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There’s only one way to discover the “health”
of your credit. You need to examine your credit
report. Your credit report is your “consumer
identity” that potential lenders will use to judge your
credit worthiness.

Use these tips to give your credit profile the
“tune-up” it needs for 2004.

Tip #1- Check for Errors
Your credit report or profile is more than just a
collection of who your creditors are and how much
you owe them or have paid them.

The first thing you need to do is carefully check that
your credit report is accurate. Nearly 70% of credit
reports contain errors.

These errors may be as simple as an incorrect
middle initial or address. Or it could be as serious
as a creditor reporting that you were late with a
payment when in fact you were not late at all.

This error might not seem like a big deal to you. However,to a future lender like a mortgage company it makes a big difference !

Carefully examine your credit report and if you find an
error contact your creditor and the credit bureaus. Catch
and correct these errors now before it hurts your chances
of securing credit in the future.

Tip #2 - Correcting Errors
The two most common errors contained in credit reports
are:

1) wrong account information

2) incorrect recording of late payments.

If you find an account reported that does not belong you,
you need to contact the credit grantor or issuer immediately. Remember, finding accounts that you have not personally opened is a sign of possible identity theft.

Hopefully you’ll discover that this error is nothing more than an oversight and not an identity theft problem. Most often this occurs when they report an account belonging to a family member or someone with a similar name on your credit report.

If your problem is an error in reporting a late payment
you will need proof to back up your case before this error
can be corrected or removed. The most common error occurs when a payment is reported as “late” when it was actually a current or “on time” payment.

In either case, the problem can and should be corrected.
You will need to correct the error in writing. Keep a journal or log of all calls and correspondence.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires the credit
bureaus and the agency reporting the information to the
credit bureau to correct inaccurate information in your
credit report. Therefore, it is important that you contact
both the credit bureau and the creditor whose information is in dispute.

A sample letter is included here to help you in correcting
your credit profile. Make sure that you clearly identify the information that you dispute, include copies of receipts or documents that support your position. Then request that the information be corrected or deleted from your file.

Send your letter by certified mail and request a return receipt from the recipient. Keep all correspondence that you mail out. Give the agencies involved 30 days to begin their investigation. You can call them but be aware that phoning them does not protect your consumer rights! You must notify them in writing to protect your rights.

They must notify you of the results of their investigation.
Although the process will take time, it’s important to do it. This is your credit profile, your “consumer identity” that is at stake. Don’t expect an error to correct itself.

At your request, the credit bureaus must send notices of
corrections to your credit profile to anyone who has requested your report in the last six months. If you applied for a job and were turned down because of inaccurate information in your credit report, you can have the corrected report mailed to anyone who received a copy in the past two years.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sample Dispute Letter
Date

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip Code

Complaint Department
Name of Credit Reporting Agency
Address
City, State, Zip Code

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing to dispute the following information in my file. The items I dispute are also encircled on the attached copy of the report I received. (Identify item(s) disputed by name of source, such as creditors or tax court, and identify type of item, such as credit account, judgment, etc.)

This item is (inaccurate or incomplete) because (describe
what is inaccurate or incomplete and why). I am requesting that the item be deleted (or request another specific change) to correct the information.

Enclosed are copies of (use this sentence if applicable and describe any enclosed documentation, such as payment records, court documents) supporting my position. Please reinvestigate this (these) matter(s) and (delete or correct) the disputed item(s) as soon as possible.

Sincerely,
Your name

Enclosures: (List what you are enclosing)

Originally Posted at http://www.ftc.gov/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tip #3 - Budget Planning
You can also use your credit report to help you plan and
implement a personal budget. Your credit report will show
you where you are spending your hard earned dollars. While the credit card balances may not be completely current, you’ll still see which of your cards has the highest balance outstanding.

If you have more than one major credit card you should
compare the annual percentage rate (APR) you are paying
on each account. If you are working on a budget to “pay
down” your credit cards, start by paying down the one with the highest APR or interest.

Once that credit account is paid off, move toward paying
off the account with the second highest APR. Using this
method you will be able to concentrate your efforts toward paying down your outstanding credit obligations.

You should also check with your credit card company to see what’s the best annual percentage rate (APR) they can offer you. If you are a good customer, you can often qualify for a lower rate than what you are currently being offered.

Caution: Ask if the new rate you are getting is a “promotional” rate or a “contract” rate. A promotional rate will expire at the end of the promotional term, for example 6 months. A contract rate does not have an “expiration” as long as you continue to meet the terms outlined by your creditor for that rate.

Tip #4 - Making a major purchase
If you are considering a major purchase such as a car or a
home, checking your credit report gives you the chance to see what a potential lender sees and uses to judge your credit worthiness.

You want to make sure that your credit report is accurate
before you apply for that sports car or new home. Errors
or problems can be corrected before your lender can use
those against you and deny your credit request. You’ll also have a better idea of what type or rate of credit you should expect from a potential lender.

Tip #5 - Check your credit report regularly
Check your credit report regularly. Guard your “consumer identity” as you would anything else you treasure. Use your credit wisely, along with these tips, and you will enjoy the benefits that your good credit and your good name deserve now - and for years to come.

© 2004, www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com
Author: James H. Dimmitt.
James is editor of “TO YOUR CREDIT”, a weekly free
newsletter. Subscribe to the newsletter by visiting
http://www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com.

The high interest rate is necessary for the credit card company to maintain business. As a person with no credit, a student is a high risk candidate. This means that they have no idea whether you will pay back your balance or not, since you have no credit history for them to use as reference. Therefore, giving you a student credit card, which is essentially offering you a loan that you pay back on a monthly basis, is risky for companies like MBNA. So when you look at the MBNA credit card offer, be sure to read the fine print so that you know what you are agreeing to before you get caught in a cycle of high payments and increasing interest.
Features

There are some features of the no credit credit card offered to students by MBNA that appeal directly to students. The biggest draw is perhaps the opportunity to get a credit card that pictures the student’s university on the front of the card. This personalization is very attractive to students and a fun aspect of the credit card offer.

When you go online to the MBNA website at http://www.mbna.com, you will find a link to see credit card offers. You can follow the links to the student credit card page and the first thing you see is a long list of illustrated cards showing all the schools available to be features on your new card. The schools include the following institutions:

· Arizona State University
· Auburn University
· Clemson University
· Trustees of Dartmouth
· Florida State University
· Georgetown University
· Indiana University
· Iowa State University
· Loyola College in Maryland
· Michigan State Alumni Association
· Ohio State Association
· Penn State Alumni Association
· Purdue University
· St. John’s University
· University of Texas A&M
· University of Arizona
· University of California at Los Angeles
· University of Delaware
· University of Georgia
· University of Illinois
· University of Miami
· University of Michigan
· University of Missouri
· University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
· University of Pennsylvania
· University of Pittsburg
· University of Southern California
· University of Texas
· University of Utah
· University of Wisconsin
· Villanova University

But once you choose your school and begin to fill out the MBNA credit card application, you may notice that the terms of service, including interest rates, penalties, and fees do not appear on this page. In fact, if you do not click the small link at the bottom of the page for terms, you will not see these throughout the entire application process.

Javier Polanco offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning credit cards. Get the information you are seeking now by visiting http://www.obtaineasycredit.com.

The quest to repair your credit rating can often be compared to the holy grail… it’s unlikely to happen ! But there are steps you can take to help your credit rating and also do some some self credit repair if your credit score takes a hit due to circumstances.

One of the main reasons for bad credit ratings is missed payments so you need to get organized and make sure your finances are in order. If you know that you are going to miss a payment then contact the company involved and arrange a payment plan.

Even if you are making a smaller payment each month it will help to repair your credit rating if finance providers can see you are making an attempt to contribute to your payments.

Remember if you miss a payment ( example mortgage payment ) then this could effect your credit rating for many years to come, it’s better to be honest and find a solution to your problem and keep your payment provider updated on your situation.

Another common mistake many people can make when thinking of doing self credit repair is to close all their outstanding credit cards and consolidate them with a loan or even another credit card.

You may have many years of good credit history with some of your credit card providers and it may be better to keep these accounts open providing they have offered you a suitable payment solution.

Finally another common mistake when attempting to do self credit repair is to contact many finance providers looking for quotes to consolidate credit. Every time you apply for credit your credit score may be adversely effected so if you are looking to repair your credit rating it is not recommended to make 20-30 credit applications every day as this will create a red flag to your credit score!

Walter Patrick offers a directory of credit repair and finance websites at
Self Credit Repair

http://www.credit-repair-recovery-help.info

“Bad credit card card” is used to refer to credit cards that can be obtained even with a bad credit rating. The bad credit card cards provide opportunity to people (with bad credit rating) to improve their credit rating. In that sense, bad credit credit cards act as rescuer for such people. So, bad credit credit cards also act as necessary a training ground for people who have not been able to control their spending urge in the past.

Bad credit card cards are commonly known as secured credit cards. The bad credit card card (or secured credit cards) requires the individual to open up an account with the credit card supplier and maintain some cash balance in the account. Why is that required? Well, credit cards are a business for the credit card suppliers; so how can they trust someone who has defaulted on his/her payments in the past? After all, a business is about profits and such risks are a threat to profits. The bank or the credit card supplier will generally pay interest on the balance in your account. However, it’s best to check this with the bad credit card card supplier/bank. The credit limit on the bad credit card card is determined by the cash balance in the account and is generally between 50-100% of the cash balance. These bad credit card cards are also referred to as debit cards, owing to the fact that they work less in a credit-giving manner and more in a debit-giving manner.

There are plenty of bad credit card cards available in the market. When searching for the bad credit card card that is best suited to you, you should consider 4 things in particular: the minimum balance that you are required to maintain in the bank account, the credit limit that you will receive (i.e. the percentage of your bank account balance that you are allowed to spend on your bad credit card card), the fees/other-charges applicable to the procurement of bad credit card card and the rate of interest that you will receive on the balance in your bank account. An ideal bad credit card card would have no fee/other-charges associated with it and would require zero or a very small amount as minimum bank balance. It would also have something like 90-100% of bank balance as its credit limit. Moreover, an ideal bad credit card card would also offer a good interest rate on the bank balance.

Bad credit card cards are really a good concept that provides respite to people with bad credit rating by letting them enjoy the benefits of credit cards while they mend their credit rating.

What was started as an online store, has turned into a growing collection of internet resources on subjects ranging from Network Marketing, Investing, Health, Travel and Credit Cards. Visit http://www.mjesales.com for our store or http://www.articlesnatch.com for more articles. For instant access to over 20 free ebooks, visit our free ebook page now! This article may be reproduced only in its entirety.

If you’re a college student and over eighteen years of age, you’ll soon be encountering your first opportunity to sign up for your own credit card. A number of credit companies will be vying for your business from tables set up in prominent places on campus, offering Frisbees, T-shirts, and other incentives to get you to sign up. But it’s something you should think carefully about before you do.

Why do credit card companies do that? College students are notoriously poor most of the time, aren’t they, and since they generally don’t have jobs, aren’t college students considered risky candidates for credit cards? Why would credit companies take a chance on them? And even give them goodies to entice them to sign up?

Interestingly, research has shown that college students actually are good credit risks, and more importantly, students who get a card while in school tend to remain loyal to the first credit card they received. That means long-term repeat business, and profits, for the company that was willing to take a chance on them during their college days.

There are advantages to having a credit card, of course. The first is that prudent use of a card can help build a credit history at an early age, which will help you later on, when you apply for a car loan, future student loans, and even your first home. A good credit history can even give you the edge over other candidates when it comes to getting a job.

A credit card can also offer a certain degree of security in case of emergencies, when you simply don’t have the money to address the situation. Carrying a credit card also reduces the need for carrying cash or checks.

But there’s a downside to credit cards, too. The most obvious is the possibility of getting into debt beyond your ability to repay. You’ll be required to make a minimum payment each month, which usually amounts to 2 percent of your total balance. That may not sound like much, but if you have a $500 balance at 13 percent, it’ll take you 69 months to pay off the balance if you make only the minimum required payment. That’s a long-term commitment, and makes purchases VERY expensive by the time they’re finally paid off.

As a student, out on your own for the first time, the promise of a charge card can be very tempting. It will be easy to obtain, but a charge card can be difficult to manage if not used wisely. Once you have a charge card, you’ll be tempted to use it for things other than emergencies, which can snowball out of control, with devastating results.

So before you sign up at the credit card table in the Memorial Union, ask yourself if you really need one, and how you’ll pay every month. Also make sure the card has a low interest rate, no annual fees, and a reasonable grace period before you’ll be charged late fees. Then, if you DO decide to sign up, use the card responsibly. Credit can move you in a positive direction toward your long-term financial health as the years go by.

Copyright © Jeanette J. Fisher

Jeanette Fisher teaches how to get out from under credit card debt, how to use credit to make money, and six ways to build strong credit to finance your first home and multiple investment properties. For free credit advice and free ebook “Credit Tips for Mortgage Financing,” see http://worryfreecredit.com

So you ordered a copy of your credit report to check for inaccuracies and get the most from your credit score. Now how do you read it? Your credit report is read and used by any number of people you deal with on a daily basis, from your landlord to your employer to a potential lender. Fortunately, it has gotten easier to order a copy of your report, but it’s not so easy to understand what all those abbreviations and numbers mean once you’ve got it.

If you haven’t ordered your credit report yet, you will soon be entitled to a free copy from each of the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Some states can already take advantage of this new policy, but people living in eastern states will have to wait until September of 2005. Order your free yearly copies from all three agencies and check for the availability of the annual reporting program in your area at the same website: www.annualcreditreport.com <http://www.annualcreditreport.com/> . Each report will contain different information because retailers and creditors only report to the agency in their area or with whom they have an agreement.

Once you have your credit report in your hands, you will see that it is divided into four main sections:

• Consumer information

• Account histories

• Public records

• Inquiries

Double check the accuracy of your identifying information. This will include your name, address, phone number, previous addresses, date of birth, and Social Security number (SSN).

Next, for each account history, or trade line, you will see the following information:

• Date you opened the account

• Type of credit account (either installment, such as a car loan or mortgage, or revolving, such as a credit card)

• Name(s) on the account

• Total loan amount, credit limit, or highest card balance

• Amount you currently owe

• Amount of your monthly payment

• Account status (either open, closed, inactive, paid, or other)

• How promptly you have paid on the account

Credit agencies vary as to how they word various sections of the report and should provide you with a guide to reading their versions. One agency might report in the last column of an account history that you paid “on time” or “30 days late.” Another agency might use a numeric code to rate how well you paid off a debt. R1 is the code used for an excellent repayment history on a revolving charge account. I1 is the code used for an excellent repayment history on an installment account. Obviously, the higher the number next to either the R or I, the lower your repayment history is rated. So an R4 would indicate a history of late payments.

The public records section will include any tax liens, bankruptcies, judgments, or other financial-related legal matters. Depending on the type of action taken, these damaging records may stay on your credit report for up to 7 to 10 years.

The last section lists the inquiries made on your credit. Hard inquiries are those requests to pull your credit when you apply for such things as loans or lines of credit for services. Soft inquiries result when companies sending out promotional items to pre-qualified individuals check your history or when your current creditors check your payment status. The soft inquiries only show up on the report that you order, not on reports pulled by lenders.

While too many inquiries in a short period of time can signal a red flag to a lender, most credit scoring models are least affected by this portion of your report.

Check your report for any errors and report them immediately in writing. If you need more information about how to reach the three main credit bureaus, please go to www.apscreen.com.

Don’t forget that the credit agency providing your report is also a great source of information on not only reading your credit report, but raising your credit score.

Cathy Taylor is a marketing consultant with over 25 years experience. She specializes in internet marketing, strategy and plan development, as well as management of communications and public relations programs for small business sectors. She can be reached at Creative Communications: creative-com@cox.net or by visiting http://www.apscreen.com

The first rule when applying for banking and credit services is to always read the fine print and to understand all of it. Read up, take it home, and analyze it, ask the banking manager questions. The fine print is there for a reason. The charges and requirements contained in there, will affect the savings or added expenses you incur, whenever you bank or use credit.

Checking Account
You can generate savings of more than $100.00 a year, when you select a checking account with a low or no minimum required balance. Request a list of the fees that are applicable to your account and compare with other checking account offers. Read the fine print. See if you qualify for the conditions and stipulations, the bank requires.

Savings account
Prior to opening a savings or investment account with the bank of your choice, ask the bank and check to see that the account is insured by the federal government (FDIC or NCUA). Otherwise, you will assume 100% of the risk; you may end up risking more rather than saving.

Certificates of deposit or treasury bills or notes. These certificates and notes are accurately called forced savings. They earn above average but only after, they’ve reached a maturity period. If you withdraw before the due date, you‘ll incur penalties. This is a competent way to generate savings from funds you have no immediate need for.

Once you’ve selected the type of savings or investment products, compare the rates and fees offered by different institutions. These rates can vary a lot and, over time, can significantly affect interest earnings.

Credit Cards
You’ll generate more savings by researching on credit cards. Or you can call a research credit firm that will for a modest fee; send you a list of low-rate credit cards. Use the list to compare the features of each of these credit card companies, according to their interest rates and billing cycles. Is it a 28 day billing cycle, or a monthly one? What are the freebies? Such as Cash back or airline miles offers. Will you use these? You could be paying for these in the form of higher interest rates.

If you have a credit card, practice the habit of paying off your entire bill at months’ end. You generate savings by not paying late payment or over-the-credit-limit fees, which will add up to bigger charges.

If you have a lot of credit cards, consider using only one or two credit cards.

In the long run, your research on banking and credit services, will pay you back well in terms of consistent savings.

Timothy Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Debt-Relief-Solutions.com. He provides more debt relief, consolidation and financial planning advice that you can research in your pajamas on his website.

A credit score is an indicator of how likely you are to default on a loan or credit card in the next 24 months. This information is used by credit grantors when evaluating your credit for approval. Your BEACON®, FICO® or EMPIRICA® score is based solely on information in your credit file maintained by the credit reporting agencies. Other scores may be based on a combination of credit information and other information that you supply on your credit application.

The way you have handled credit in the past may indicate how you will manage credit in the future. Credit scores cannot predict with certainty how you will manage credit, but they do provide an objective estimate of how likely you are to repay on time and according to terms.

How Are Scores Calculated?

Your credit report is the basis of your FICO® score. The report details your credit history as it has been reported to the credit reporting agency by lenders who have extended credit to you, by court records and by you. The FICO score analyzes information from the trade line, inquiry, public record and collection sections of your credit report.

A FICO score evaluates five main categories of information in your credit report, and compares this information to the patterns in hundreds of thousands of past credit reports. These five categories are, in order of importance:

1. Payment history — what is your track record? 35 % of the score

Risk predictors here look at:

· Severity – how bad are the delinquencies?

· Recency – how recent are they?

· Frequency – how many times did it occur?

2. Amounts owed — how much is too much? 30% of the score

Risk predictors here look at:

· Large outstanding balances

· The ratio of balances to credit limits

3. Length of credit history — how established is yours? 15% of the score

Risk predictors here look at:

· Age of the trade lines - (the age of the oldest account, the average age of accounts, or both).

4. New credit — are you taking on more debt? 10% of the score

Risk predictors here look at:

· Number of inquiries and new account openings

5. Types of credit in use — is it a healthy mix? 10% of the score

Risk predictors here look at:

· Number of trade lines reported for each type: bankcards, retail, department store cards, installment loans, etc.

Doug Parker is the CEO of http://www.RepairMyCreditNow.com (RMCN Credit Services, Inc.). For more information on http://www.RepairMyCreditNow.com or to learn more about Credit Education & Restoration, log on to http://www.RepairMyCreditNow.com or call (888) 4-MY-REPAIR to speak with a customer representative.

Credit Report – how often has it impacted your life? Probably more often than you really like. If you have ever applied for a new home loan, car loan, or a credit card, your credit report has been pulled by the lender for review. Depending on your credit report and the credit score the information in your credit report will play a major role to get credit at all and what your interest rate will be. The higher and better your credit score is, the easier it is to get credit at affordable rates.

Your credit report affects many areas of your life and it is important that you know what is contained within it. As an example - it is not unusual nowadays for a potential employer or landlord to look at your credit report and to base a hiring decision or lease on the results.

Review your credit report frequently. By law you are entitled to one free report per year from each of the 3 major credit bureaus. You can request a copy of your credit report through one or all of the major credit bureaus: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. Spend the time to review your report and to correct any errors.

What is your credit report? Your credit report is pretty much a summary of your bill and credit payment. It shows credit applications, granted loans, denied credit applications and how much credit (dollar amount) you have available (available credit limits). It also shows your monthly debt payments like mortgage or car loan payments that you make (or fail to make). The credit report also contains your personal information such as your home address and previous address, eventually the employment history, and your Social Security number. Credit accounts such as store credit cards, mortgages, car loans, regular credit cards and bank line of credits are listed. And of course any failure to meet payments or information on defaulted loans will be listed on your credit report (including tax liens and bankruptcy). In most cases, negative credit information will be listed in your credit report for seven years. A bankruptcy situation will be listed on your credit report for ten years.

About the Author

Christoph Puetz is a successful entrepreneur and international book author. His small business related website is Small Business Land. One of the other websites he maintains can be found at Credit Repair Info.