Portfolio Recovery sent our client Crystal the two responses below after we sent validation requests directly to them, in addition to dispute audits directly to the three credit reporting agencies on her behalf. Their inability to produce the requested and required information left them in a position where they could not validate and verify the accuracy of these two accounts. Therefore they were forced to remove the inaccurate and unverifiable accounts from her credit file.
If you currently do not have a credit card open, and you would like to have good credit, you must go and get one. Many of you may ask, “If I do not have any credit, or have bad credit, how am I going to get a credit card?” That’s a great question that many of my clients ask.
Secured credit cards are meant for people with no credit or less than perfect credit. They are labeled as “Secured” because they are actually secured with a refundable deposit that you must provide before they will issue you a card. After the expiration of the “probationary period” they typically will refund your deposit. You must keep the card in good standing in order to be eligible for the refund of the deposit.
Be careful! Many of the companies that issue these cards have hidden fees that you will not be aware of unless you carefully read the terms and conditions of the card agreement. There is one that I have come to find that is the fairest in regards to fees. See Capital One’s website and view their Secured MasterCard application. Often, the application can be done online. They do not charge ridiculous fees for their secured cards, but you should read the terms and conditions, in particular the “fees” section. Also, if you are considering going out and applying for an unsecured credit card, you may want to consider trying to open a gas card or department store card before applying with a major bank or lender such as Chase or American Express. They typically have higher requirements on who they will issue a credit card. You do not want to endure the loss of points in your score in by applying for a credit card that you will be denied.
If you have any questions or comments in regards to the information above or any other credit-related questions, give us a call at 972-675-7717 or place your comment below.
Secured credit cards are meant for people with no credit or less than perfect credit. They are labeled as “Secured” because they are actually secured with a refundable deposit that you must provide before they will issue you a card. After the expiration of the “probationary period” they typically will refund your deposit. You must keep the card in good standing in order to be eligible for the refund of the deposit.
Be careful! Many of the companies that issue these cards have hidden fees that you will not be aware of unless you carefully read the terms and conditions of the card agreement. There is one that I have come to find that is the fairest in regards to fees. See Capital One’s website and view their Secured MasterCard application. Often, the application can be done online. They do not charge ridiculous fees for their secured cards, but you should read the terms and conditions, in particular the “fees” section. Also, if you are considering going out and applying for an unsecured credit card, you may want to consider trying to open a gas card or department store card before applying with a major bank or lender such as Chase or American Express. They typically have higher requirements on who they will issue a credit card. You do not want to endure the loss of points in your score in by applying for a credit card that you will be denied.
If you have any questions or comments in regards to the information above or any other credit-related questions, give us a call at 972-675-7717 or place your comment below.
The Red Cross very much needs our help right now in aiding the unfortunate folks on the East Coast. We’ve tried to do our part. We would love to know that someone would come to our aid in the event something of this nature happened to North Texas. Please do what you can, if you can.
As you can see from the email below, they very much appreciate it!
As you can see from the email below, they very much appreciate it!
HSBC sent Josh this letter a couple of weeks ago, which he in turn recently forwarded to us. It was received by him after we went back and forth with them several times on his behalf. HSBC can sometimes be a difficult creditor to deal with. However, persistence typically wears down resistance. We proved that to be true once again.
If you are also suffering from creditors like HSBC continuing to report inaccurate and/or unverifiable information on your credit report, you should consider giving us a call.
Thanks for reviewing our posts!
Dwayne Calk
972-675-7717
888-695-9563
Yes! If you have a debt management company, like Consumer Credit Counseling reporting on your credit file, it may significantly lower your credit scores. Most creditors will report late payments on the accounts the company is settling for you because they typically do not receive the minimum payments each month. Also, many lenders consider debt managements like a chapter 13 bankruptcy. If possible, you should avoid debt settlement. Otherwise, be prepared to suffer the consequences via your credit scores.
Questions, Comments? Leave them below or call us at 972-675-7717
Questions, Comments? Leave them below or call us at 972-675-7717
No, they will absolutely not! Actually, having payday loans on your credit file will lower your credit scores. The more payday loans you have on your credit report the worse it is for your credit scores. These loans are typically for people who cannot get funding elsewhere. That is also why these are also known as “hard money loans.”
Think of it this way; if you were in the business of loaning people money that you never had the opportunity of meeting would you want to see that they frequently go to these little finance companies to get payday loans? No, you would not. It is an indication that this person is not doing so well financially, thus making you and other creditors less likely to want to loan money to this person. The credit scoring mechanism that computes and generates your credit scores is programmed accordingly.
So, stay away from them!
Questions, Comments? Leave them below or call us at 972-675-7717.
I always suggest that my clients opt-out of pre-screened solicitations. Why? There are several reasons.
From what I understand, the three major credit-reporting agencies’ main source of income is not by creditors and collection companies paying them on a monthly basis to report account and trade line information. Their main source of income comes from selling your personal information! That’s right. You are currently making money for the credit bureaus in by having a name, address and phone number.
By default we are all “opted-in” to pre-screened solicitations. We have all received those items in the mail explaining that you have been pre-approved for this or that. Your information was purchased so you could receive that solicitation.
Another reason I feel people should opt out is because if you have any collection accounts or other unpaid debts, in by remaining “opted-in” you are making it easier for these creditors/collection companies to track you down and harass you with phone calls and or threatening and sometimes misleading letters that you may receive in the mail.
An article I read from what appeared to be a very reputable source explained that the credit bureaus use this in their sales pitch to potential collection companies thinking of subscribing account information to that particular bureau. It may go down something similar to this: A representative from the collection company asks the sales consultant from the credit bureau, “What are the benefits in us paying you monthly to report these accounts?” The credit bureau representative responds with, “Well, that’s a great question and I am glad you asked! Not only are we one of the top three credit-reporting agencies, but whenever you start paying us to report these accounts, we are in turn going to turn over a wealth of personal information in regards to people who probably owe you money at this time, thus increasing your collection efforts and putting more money in your pocket!” Sounds like a “win-win” for the collection companies and the credit bureaus to me.
Upon opting out from this, it prevents the credit bureaus from continuing to sell your personal information. You can easily do this by going to the link I provided below. Note that you do not have to enter in your phone number in the area provided to complete the opt-out process. I never recommend providing your phone number to the credit bureaus or collectors. You can choose the “electronic opt-out for 5 years” and do it in 2 minutes via this link. If at some point you decide you want to start receiving those annoying letters in the mail again, just go back to the link. By default, the first selection is “Opt-In”. Of course it is; they want to start selling your personal information again.
https://www.optoutprescreen.com/opt_form.cgi
From what I understand, the three major credit-reporting agencies’ main source of income is not by creditors and collection companies paying them on a monthly basis to report account and trade line information. Their main source of income comes from selling your personal information! That’s right. You are currently making money for the credit bureaus in by having a name, address and phone number.
By default we are all “opted-in” to pre-screened solicitations. We have all received those items in the mail explaining that you have been pre-approved for this or that. Your information was purchased so you could receive that solicitation.
Another reason I feel people should opt out is because if you have any collection accounts or other unpaid debts, in by remaining “opted-in” you are making it easier for these creditors/collection companies to track you down and harass you with phone calls and or threatening and sometimes misleading letters that you may receive in the mail.
An article I read from what appeared to be a very reputable source explained that the credit bureaus use this in their sales pitch to potential collection companies thinking of subscribing account information to that particular bureau. It may go down something similar to this: A representative from the collection company asks the sales consultant from the credit bureau, “What are the benefits in us paying you monthly to report these accounts?” The credit bureau representative responds with, “Well, that’s a great question and I am glad you asked! Not only are we one of the top three credit-reporting agencies, but whenever you start paying us to report these accounts, we are in turn going to turn over a wealth of personal information in regards to people who probably owe you money at this time, thus increasing your collection efforts and putting more money in your pocket!” Sounds like a “win-win” for the collection companies and the credit bureaus to me.
Upon opting out from this, it prevents the credit bureaus from continuing to sell your personal information. You can easily do this by going to the link I provided below. Note that you do not have to enter in your phone number in the area provided to complete the opt-out process. I never recommend providing your phone number to the credit bureaus or collectors. You can choose the “electronic opt-out for 5 years” and do it in 2 minutes via this link. If at some point you decide you want to start receiving those annoying letters in the mail again, just go back to the link. By default, the first selection is “Opt-In”. Of course it is; they want to start selling your personal information again.
https://www.optoutprescreen.com/opt_form.cgi
Yes! Having a numerous amount of names and previous addresses on file will impact your credit rating, believe it or not. This especially applies to someone who has moved a multiple amount of times over the last 7 years. This also applies to people who have credit in multiple names. For example, if your name is Robert Smith you may have accounts under Rob Smith, Robbie Smith, R. Smith, etc.
The fact is, when people frequently move it is an indication of instability. Don’t allow the lenders to believe you are a gypsy. They will hold this against you. Having previous names and addresses removed could possibly add 20-30 points to your score!
Call us with any questions you may have at 972-675-7717 or 888-695-9563.
The fact is, when people frequently move it is an indication of instability. Don’t allow the lenders to believe you are a gypsy. They will hold this against you. Having previous names and addresses removed could possibly add 20-30 points to your score!
Call us with any questions you may have at 972-675-7717 or 888-695-9563.
Lenders do not make credit approval decisions based on a person’s age. However, the age of your credit is certainly factored into credit approval decisions. You should maintain your accounts for a long period of time. The more months in review an account has the better it looks to lenders and the more it will increase your credit score.
You really should never close an account unless the terms have just become unbearable for you. However, often you can call to close an account and when doing so the representative will ask your reason for closing the account you have with them today. When asked that question, explain to them that you are unhappy with the annual fee you were just charged, or the current interest rate on the credit card. Often, they will waive the fee in exchange for you continuing to do business with them and/or lower your interest rate. Give it a try! It worked for me.
Feel free to give us a call with any questions you may have at 888-695-9563.
You really should never close an account unless the terms have just become unbearable for you. However, often you can call to close an account and when doing so the representative will ask your reason for closing the account you have with them today. When asked that question, explain to them that you are unhappy with the annual fee you were just charged, or the current interest rate on the credit card. Often, they will waive the fee in exchange for you continuing to do business with them and/or lower your interest rate. Give it a try! It worked for me.
Feel free to give us a call with any questions you may have at 888-695-9563.
Credit card payment history, or revolving credit, is much more important than installment loans when it comes to credit scoring. If you find yourself needing points on your credit score it will be much more beneficial for you to pay down any balances that you may have on your credit cards. Remember, any balance above 30% of the limit is going to affect your credit score in a negative manner. You want the balances below 10% of the limit in order to maximize your credit scores.
Call us with any questions you may have at 888-695-9563!
Call us with any questions you may have at 888-695-9563!
