Pierre Money Mart Blog

Will Credit Monitoring Hurt My Credit Score? No. Credit monitoring has no affect to your credit score. It’s simply a service that keeps your credit in check. The only time it affects your credit is when you ask a creditor to inquire about your credit.

Does Credit Monitoring Monitor my Credit with all Three Bureaus?The specific credit monitoring service you use will determine which credit bureau is referenced in monitoring your credit. Each credit monitoring service uses only one of the three bureaus to monitor your credit; however, since the activity you’re looking out for affects your credit across the board, it won’t matter which bureau your credit monitoring service uses. They’ll still be able to identify unexpected changes or discrepancies in your credit report.

How do I get a Hold of My Credit Report? There are three major credit bureaus that offer credit reports:
Equifax
1-800-685-1111
www.equifax.com
Experian
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com
Trans Union
1-800-916-8800
www.transunion.com

To get a hold of your credit report, contact one of these three bureaus. Each bureau interprets your credit information differently, so you might want to get a report from all three.

Can I get a Copy of My Credit Report at Any Time? By law, you’re entitled to one free credit report annually from the credit bureaus. This can be accessed at: www.annualcreditreport.com – You can also request a free copy of your credit report if you were denied credit; however, you can only request a copy from the specific credit bureau that supplied the credit report to the creditor who denied you.

What Information do Credit Bureaus Collect about Me? Credit bureaus collect your identification information, employment history, credit inquiries, and any additional public records and data.

Will Requesting a Credit Report Affect My Credit?No. Requesting a credit report will NOT affect your credit. You have the right to look at your credit report without it affecting your credit or score. When you request your credit report it’s called a “consumer pull” and has no affect on your credit. The only time when requesting a credit report can affect your credit is when you ask a possible creditor to inquire about your credit. This is because it implies that you’re possibly opening a new line of credit.

Should I Consolidate my Credit Card Debt?If you have multiple credit cards, each with their own increasing debt, credit card debt consolidation might be just the thing you need. Consolidating your credit debt will allow you to make just one payment to a consolidator, instead of numerous smaller payments to multiple credit card companies. Frequently, you can also obtain a lower monthly payment.

Can I Get Arrested for Not Paying my Debt?As long as fraud and theft are not involved, you can not be arrested and jailed for failing to pay your debt. However, creditors can go after you monetarily to reclaim the amount owed to them.

Do Joint Credit Cards Help Build Good Credit?Joint credit cards can work both ways. Since the credit card account is placed on both holders’ credit accounts, the activity on the card as a whole affects both parties equally. So, if the card is maintained properly, it can help improve credit. However, if one of the card holders abuses the card and ranks up thousands of dollars in debt, it can adversely affect the other holder’s credit rating.
Need to tune-up your credit? Check out our do-it yourself Credit Repair Manual here!

Credit repair is usually a slow process requiring you to build your credit rating little by little over a long period of time.

Although you might consider going to a reputable company offering credit repair services, you can effectively repair your own credit.

A good place to start repairing your credit is to get your credit report from the credit bureau, and examine it carefully for errors. If there are no apparent errors, you can then begin your credit repair.

First, obtain a secured credit card and use it regularly but sensibly. Pay your monthly installment amounts in full and on time. Secured credit cards are issued by companies that usually cater to people who have bad credit. These types of credit cards usually require that you give an initial deposit equal to the card’s credit limit. For example, you give the company $500 for a card with a $500 credit limit. They have the right to use that deposit against any balance you have that remains outstanding for too long.

Using this formula, the credit card company assumes no risk because you will never owe more money than they are holding as your deposit. Secured cards also require annual fees that regular credit cards do not.

Using secured credit cards and paying the bills on time is one of the best ways to improve your credit rating. You develop a history that shows lenders that you take your debts seriously, and that is what lenders want from you — to be paid in full and on time.

To your advantage, paying bills on time not only helps in establishing a good history for you, it eliminates late fees and other financial penalties that make paying your bills so difficult.
Need to tune-up your credit? Check out our do-it yourself Credit Repair Manual here!

You’ve got no credit, although you know you need to get it. But it’s easy to feel like you’re stuck when you realize that you are unable to get credit because you’ve never had credit, and you’ve never had credit because you can never get credit.

With a problem like that, you may prefer to consider whether a tree that falls in the forest makes a sound if nobody is around to hear it.

Thankfully, it isn’t impossible to go from no credit to good credit if you know what to do. By using the following strategies, you can begin to build a credit history you can be proud of.

You can begin establishing credit with a small loan or line of credit from your bank, or a credit card designed for people with bad credit.

When applying for a loan, it should help if you are able to put together a large down payment. To get approved for a credit card, you will need to at least 18 years old with a steady source of income.

In either case, make sure the bank or card issuer reports to a credit bureau. It will not help you establish credit if they do not.

Also, consider applying for a secured credit card, which requires a down payment. After a few months of using your secured card responsibly, it may be possible to qualify for an unsecured credit card.

Once you are ready, avoid applying for many credit cards at the same time. Also avoid applying for cards you are likely to get rejected for. Both too many applications and being turned down can make you look bad to lenders.

If you are unable to get a small loan or a credit card in your own name, see if a close friend or family member will co-sign for you. Be sure to let this person know that you plan to be responsible about making payments on the loan or credit card.

For those consumers who don’t have a checking account, opening one will give you credibility in the eyes of lenders. If possible, set up a savings account, also. Keep tabs on how much money you have in order to avoid overdrawing funds from your bank account.

Meanwhile, be aware that lenders and credit card issuers look at more than just your payment history when issuing credit. Other factors include how frequently you move and how often you change jobs. It can also help to have an apartment, utility, and telephone number in your own name.

Regardless of the strategy you choose, be sure to always make payment to lenders on time. With credit cards, try to make more than the minimum monthly payment. Such responsible borrowing will get you on the road to good credit in no time.

Need to tune-up your credit? Check out our do-it yourself Credit Repair Manual here!

Well, the credit repair strategizing starts on your study table with a pen and paper. If you are more techno-savvy, you can even use a spreadsheet program or a word processor. You first need to chalk out a plan for all your expenses. Jot down all of them, necessary and unnecessary. Think of, for instance, tuition, fees, child care, emergencies, entertainment and recreation (going to the movies, tapes/CDs, sports/fitness), health care (medical/ dental/ vision/ prescriptions), housing (rent), utilities and phone, furnishings, food (snacks, beverages, restaurants), clothing, laundry, books and supplies, commuting (trips home, car payments, gas/maintenance, parking fees), insurance (car, renters), credit cards and loans, personal expenses, etc.

Take a good look at the list and do some evaluation. A little elimination and selection is called for here. You need to decide on the things that are really important and other expenses that you can avoid. Only when you show such judiciousness and thrift will your credit repair strategy be successful. All the items on the list that fall in the later category of suspects could be highlighted. You need to some brainstorming over what you absolutely need and what you can do without or cut down on. For example, those countless movies and eating outs could definitely be checked. A dinner at your favorite restaurant and a movie once every weekend is just fine.

Also try not to buy anything that you cannot pay off, interest included, within a month. This sort of credit repair approach would help you establish a positive credit referral on your credit report. The credit reports are evaluated on a month-by-month basis and your credit report repair strategy has to adapt to this mode of evaluation. By diligently following this strategy your credit report would also begin to reflect your improved credit situation.

Besides boosting your credit situation, this credit repair strategy would also ensure that you have sufficient money for urgent things whenever you need it. You guilt trip would also be cut short with all the frivolous expenses cut out.

The next step of this credit repair strategy is to concentrate on all your credit card bills: current and outstanding. Put by some reserve every month towards your credit card bills. Besides paying all your current bills, you should contribute some extra amount towards settling any outstanding debts. By catching up on all your payments, you would not only improve your credit rating, you would also manage a concentrated budget that prevents any frittering away of precious cash on frivolous things. Now you have got the money to purchase those books or lab supplies that you have been planning on for a long time.

You also need to figure out the factors that are causing you to be in debt. The debt causing items on the list have to be paid special attention. Not paying your credit card bills or paying them late, pending rents and tuition fees etc. can play havoc with your credit. Or it is possible that your credit is already damaged owing to these reasons. You then need to set the damage control process in motion. A carefully planned credit repair strategy can help you do that. It would enable you a better insight into your monthly expenses and their management. A comprehensive list of your expenses would allow you to identify the problem areas.
Need to tune-up your credit? Check out our do-it yourself Credit Repair Manual here!

As we’ve already mentioned, you should carefully review each section of your credit report to determine if it contains incorrect or outdated information. If it does, use our Sample Dispute Letter to notify the credit bureau. Under the law the credit bureau has 30 days to verify the information to insure that it is correct. If the bureau cannot verify the disputed information, it must be deleted from your credit report.
Use the 100 Word Statement

If you dispute information on a credit report that you believe to be incorrect, the creditor may disagree. If this happens, the information will remain in your credit history. But your efforts don’t have to stop there. If you still think the information is wrong, continue to pursue the issue with the creditor. In addition, you should compose a statement of 100 words or less explaining your dispute and send it to all three credit bureaus. The statement will become part of your credit record and will appear on your credit report for as long as the disputed item. You may also use the 100 word statement to explain why you haven’t paid an undisputed bill, as long as the reason is true. For example, a divorce, illness, or death in the family may have caused a delay or a break in your scheduled payments.
Take a step in the right direction

Seven to ten years is a long time to live with black marks on your credit. The good news is that there are steps you can take NOW that will help you to re-establish your reputation as a responsible credit user.
Need to tune-up your credit? Check out our do-it yourself Credit Repair Manual here!

Once you’ve obtained a copy of your credit report, you’ll be able to see what your creditors are saying about you. There’s just one problem — credit reports can be a little confusing. In the following paragraphs you’ll find a step-by-step explanation of how to read and interpret each section of your credit report.
I.D. Section

Here you’ll find identifying information like your:

* name
* current address
* social security number
* date of birth
* spouse’s name (if applicable)

Easy, right? But don’t just skim over this section. Read all the entries to make sure everything is correct. One bad piece of information and the credit history listed on your report could be wrong.
Credit History Section

This is the meat of the report. It contains a list of your open and paid credit accounts and indicates any late payments reported by your creditors. Although it may seem a little tedious, it’s essential that you read through this section very thoroughly. If you find any information that is incorrect or accounts that don’t belong to you, you’ll need to submit a dispute letter to the credit-reporting agency.

The basic format for the credit history section (see sample) is as follows:

* Company Name – identifies the company that is reporting the information.

* Account Number – lists your account number with the company.

* Whose Account – Indicates who is responsible for the account and the type of participation you have with the account. Abbreviations may vary depending on the reporting agency but here are some of the most common:

o I – Individual
o U – Undesignated
o J – Joint
o A – Authorized User
o M – Maker
o T – Terminated
o C – Co-maker/Co-signer
o S – Shared

* Date Opened – This is the month and year you opened the account with the credit grantor.

* Months Reviewed – Lists the number of months the account history has been reported.

* Last Activity – Indicates the date of the last activity on the account. This may be the date of your last payment or last charge.

* High Credit – Represents the highest amount charged or the credit limit. If the account is an installment loan, the original loan amount will be listed.

* Terms – For installment loans, the number of installments may be listed or the amount of the monthly payments. For revolving accounts, this column is often left blank.

* Balance – Indicates the amount owed on the account at the time it was reported.

* Past Due – This column lists any amount past due at the time the information was reported.

* Status – A combination of letters and numbers are used to indicate the type of account of the timeliness of payment.

Abbreviations for the type of account are as follows:

o O – Open
o R – Revolving
o I – Installment
o Abbreviations for Timeliness of Payment varies among agencies. Numbers are used to represent how current you are in your payments. Current or paid as agreed is usually represented by 0 or 1. Larger numbers (up to 9) indicate that an account is past due.
* Date Reported – Indicates the last time information on this account was updated by your creditor.

Collection Accounts Section

If you’ve had any accounts referred to collection agencies in the last seven years, this is where they will be reported. The name of the collection agency will be listed along with the amount you owe and, in some cases, their contact information. If a collection is listed on your report that doesn’t look familiar to you, contact the credit bureau and submit a dispute letter.

For your own piece of mind, you may also want to contact the collection agency to determine the nature of the account. Here’s why.

* You may find out that the collection account is NOT yours. Perhaps it belongs to someone whose name or social security number is very similar to yours. If this is the case, ask the collection agency to acknowledge this fact in writing. They should send a copy of the letter to you AND the credit reporting agency so that the mistaken information can be cleared from your report.

* You may find out that the collection account IS yours. If so, it is in your best interest to determine the accuracy of the amount of the collection account and make arrangements to satisfy your obligation as quickly as possible. Once the collection account has been paid, you should request a letter from the collection agency to this effect. Again, make sure the credit reporting agency gets a copy of the letter so that they can list the account as paid.

Courthouse Records Section

This section may also be referred to as Public Records. Here you’ll find a listing of public record items (obtained from local, state and federal courts) that reflect your history of meeting financial obligations. These include:

* Bankruptcy records
* Tax liens
* Judgments
* Collection accounts
* Overdue child support (in some states)

Look closely at all the information listed here. If anything is mistaken, contact the credit bureau and submit a dispute letter.
Additional Information

This section consists primarily of former addresses and past employers as reported by your creditors.
Inquiry Section

Contains a list of the businesses that have received your credit report in the last 24 months. If you find the names of businesses that sound unfamiliar, you should find out who they are and why they’re looking at your credit! The credit-reporting agency may be able to help you with contact information. Remember, only companies that have received your written authorization should be able to check your credit history.
Time information is retained

The length of time that information remains in your file varies.

* Credit and collection accounts will be reported for 7 years from the date of the last activity with the original creditor.
* If you’ve filed a Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 bankruptcy, this information will be reported for 10 years from the date filed.
* All other courthouse records will be reported for 7 years from date filed.

Need to tune-up your credit? Check out our do-it yourself Credit Repair Manual here!