What
is the FICO® credit score?
Your FICO®
credit score is used to determine the level of risk you are to a lender.
The value is simply a predictive value to determine how likely you are
to repay your loan on time. The score is derived from different elements
of your credit report. Credit bureaus provide lenders with your FICO®
credit score, which is a product of Fair,
Isaac & Company, Inc.
Credit
Reports
Your
credit report contains personal information gathered from many sources
on an ongoing basis. Most companies that have extended you credit will
provide information to the three major credit reporting agencies.
Lenders will use this information to make decisions based on their
criteria.
What
Information is Included in Your Credit Reports?
-
Your
name and any variations of your name
-
Your
Social Security number
-
Your
date of birth
-
Previous
addresses
-
Current
address
-
Employment
data
-
Credit
accounts and history
-
Public
records (liens, bankruptcies, civil judgments, etc) and inquiries
One of
the biggest misconceptions all legitimate credit restoration services
face is that credit repair is illegal. The truth is, when done by the
book, credit repair is perfectly legal. When you consider that 50-70% of
all credit reports in the United States are inaccurate, something has to
be done.
What
should be illegal is the outrageous interest rates that are being
charged to people with flaws on their credit reports!
Yes,
there are scoundrels and firms out there touting repair services that
are very illegal. One thing to keep in mind is that you cannot just
simply apply for a new social security number or just hire someone to
delete information from your credit files. If a person or firm uses
these tactics as their solution, then you are dealing with illegal acts,
and you can be sure that you will likely find yourself in court,
defending your actions, not theirs.
One of
the most popular credit scam involves substituting your Social Security
number with a 9 digit federally issued Employer Identification Number (EIN),
or a Taxpayer ID# that you are told to obtain from the Internal Revenue
Service.
If you do
this, you are illegally creating a new persona. You could be charged and
prosecuted for fraud if you use this tactic to apply for credit and
provide false information.
It’s a
federal crime to make false statements on a loan or credit application,
to misrepresent your Social Security Number, and to obtain an Employer
Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Service under false
pretenses.
The
Credit Correct system only uses methods that are fully legal. Methods
all afforded to us by the laws of the land. It is wonderful to have the
power of the law on your side. Remember, when dealing with credit
reporting agencies, you need the law behind you.
Top
Of Page
Credit
Bureaus
The
credit bureaus are not obligated to root out errors and provide accurate
information. Their job is to record the information presented to them by
creditors.
Federal
Trade Commission consumer response center - (877) 382-4357
Equifax -
www.equifax.com
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
(800) 685-1111
Experian (formerly TRW) - www.experian.com
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, TX 75013-0949
(888) 397-3742
Trans
Union Corp. - www.transunion.com
760 W. Sproul Rd.
Springfield, PA 19064-0390
(800) 888-4213
FEDERAL
REGULATIONS
FCRA - Fair Credit Reporting Act
FTC Credit Repair Organization Act
CREDIT
CARDS
There are
two main types of Credit Cards- Secured and Unsecured.
"Unsecured
credit cards" are the ones that most of us are familiar
with. They do not require any collateral and you must have a good credit
rating to obtain them.
"Secured
credit cards" must have some type of collateral. You have
to have money in the bank to cover them. Be wary, some secured cards are
scams (see article below). If you have bad credit, there are usually
companies who will give you unsecured credit cards. Avoid a secured card
if at all possible. Some people with very poor credit start out with a
secured card and pay it off each month to reestablish credit.
CLICK
HERE TO TAKE BACK
YOUR CREDIT TODAY
