed. While removing a negative item on your report does not absolve you from paying the debt, it does change your credibility with lenders, landlords and potential employers. Late payments, collections, repossessions, tax liens and even bankruptcies are routinely removed from our clients’ credit reports.
Credit Repair Companies
Not all credit repair companies are created equal. Many make outlandish claims about their ability to repair your credit, they may create segregated credit files and many charge advance fees. These practices are at best questionable and at worst, illegal. Consumer Credit Auditors is a licensed and bonded Credit Rating Correction Service. We worked hard to get an outstanding reputation with the BBB and all regulatory agencies. Because we comply with tight government regulations you won’t hear outlandish claims from us. Instead, you'll get sound information and advice with solid results born of experience, expertise and a reputation in the credit repair industry that's second to none.
Some Statistics
Are you sitting down?
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5 Year Loan On A $18,000 Vehicle
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30 Year Mortgage on a $150,000 House
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If that doesn’t put you on the edge of your seat, how about this? Studies have shown that anywhere from 33% (that’s a credit bureau number) to a whopping 79% of information currently trafficked by the credit bureaus is inaccurate. 33% – 79%!!! Just the fact that the spread is so wide gives a person reason to pause!
No matter how you slice it, inaccurate and outdated information is running rampant through the credit bureaus and it is costing consumers a staggering amount of money. This doesn’t even cover the information that’s simply unverifiable!
You deserve better. We can help.
Verifiable Information
This is important and one of our best tools to help you recover your good credit. When an item is properly disputed on a credit report, the bureau in question must verify the accuracy of the item with the original provider of the information. If the provider verifies its accuracy to the credit bureau, the bureau must then respond to the consumer in a timely manner. If the response takes too long, the item MUST BE REMOVED FROM THE RECORD. Failing to do so has cost credit bureaus very large sums of money in liability settlements. Not to mention the bureaus have to pay huge sums of money to research and verify data in the first place – and they don’t like that. Remember, they’re in business to make money by selling your information. Many times, just to avoid costs associated with verification, credit bureaus will remove items from your record that are otherwise potentially verifiable. That’s good news for you.
FICO
A credit score is made from the information of your credit report. All of this information is fed into complex proprietary algorithms created and owned by Fair Isaac Corporation. The score is commonly known as a FICO score. The actual algorithms are a closely held trade secret and are not public information. There is actually more than one set of algorithms for different uses. This results in different scores. You will see different scores on mortgage reports, credit card reviews and consumer credit reports. This can make it very difficult to know exactly where you stand. Not very consumer friendly at all if you ask me. Consumer Credit Auditors can assist you with determining the difference.
Credit Scores
Each of the three credit bureaus has a credit score or “FICO”. A simple way to understand a credit score is to visualize it as a balance beam. On one side of the balance beam you have negative factors, on the other side you have positive factors and the pointer in the middle is the score. Negative factors are things like collections, judgments, liens, bankruptcy, late payments, excessive inquiries and high debt ratios. Positive factors are established lines on credit, different types of credit, good payment history and proper debt ratios. The less negative factors and the more positive factors the higher the score. At Consumer Credit Auditors we are committed to use every resource available to get the scores as high as possible as quickly as possible and keep them there.
What Can Be Removed
Collections, judgments, liens, bankruptcy, late payments all have been successfully removed from credit reports. No one can guarantee removal of everything in any circumstance. If you find someone that says they can run don’t walk away. This is not honest or legal. It must be deemed inaccurate or unverifiable, our specialty!