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You are here: Home / Archives for free credit help

Credit Repair Companies: Consumer Credit Repair

December 30, 2009 By Marco Carbajo

Credit Repair Companies

I felt it was extremely important to write about this because of the many people who may have seen their good credit fall to the wayside as a result of a recent job loss, cut back, family emergency or many other unforeseen circumstances who are desperately seeking for help with their personal credit.  credit repair

All across the country I have heard stories like Joanna Fridinger, owner of a limo company in Baltimore, who had the credit limit on her American Express card cut to $1,400 from $19,500 after getting just a single late fee on another credit card.

You’ve probably seen headlines like…

‘U.S. Consumer Credit Card Debt May Crash Economy’ ~ Fox News

‘Credit card hike fright: Banks raising rates, even if you’ve paid on time’ ~ Daily News

‘Some Credit Card Companies Profiling Customers’ ~ ABC News

‘Consumers’ Credit Card Limits Slashed as Companies Try to Reduce Risk’ ~ the Washington Post

With all this circulating the media it’s easy for some people to be influenced to believe that there is no hope and no way to get their credit back on track.

Not true!

When it comes to personal credit challenges there are several alternative solutions that each and every individual should consider.

In this particular post I am going to cover one of the many viable solutions for individuals undergoing personal credit challenges.

First, let me say that this is my personal opinion and after working with thousands of consumers on personal credit issues over 21 years one of the most commonly asked questions I hear is ‘ How can I get my personal credit restored?’

Before I get into this highly misunderstood service called ‘credit restoration’ or ‘credit repair‘ let me be the first to tell you that if you are an entrepreneur or small business owner that has experienced personal credit issues don’t be alarmed when it comes to obtaining business financing.

One of the major benefits for entrepreneurs and small business owners is the ability to build a business credit profile separate from your personal credit profile.

This post is intended to fully educate you on answering two main questions:

Is Personal Credit Repair Legal?

Are Credit Repair Companies Legal?

Let’s get started shall we?

Personal Credit Repair

The Federal Trade Commission which is a federal agency created to investigate and eliminate unfair and deceptive trade practices in business, initiated a specific body of legislation which was put in place to regulate the credit reporting agencies and protect YOU the consumer from unfair credit reporting. This legislation is called the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Take a look at the FCRA

Now look at section 611 of the FCRA which outlines the procedures in case of disputed accuracy on your credit reports. The FCRA empowers YOU the consumer the right to dispute and verify the accuracy of questionable items on your personal credit reports.

So, this means you can in fact repair your own credit in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

But here’ the catch!

The underlying problem for the consumer is that this is a self policing law. It’s completely up to you the consumer to police your own personal credit reports. It’s up to you to find any errors and it’s up to you to monitor any and all activity on your personal credit files with all three main credit reporting agencies.

In the justice system you are innocent until proven guilty but in the credit reporting system you are guilty until you proof yourself innocent.

If you haven’t seen your personal credit reports recently keep in mind that you are entitled to one free credit report per year which can be accessed at http://www.annualcreditreport.com

Now don’t worry this won’t count as an inquiry when you order your free annual reports.

Credit Repair Companies

Despite the massive efforts of the credit reporting agencies (which are privately held companies) to convince you otherwise, there are many credit restoration companies that are no different than most other services. Like all industries, less-than-honest companies do exist and are damaging to their clients and to the credit repair industry as a whole.

For example, you may have 20 car mechanics in your hometown. Most likely, 17-18 of these mechanics are honest, hardworking people who want to earn a living and give you the best service possible. The other 2 or 3 mechanics may not be so honest and will take your money while not giving you the quality or quantity of service you pay for… or, they may be out-and-out crooks who take your money and lie to you.

This doesn’t mean that your town is a bad place to get your car fixed; it just means that, like any industry anywhere, there are good companies, mediocre companies, and really bad companies.

Let me take you back a little bit first because the credit restoration industry was completely unregulated in the mid to late 1970s, hundreds of credit repair companies sprung up all over the place. Most of them were dishonest and were interested only in stealing money from gullible consumers. As a consequence, thousands of consumers were milked out of millions of dollars while receiving little, if any, of what was promised to them.

As a result the FTC initiated another legislation called the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) that outlines how these companies may legally operate.

Take a look at CROA

This Federal regulation is proof that the industry as a whole is legal and not a scam. I think the reason why there has been this general negativity about credit restoration companies is because of the few bad companies that have given the industry as a whole a bad name.

The Federal Trade Commission regulates credit bureaus and credit repair organizations.

Take a look at the definition of a Credit Repair Organization (look at Sec. 403 Definitions)

(3) Credit repair organization. — The term ‘credit repair organization’–

(A) means any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails to sell, provide, or perform any service, in return for the payment of money or other valuable consideration, for the express or implied purpose of

(i) improving any consumer’s credit record, credit history, or credit rating; or

(ii) providing advice or assistance to any consumer with regard to any activity or service described in clause (i); and

Now let’s look at Section 404 Prohibited Practices.

Specifically look at definition (b) payment in advance.

(b) Payment in Advance–No credit repair organization may charge or receive any money or other valuable consideration for the performance of any service which the credit repair organization has agreed to perform for any consumer before such service is fully performed.

Basically, a credit restoration company cannot charge you for credit restoration upfront unless they are exempt from CROA.

The specific organizations and institutions that DO NOT fall under the definition of a credit restoration organization and are therefore exempt from prohibited practices are non profit companies, credit unions and affiliates of credit unions.

This means that there are a very select few credit restoration companies out there that can charge for credit restoration upfront.

Take a look at Sec 403 definitions under description (B) does not include-

These organizations and institutions include any nonprofit organization which is exempt from taxation under section 501(c) of the internal revenue code and any depository institution (as that term is defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act) or any Federal or State credit union (as those terms are defined in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act), or any affiliate or subsidiary of such a depository institution or credit union.

So if you decide to enroll in a credit restoration service review the company’s track record and BBB rating and make sure they are either a non profit or credit union (affiliate).

Ready to reclaim your excellent credit scores? Submit your name and email below to receive my FREE course ‘7 Steps To Superior Credit’ ($497 value) =>

About the Author

business credit expert

Marco Carbajo is a business credit expert, author, speaker, and founder of the Business Credit Insiders Circle. He is a business credit blogger for AllBusiness, Dun and Bradstreet Credibility Corp, the SBA Community, and author of “Eight Steps to Ultimate Business Credit” and “How to Build Business Credit with No Personal Guarantee.” His articles and blogs have also been featured in American Express Small Business, Business Week, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Tribune, Scotsman Guide, Alltop, Entrepreneur Connect, and Active Rain.

Filed Under: Consumer Credit Tagged With: bad credit, bad credit help, consumer credit repair, credit education, credit help, credit repair, credit repair company, credit repair counseling, credit repair fix, credit repair service, credit repair services, credit report repair, credit restoration, credit tips, creditcrunch, credithelp, creditreport, creditreports, creditscore, creditscoring, ficoscore, free credit help

Top 10 Credit Score Myths

May 18, 2009 By Marco Carbajo

credit-scoreMost individuals who have made it a habit to annually check their credit reports with the three credit reporting agencies; Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion have found themselves in a state of confusion when it comes to understanding credit scores. The most commonly used credit scoring model is FICO® and the new kid on the block known as Vantage Score.

While these scores are important in obtaining credit, loans, and lower interest rates, there seems to be several credit score myths that need to be debunked.

Here are my ‘Top 10 Credit Score Myths’

Myth:  There is only one credit score.
Fact:  There are three credit scores; one from each of the aforementioned agencies.  Equifax’s credit score is called the Beacon Score, Transunion’s credit score is Empirica Score, while Experian has embraced it’s own new credit scoring system called Vantage Score.

Myth:  Your score will decrease every time you check it.
Fact:  Not true.  You can ascertain what your score is as often as you need to and it will not lower your score at all. Go to http://www.myfico.com to order your scores today.
Click to continue …

Filed Under: Business Credit Tagged With: business credit, credit card, Credit cards, credit education, credit tips, creditcrunch, credithelp, creditrepair, creditreport, creditreports, creditscore, creditscoring, ficoscore, free credit card tips, free credit help, free credit reports, personal credit repair, personalcredit

How to Increasing Monthly Positive Points to Increase Credit Scores

May 17, 2009 By Marco Carbajo

credit-cardYour payment history accounts for 35% of your credit score according to Fair Isaac. The most common advice you will hear from every so called “credit expert” is make your payments on time. While this is the basics of building and maintaining a good credit score let’s go way beyond that.

Each time you make a monthly payment towards your credit card balance whether on time or late your credit card issuer reports your payment to the credit reporting companies they subscribe to on a monthly basis. Every time you make a timely payment it counts as a positive point factor to your payment history. The more timely payments you make the more positive point factors that go towards your payment history therefore boosting your credit score.

There is a way to double and even triple your monthly positive point payments on one single trade line each and every month! This is done by breaking up your monthly payment to one creditor into three payments each spread over a 10 day period. For example, your minimum payment is $75 on a credit card and the due date is the 30th of each month. You would send a $27 payment for your creditor to receive on the 10th, 20th, and 30th. This would total $81 and would count towards three positive point payments to your account instead of one for that month alone. This can be done with multiple cards but be sure you are not breaking up minimum payments that are less than $75 because it really would not be worth the effort.

Your probably wondering why the extra $2 on each payment. The reason is paying more than the minimum also increases your positive point factors and increases the chances of your creditor increasing your credit limits. The more you show your ability to handle your debt the better!

Remember, by making a higher payment and increasing the amount of payments sent to your creditors the more positive action your account will report to the credit reporting agencies.

Quick Tip

This seems like a contradiction, but it really is not. Many people think that to improve their credit score, they just have to pay off some debts and close their accounts. This is not exactly accurate. There are several reasons to think carefully before closing your accounts.

First, if you close an account you need (for example, if you close all your credit card accounts) then you will have to reapply for credit, and all those inquiries from lenders will cause your credit score to actually drop.

Secondly, most credit reporting companies give high favorable points to those who have a good long-term credit history. That means that closing the credit card account you have had since college may actually hurt you in the long run. If you have credit accounts that you don’t use or if you have too many credit lines, then by all means pay off some and close them. Doing so may help your credit score – but only if you don’t close long-term accounts you need.

In general, close the most recent accounts first and only when you are sure you will not need that credit in the near future. Closing your accounts is a bad idea if:

1) You will be applying for a loan soon. The closing of your accounts will make your credit score drop in the short term and will not allow you to qualify for good loan rates.

2) Closing your accounts will make your overall debt balance too high. If you owe $10,000 now and closing some accounts would leave you with only $1,000 of possible credit, you are close to maxing out your credit which gives you a bad credit rating.

In the short term, closing accounts will lower your credit score, but in the long run it can be beneficial. Don’t make the mistake of closing lots of credit accounts just to improve your score.

Looking to build your personal and business credit? Become a member of my Business Credit Insiders Circle and gain access to a proven step-by-step business credit building system. A system that provides you access to vendor lines of credit, fleet cards, business credit cards with and without a PG, funding sources and lenders that report to all the major business credit bureaus. Submit your name and email below for details and receive a free business credit building audio seminar ($597 value) =>

About the Author

Marco Carbajo

Marco Carbajo is a business credit expert, author, speaker, and founder of the Business Credit Insiders Circle. He is a business credit blogger for AllBusiness, a subsidiary of Dun and Bradstreet and author of “Eight Steps to Ultimate Business Credit” and “How to Build Business Credit with No Personal Guarantee.” His articles and blogs have also been featured in the SBA Community, American Express Small Business, Business Week, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Tribune, Scotsman Guide, Alltop, Entrepreneur Connect, and Active Rain.

Filed Under: Consumer Credit Tagged With: business credit, credit card, credit card tips, Credit cards, credit education, credit repair, credit tips, creditcrunch, credithelp, creditrepair, creditreport, creditreports, creditscore, creditscoring, ficoscore, free credit card tips, free credit help, free credit reports, personal credit repair, personalcredit

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