Why Pay For a Credit Report When You Can it Free

The annual credit report program has been actually formulated to help the consumers to stay updated, get fair treatment and fight against the identity theft. In fact, now one can call up the prominent credit agencies and ask for a free credit report. However, in order to get a free report you would need to provide your name, social security number, address and your date of birth to the bureaus.

Why To Pay For Credit Report when You Can Get Your FICO Score Free

As per the law one can get credit report for free but he needs to make payment for the credit score. Until and unless the FTC decides to provide you free FICO score you must try to find out other means which can help you to get your Fico score for free. It is actually a good idea to keep a tab on the credit score periodically in order to avoid and fraudulent activities. In order to get a free credit report you need to visit the AnnualCreditReport.com a website which is jointly operated by the 3 prominent U.S credit reporting agencies. Apart from this option there are other ways which would help you to get a free report. Check them out:

As per the law you can get a free report if:

* You are getting certain public welfare assistance.
* You think there are certain inaccuracies complimenting your report due to identity theft or fraud.
* Since you are unemployed you would definitely try to get a job in the next 60 days.

Tax Liens and Credit Reports

A tax lien showing up on your credit or against your property can be one of the most devastating credit problems you can have. The IRS does not tend to be very flexible and they will take aggressive action to make sure that they are paid in full.

A tax lien showing on your credit will create havoc for you when you try to get new credit. You will definitely not be able to get a home mortgage and it will be difficult to get credit for car loans, student loans and even credit cards. Another problem is that even after you pay the tax lien off it can show on your credit report for as long as 7 years. If you don't pay it off it can show up for 15 years or longer.

In most cases you are better off trying to pay off the tax lien rather than fight it. Sometimes you can negotiate with the IRS and settle for a lesser amount but you can rarely get away with not paying them at all. The IRS will always find you and they will be after you until you pay them off or your die in which case they will still try to get their money from your estate. That is just the way it is. We've all heard about "death and taxes".

But after you do pay off the lien, whether by paying in full or negotiating, you need to do what you can to get the negative listing removed from your credit report. If you don't it can have a negative effect for up to 7 years and longer.

In order to get a tax lien removed from you credit report you must submit a dispute to the credit reporting agencies. Make sure you submit a duplicate dispute to all of the big three, TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. You have the right to dispute any unfair or misleading credit because of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Learn about your rights and enforce them so that you can have peace in your financial future.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, any consumer has the right to dispute any items that are listed on the report. False and inaccurate information is often reported on credit and if you have already paid a tax lien you can ask to have the negative listing removed from your credit. You need to do this so that you can start with a clean score and move on.

The credit reporting agencies are private, non-government enterprises that are in the business to make profits. Their profits come from compiling and selling your information and they do not have a priority to make sure that the information is correct. It is your responsibility to make sure that your credit report is accurate and your information is portrayed as positively as possible.

You can make an effort to repair your credit and get negative items removed either by hiring a professional credit repair company or by doing it yourself. Either way you are responsible for making sure that your credit report and credit scores are shown in the best possible light so it is smart to take steps to repair any discrepancies on your report including tax liens.

Errors on My Credit Report?

The sad news almost every person in the United States has some type of error on their credit report. This is a true fact! Therefore, more than likely there is some type of error on your credit report. Remember, credit bureaus are run by humans and every person can make mistakes that could be nothing more than a typo, but can work against you and give you a bad FICO score. There are many different errors that may be found on your credit report such as a person with your same first and last name but with a different social security number. This can be very detrimental to your overall credit score.

You may not realize this but besides errors there can be things on your credit report that are detrimental that are not errors but blatant bad reports that were placed there intentionally by debtors. Today, all across America, many apartment complexes do a number on individuals moving from their complex. It does not matter if you pay your rent on time each and every month, give a 30-day notice, and clean the apartment. Landlords can and will keep your deposit and add things that you need to pay for such as another months rent since they could not rent out your apartment due to the residences needing painting or other damages being fixed. In almost every case, the manager of the complex will find some reason to keep your deposit and ensure that you still owe more money. They may not let you know this at all, but will report the information to the credit bureau. This can become a major headache if you wish to rent another apartment. You will not learn that this has been done, unless you check your credit report or try to apply to another rental agency.

If there are errors or discrepancies on your credit report you may find it hard to find employment, rent a home or apartment, or even receive a home loan. This is the main reason, that it is so important to receive a copy of your credit every year.
If you do find errors, you will need to contact the credit bureau that is in charge of the false information. You will need to show proof that the information is false. In the letter you send to the credit bureau, be sure to include your full name, address, and the details of the error or discrepancies you have found on your credit report.

The agency will look into the error and supply with you the information you need to correct to the errors. If the error is false, such as a typo, it will be corrected without any effort on your part.

Remove Bad Credit and Clean Up Credit Report Ratings

If you want to know some initial steps on clearing up bad credit then you'll want to read this article. Discussion will be made as to your first initial steps to clean up credit report inaccuracies. Then some discussion on how credit scores are determined and how to communicate with the credit bureaus.

After reading this article you will have an idea of the steps you need to take to identify bad spots on your credit, how to understand the credit numbers in your account and how to communicate with a good chance of clearing your record of bad marks.

So the very first step is to take an analysis of where you're at financially. Everyone is entitled to one free report from each of the 3 credit reporting agencies. Sending a request to Experian, TransUnion and Equifax is the order of the day.

When you get the reports back you are looking for discrepancies in anything that is identified. Whether a late payment was reversed or never was needs to be noted. These reports are the crux of the FICO score and anything derogatory in them will certainly affect your score.
Understanding how FICO derives your credit score is something that you will need to do your due diligence in so that you understand how even late payments come into play and affect that score. FICO scores range from 300 to 850. In actuality anything over 700 is considered an excellent score and only a few percentage of the people actually have 850.

Getting back to the reports that you received and noting discrepancies. You will need to contact the bureaus immediately and correct the problem. Do not email but send a letter. This makes a better impact knowing that you have taken the time to manually write a letter to correct a wrong here. That will go a long ways in getting a better response than by email.

As always any type of communication that you have with the credit bureaus make copies. It always seems to happen that the more important documents get misplaced, lost, mismanaged or whatever else the case may be. If you have copies of every correspondence that you send concerning your financial plight the better off you will be.

So in understanding the importance of that credit score is directly associated with your credit report you need to know what they are thinking of you. Get those reports and make sure that they are accurate, if not then start writing those letters to get your FICO score higher.

5 Things to Get Off Your Credit Report Quickly

There are five different things that you should always avoid getting on your credit report, as they can be incredibly damaging and hard to get rid of when you want to repair credit fast.

Foreclosures
If you are unable to make payments on your home, then the bank will more than likely move into the foreclosure process, and attempt to sell your home to someone in the hopes of reclaiming their money. Once this happens, there is nothing you can do, and even if you manage to cut a deal and keep your home, the negative effects of not paying on time can harm your credit score as well. These detrimental processes take seven years to be removed from your credit report, and make it almost impossible to repair credit fast.

Bankruptcies
This is perhaps the single worst thing you could do to your credit. Bankruptcies stay on your credit for ten years, and can likely keep you from getting credit extended to you for any reason. This does seem like a grand idea when you are faced with debt that you can't pay, but it should be stressed that if you want to repair credit fast, then you should avoid bankruptcies at all costs.

Charge Offs
Charge offs occur when you fail to make payments on a debt for 3-6 months in a row. The creditors will then write your debt as a charge off, and can submit or sell it to a collection agency. A charge off will stay on your credit for seven years, even if you pay the debt through a collection agency at a later date. So, charge offs should be avoided if possible.

Tax Liens
There are several kinds of tax liens that can be detrimental to your credit report. When you owe the government state or federal taxes that you do not pay, then they can place a tax lien against you, which will not allow you to get financed for anything until the debt is paid. If you wanted to repair credit fast with a tax lien, the odds are against you.

Judgments of Any Kind
When you fail to make payments and collection agencies have no luck collecting a debt from you, they can take you to court and get a judgment for that debt against you. Judgments are horrible for your credit score because they show that not only did you not pay, but you had to be taken to court as a drastic method for a company to get what you owe them. Judgments also stay on your credit for seven years, which gives them plenty of time to be seen.

The five things above are items that you never want to see on your credit report. While late payments are enough to lower your score significantly, these items could make it almost impossible for you to repair credit fast.

Credit Score Vs Credit Report

When getting a loan, whether for a house, car or big purchase item, a financial institution will look at your credit score to see what kind of risk they will incur by loaning you this money.
A credit score comes from a credit report. A credit report details your credit availability and your habits: Do you pay your bills on time; What are your monthly payments; How many credit cards do you have; What is the line of credit on those cards; What is the balance; Do you have a mortgage; Have you filed for bankruptcy?

A lender will look at this report and decide whether the loan is a good or bad risk.
When you apply or buy something with your credit card, pay a bill (or don't pay a bill), take out a mortgage or finance your car with the dealership, the information gets report to one or all three of the reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. The agencies collect this data then sell the report to businesses and lenders to they can evaluate your application.

The three agencies use proprietary formulas to calculate the information on the report. As not all creditors (card companies, banks, landlord, department stores, etc.) report to all three agencies and each calculates the information differently so your score will differ from each agency.
There are different formulas for getting a credit score from the credit reports depending on what kind of credit or loan you are applying for. The most famous is the FICO score which is used for mortgages, car loans, and credit cards. The formula was developed by Fair Isaac and Company (Fair Isaac and Company - FICO) and is used to show the possible loan default risk.

A lender will pull your report from all three of the reporting agencies or just one and use the FICO software to create your score. The FICO score assigns a number from 850 (great) all the way down to 300 (horrid). The average consumer in American has a score of around 620. As mentioned above, not all creditors (credit card companies, banks, landlord, department stores, etc.) report to each of the three agencies and since each agency uses a different method to calculate your credit information your score will differ from each agency, sometimes as much as 50 - 100 points. A score might look something like this: 650, 620, 642, with the lender taking the middle score as the average, so that this person has a score of 642.

The following factors go into calculating your score:

1. Your bill paying history. Do you pay your bills on time?
2. Your loans and credit card debt.
3. How long have you had credit?
4. How many lines of credit do you have?
5. Have you opened up new lines of credit or have there been multiple inquires.

Could there be errors on your personal credit report?

The sad messages nearly each person in the United States have a kind disturbance on their credit information. This is an applicable fact! Therefore more there is than probably a kind disturbance on your credit information. Do not remind, credit bureaus to run oneself calmly from humans and each person can errors make, the anything be could more than a Typo, but can against you work and you a bad FICO notch give.

There are many different disturbances, those on your credit information like a person with your same first and surname to be found can however with another social security number. This can be very harmful to your total credit note notch. They cannot realise this, but except disturbances there can be things on your credit information, which are harmful that disturbances are not however glaring bad of report, which were set there intentionally by the debtors. Today all do many apartment complexes a number on the individuals, who move from their complex over America. It does not constitute, if you pay in time each month to your rent, give 30 a daily message and clean the dwelling.

Landlords can and your deposit will hold and will add will rent things, which must pay you for like another months, since they could not rent your dwelling out because of the domiciles, which the painting or other damage are locally fixed need. In nearly each case the manager of the complex finds something reason to hold and guarantee your deposit that you still more funds owe. They cannot inform but become you possibly this at all, the information the credit bureau to report. This can become main headache, if you liked to rent another dwelling.

Them experienced not that this was done, it are you your credit information or attempt examine, in order to apply to another renting agency. If there are disturbances or discrepancies on your credit information, which hard you can find her, to find occupation rents you a house or a dwelling, or you even receive a housing loan. This is the principal reason, to receive which, which it is so important, a copy of your credit note each year. If you find disturbances, you must associate with the credit bureau, which is responsible for the wrong information.

They must show proof that the information is wrong. In the letter you send your complete name safe to the credit bureau, are, to include address and the details of the disturbance or the discrepancies which found you on your credit information. The agency examines the disturbance and the supply material with you the information, which must repair you to the disturbances. If the disturbance, how a Typo is wrong, it repaired without any effort on your subject.

How can I get my free personal credit report?

Getting your credit report is very easy. One thing you should know is that you are entitled to get a free copy of your once a year from the three bureaus, Experian, Transunion and Equifax.
It is advisable for you to get your report from each of the three bureaus. I will show you the easy ways you can get them but first, I will explain to you in the next two paragraphs why you need to get your report from the three of them.

The first reason is that not all creditors send information to the three bureaus. Some creditors report to only one of the bureaus, some creditors choose to report to any two of them, while some creditors may prefer to furnish the three bureaus with account of your financial habit.
A second reason is that the three agencies, Experian, Transunion and Equifax each use different methods to calculate your scores. The differences in the methods they use will definitely reflect in the score each of them arrives at.

There are three different ways to get your copies.

One method is on the internet. You can visit the website annualcreditreport dot com and follow the instructions on the page to download a free copy from Experian, Equifax and Transunion. You will be required to enter information which will verify your true identity before you will be given access. The reason for this is to prevent unauthorized people from getting your file information without your permission.

A second method you can use is by telephone. Call this toll free number to get yours for free by telephone - (877) 322-8228.

A third option you can also use in obtaining your credit report is by mail. Write a simple letter requesting your files and send it to the following address:

Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281 Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

Remember that as a consumer, you are entitled to get a free copy from Equifax, Transunion and Experian once a year from each of the credit bureaus. This is because the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act which was signed into law in December 2003 gives you the right to do so.

Clean up your Personal Credit Report to get Cheaper Loans

With the state of the economy, many people are lead to believe that there is no way they can get cheap loans, especially if they have a bad credit score. If you have a terrible FICO score then you are generally not going to be able to find a bank or lender that is going to cut you a break on the interest rate. This means the more your monthly payments are going to be and the higher the amount you are ultimately paying for something.

The good news is even with an economy in a little trouble, you can still secure loans with low interest rates if you have a good FICO credit score to back you up. If you already have bad credit -- simply because of young age, lack of knowledge, or a circumstance completely out of your control -- there is a way to fix it all. And one of the easiest ways to do this is to clean up your credit report.

There are ways that you can use to clean up your credit report. You may not be able to make it completely perfect right away but you can surely improve it enough that you will be able to get a car loan or a mortgage with the lowest possible rate. Here are the steps:

1. The first thing you will want to do is pull your credit report. Everyone is entitled to a free report from each one of the credit reporting agencies each and every year. Look for any and all discrepancies that could be affecting your current score. Fraud, unfair reporting, and simple mistakes happen all of the time and they can be fixed. Having such problems fixed could greatly increase your overall credit score.

2. You will want to look at the debt you do rightfully have. Sometimes having too many open credit cards will affect your credit score even if they are not all maxed out. If you have more then two credit cards open you need to figure out which ones would be the most valuable to you in the event of an emergency and work on closing out the others. Once you have closed the unwanted accounts your credit report will start to shape up.

3. Have you exceeded your limit on some credit cards? If so it may be worth looking into tapping into your savings or taking up a second or part time job in order to get yourself out of debt.

4. Make sure that your bills are your priority. You have to make sure that all of your bills are paid and paid on time. By making sure that you are giving your creditors something positive to report to credit reporting agencies you are on the right track to bringing your credit report back to good standing and secure cheap loan deals.

Judgement Record on your Personal Credit Report

Your credit score is probably something you never pay much attention to throughout life. However, once you rating begins to drop, this can have an adverse effect on your ability to borrow money. This is usually when you start to take notice.

So why might you find a Judgment On your Credit Report?

A county court judgment usually occurs when you owe money to one of your creditors and they sue you for failure to keep up with the monthly repayments. The first mistake that many of us make, is that you are aware that you are falling behind with payments, but fail to do anything about it. As your debt rises from additional monthly and late payment charges, things get more difficult. Then the collections telephone calls start. Eventually, you turn a blind eye and find yourself deeper in debt and unable to meet your level of repayments.

I'm not sure why. Is it fear, embarrassment or pride? However, we all have a tendency to try and sweep problems under the carpet. This, unfortunately, is when further complications occur. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you are unable to cope with the tide of mounting debts, i urge you, the first thing to do is swallow your pride or overcome your fear/embarrassment and approach your lender.

What does a Judgment on your Credit Report mean to you?

Once you have a judgment on your credit report, this will stay there for up to 7 years. Even if you clear the debt, this will still appear of your credit report as a satisfied judgment. This, of course, will sound as a warning to any potential lenders. You may well be considered a "high risk" for many years to come.

What Should I do next?

The first thing to do is ensure that the details held on your credit file are up to date and free from errors. You can order a free credit report once a year from the three credit report agencies. This is an opportunity for you to see how creditors view you. If you come across any errors or wish to dispute anything, you should immediately contact the credit reference agency. You will also find there are many ways in which to remove things such as judgments, late-pays and defaults.

Reading your Personal Credit Report (part 2)

Now you also want to make sure that your credit limit is being reported correctly. If you have a limit on your credit card of $15,000 but it shows that your limit is only $10,000 then this difference will hurt your credit score. Even a limit of $2000 but showing $1000 will hurt your credit score. So make sure that your limit is correct and again, dispute the limit if it is not correct.

You have verified the date and limit on the account, so now it is time to review your balance. Your credit score is based on Age of the Account and the next part is the Debt to Credit ratio. The ratio is based on what your credit limit is compared to the balance you are carrying on your account. To get the best assistance to your credit score keeping the ratio less than 30% is best. So if you have a limit of $1000, you should not carry a balance of more than $300 to keep your account helping your credit score. If you can do each account independently then that is best, but you could just add all of the accounts together and then add together all of the limits on the accounts will tell you what your "total" ratio will be. That is why the credit limit and balance on the accounts are so critical to make sure that they are accurate.

Finally, you should review any late payments that were made. If you made some payments late and know that you did, then you can verify if the late payments are accurate. If you made payments on line, then you can verify the dates as well. But if you made payments by check and mailed them in, you will have a difficult time determining exactly what date the creditor received your payment. Checking your statement to see when the check cleared the bank will be the only confirmed date that you can back up. By making payments online, you will get confirmation numbers and dates of when payments were received. It is better for you to setup online banking whenever possible to help you keep up on your payments.

So reading your credit report is basically very easy. Check your personal information, then review the account details and finally check your payment history. Once you have those things accurate you can be sure that your credit report is as accurate as it can be. The more accurate the report the better for you. Reports with lots of discrepancies can be a problem, not only for you, but also for any lenders considering giving you a new credit account.

Accuracy is critical for all consumers concerning their credit report. 79% of everyone who has a credit report has some inaccuracies on their report. Taking the time to dispute and correct your report will make your credit report better for everyone. Take the time once a year to review your report and dispute anything that is not accurate.

Reading your Personal Credit Report part 1

When you look at your credit report for the first time, it may seem like your reading something in a foreign language. But the truth is your reading detail and numbers that may hold the key to your future. It is important that you take the time to read your report carefully and clearly. This will help you understand how the information it contains is affecting your credit score.

Start with the basics on your report. Verify that all of the information contained under your personal information. Although it won't really affect your credit score, it is important that the information is accurate. If you see information that is not yours, then you will want to dispute that information. False information can lead to someone using the information to gain access to your personal information. Then you will become a victim of Identity Theft.

After you have reviewed the personal information and marked which items need to be disputed, then you can start by looking at each listing on your credit report. Each listing will have several parts of information being reported. The first part being reported is the details on the account. The date that the account was opened, dollar amount of the account (or High Limit), monthly balance on the account, who the account is with and then finally any payments made to the account that were on time or late. The next part of the information being reported is the payment history. This information may be listed from 24 to 48 months. It will show during that time what, if any, payments were made late. Any information on your credit report that appears negatively such as a late payment can lead to negative reporting and a bad credit score. Bad credit will hurt you as many things today are being based on your credit score.

On the first part of the information, it is important that you verify the date that the account was opened. The account starting date can help your credit score by being older. If the account was off by 1 year it could affect your credit score by quite a bit. So you want to keep track of when you start accounts. Make sure that the credit bureaus report them correctly. Dispute any dates that are incorrect and make sure that they get updated to the right dates.

Improving your Personal Credit Score

Have you been through a rough patch? Has your personal credit report suffered and your personal credit score fallen to sub-prime levels? If that is the case, you do not have to wait seven years to start seeing improvements in your credit report. In fact there can be many things you can do right now that will help increase your credit score over time and make you a much more attractive borrower in the eyes of the lender.

Taking a few simple steps may be the difference between you having improved personal credit score within a couple of months vs having to wait several years for your credit score to be improved.

If you are down on your luck and need some way to improve your score here are a few tips that will help you improve your personal credit score.

Secured Credit Cards: Obtaining couple of secured credit cards can impact your personal credit score by as much as 150 points. Most people with bad credit will have to go the secured credit card route because banks will be reluctant to lend to you. At least two open credit accounts will have a positive impact in your personal credit report.

You should probably get a secured credit card with the minimum balance required by the bank. And do not let the balance on the card to to zero. Keep a revolving balance on your credit card at all times.

Credits to Avoid: You should probably avoid store credit cards, furniture cards, and all of those type of credit. All credit is not created equally and generally store, furniture cards etc are associated with poor consumer credit. If you must use these cards go ahead and use them but you should always strive to pay off your store credit card.

Collection Accounts: If you have accounts that were sent to collection agencies then you should doubly verify your personal credit report. Collection companies routinely pass accounts back and forth and same debt maybe reported there multiple times. You should contact the creditor and ask them to remove such debts when they are passed along to different collection agency. This method will not delete legitimate debt, however this will remove duplicates, which will have a positive impact in your personal credit report and ultimately your personal credit score.

How to Get a Mortgage with Bad Personal Credit

The first thing to consider before trying to apply for a mortgage if you have bad credit is look at your options. So what can you do if you have bad credit? First, know that if you have bad credit and you want to apply for a mortgage, it’s important to do whatever you can to repair your credit before you apply.

A second important point is that it can take six months to a year to rebuild bad credit enough that it will positively affect your ability to get a mortgage. So it’s also vital that you’re willing to be patient, and take the time to repair your credit before applying. Repairing bad credit has two main steps: first, check your credit report for errors, and second, repairing any damage done. To check your credit score for errors, simply obtain a copy of your report from one of the three main credit-reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Examine the report thoroughly, and check for errors or out-of-date information.

To fix the error, call the creditor involved and explain why you think the item should be removed from your report. Make sure the creditor agrees to send you a letter verifying that the item was removed, to provide proof for the credit bureau. Next, it’s time to start repairing your credit score. The most effective way to do this is simply to pay your bills on time, and keep your debt total low, while maintaining a small amount of available credit. Lenders like to see a fairly small amount of available credit, with a wide gap between the amount of credit you have, and the amount you actually use.

Even if you’ve taken steps to repair your bad credit, it might not be good enough for lenders to consider you an excellent risk. If your credit is still below 700, you may find you have to do some serious shopping around to find a lender willing to accept your application. If you’re able to make a larger down-payment, this can help off-set the negative effects of a lower credit score.

Lower than 620, you’ll probably be limited to what are known as sub-prime lenders. These offer loans to people with bad credit and other issues, but the loans typically have higher interest rates. The problem here is that if your credit is bad due to tight finances, you’re less likely to be able to afford the higher repayments that come with the higher interest rate. If you’re in a situation where a sub-prime mortgage is your only option, it’s very wise to stop and think about whether it might be a better option to wait until your credit is higher.

Selecting the best consumer credit card

Are all credit cards created in an equal manner? The answer to this question is a resounding NO! Credit cards also vary quite dramatically by their terms and conditions and they can both cost you money or save you money, depending on which one you choose to have. The world of financial institutions is extremely competitive at marketing credit cards and you will discover that the terms and conditions can be quite different from one company to another. Be smart and take a close look at the small print.

Of course, we are all looking for the most amount of credit for the least cost in the long run. A credit card with a low annual percentage rate (or APR as it is also known) is always favorable. This is the amount of interest applied to your account for the privilege of renting the credit card company's money over a certain period of time.

Making at least the minimum payment every month on the required date means you will not see an increase in APR which is sometimes what happens if your payment is late. A delayed or missing payment could well boost your APR to between 18 and 22% where it will remain for a considerable amount of time.

Working on the theory that you are a good credit risk and you settle your monthly payments in a timely manner, you should look for a card which offers you that extra little something such as reward points which you can exchange for goods, meals in restaurants, tickets for movies and weekend breaks in hotels.

With a card like this you earn redeemable points as you make your day to day purchases which result in the overall deal being even better still. If you use your credit card regularly and pay in full each month, it will not take long before you have two free tickets to jet off almost anywhere in the world for a holiday.

Consumer Credit Card Debt - How it affects You

Credit cards are a fantastic way of paying for goods and services on credit and then settling the bill in full when you get paid - but unfortunately very few of the millions of credit card owners in the UK actually manage to do this. This then leads to the outstanding balance on credit cards building up, and as more purchases are made this escalates even further.

Today the total balance of consumer credit card debt stands at well over a billion pounds in the UK, a staggering figure which does not even include debt from personal loans and other credit sources. Anyone who has a credit card with a large outstanding balance which they are not paying off in full each month is affected by consumer debt. It can be a very worrying time when you are affected by the debt , and as a result many people find that they can only afford the minimum repayment each month. By only paying the minimum on a credit card each month the amount of time it will take to pay off a card is prolonged. This then costs the owner of the card an amazing amount of money in the long term which can add even more stress to them. If you are in a position where you are concerned about consumer credit card debt affecting you, it is essential that you get advice from professionals.

Doing this will help you to find out more about your options with regards to paying off your debts and gaining control of your finances once again. No one likes to feel as though they are in an impossible situation with their credit card debt - but there are strategies, solutions and agencies that can help anyone to cope in times of financial stress.

Free Personal Credit Report Online - Check your credit report online

Many consumers understand the value of regularly monitoring their personal credit reports. Identity theft affects millions annually. Furthermore, credit report errors can result in credit card or loan denials. Sadly, many people do not take the necessary precautions to safeguard their credit. There are many ways to protect our credit. To begin, you should make a habit of checking your report every six months.

The Purpose of Personal Credit Reports
A consumer's credit worthiness is judged by information included in their credit report. When applying for any type of credit, lenders will review your credit score or full report. Credit scores are often reviewed by retailers and lenders that offer instant credit. However, if you are hoping to obtain a major credit card, auto loan, or mortgage, the lender will request a detail copy of your report.

Credit reports include information such as number of credit accounts, balances, past due accounts, judgments, collection accounts, etc. Based on the information, a lender will determine whether you qualify for a loan. Individuals with several negative remarks, or credit report errors, have a lower chance of getting approved.

Why Check Your Personal Credit Report Online?

Checking your free personal credit report online is the first step to protecting your credit rating. It does not take long for someone to steal your identity. Within a few weeks, a crook may have attained several credit accounts in your name; and these accounts will appear on your credit report.

Moreover, creditors make mistakes. For example, a creditor may have failed to report a past due balance that was paid in full. By checking your credit report every six months, you will be able to detect suspicious activity and resolve inaccuracies. For double credit protection, subscribe to a credit monitoring service. For a low monthly fee, these services notify consumers whenever new credit accounts are opened in their name.

Conveniently Reviewing Your Online Personal Credit Report

Checking your credit report online is free and convenient. Various websites offer free credit reports. Simply verify information such as your name, address, social security number, and within minutes you are able to gain access to your report. Reports are easy to read and viewable for a month.

Making the best of your annual free credit report

Before you can use your credit report you need to get your report. Reports are available on request. Free credit reports requested by phone or mail will be processed within 15 days of receiving your request. Such reports were mandated by a federal law enacted in 2003. The program has all now been implemented.

AnnualCreditReport.com is reportedly the only official site where you can get a genuinely free copy of your credit report from all three reporting agencies. And if you/'d rather order your free credit report by phone or by mail, you can do that too . AnnualCreditReport.com processes requests for free credit file disclosures (commonly called credit reports). I have been told that under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) consumers can request and obtain a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies.

Now once you have joined up for your credit report such as at AnnualCreditReport.com, there is an extra peril. This is that when you receive phishing spam pretending to be your report provider asking for personal information, you may think it is from your real provider asking for your details again from you for a Review or a verification. The thing to remember here is that all the nationwide consumer reporting companies have pledged that they will not send you an email asking for your personal information.

If you get an email, see a pop-up ad, or get a phone call from someone claiming to be from your credit report provider - don/'t trust them! Do not reply but delete the email, do not click on any link in the message.

Companies or individuals promising quick fixes are almost always fraudulent. The important thing to remember is that no one can have accurate information removed from the credit file. Companies still do get away with reading your report. Haven/'t you ever received a pre-approved credit card?

Identity theft is also on the rise, now being the number one consumer complaint reported to the Federal Trade Commission. One of the first places identity theft shows up is often on your credit report. Identity theft may show up as suspicious credit inquiries, changes of address, accounts in default, or new fraudulent accounts in your name.

Monitoring your credit report is your first line of defense in protecting your identity. I like to use the Stop Junk Mail service because I can stop all the credit card offers and other junk mail. Monitor your credit report to catch ID fraud early.

Information here should not be construed as advice and it is offered without legal responsibility or liability. It must be emphasised that you should consult a professionally qualified individual or company (such as an accountant, financial adviser or solicitor for example) should you need advice on your financial situation, as they will be able to relate their advice to your personal needs accordingly.

Credit Counceling Service - How to know if it's genuine

Due to the ever increasing demand for help from people grappling with debts, many credit-counseling services are springing up daily. This is a problem for anyone looking for a reputable agency to help him or her out of debts. This article is written to help you know the genuine ones out there and how to know and avoid the fraudulent ones.

One of the ways by which predatory credit counseling services deceive unsuspecting costumers out there is to pose as a not for profit organization. They may not take any money at first but will do after completing the job. Hence, it is essential to inquire about their fees or commissions before they start working for you.

Many fraudulent credit-counseling services out there often pose as an organization offering free services. You must not let this deceive you. It is essential to inquire about how they will be paid after they have got you out of your debt problems. If they demand for huge sums of money, it is a sign that they are not interested in helping you.

Any credit counseling service that requires thousands of dollars as set up fees is probably not a company you should patronize. This is a company that is not after your interest but after your money.

One of the tricks of fraudulent credit counseling services out there is to present themselves as Christian credit counseling services. They deceive people like you with the notion that their service is free. But in the end they will charge you some outrageous fees after solving your debt problems.

The hallmark of a genuine credit counseling agency is that they direct you towards the solutions to your debt problems. Their own interest or reward comes after you have got solution to your problem. Any company that does otherwise is not intersected in you and should be avoided.
You must be very careful during your meeting with a credit counselor. If the counselor talks more about measures that will take money out of your pocket into his or her pocket, it is a sign that the counselor is after your money and not after solution to your problem.

Anyone grappling with debt is a potential prey of predatory credit counseling services. They know how desperate you are at getting solution to your debt problems and so will deceive you into what will worsen your situation. Be very careful of these agencies seeking money from you to get you of debt. The money you will pay them should not require you getting into debt again.

Is Your Personal Credit Score Low? Check for free!

Your credit score is one of the most important pieces of personal information you have, yet there is very little education on how to have a good credit score. What you may not realize is that your score is not only used to help you get a loan and credit, but it is often reviewed by employers when you interview for a job, and it is typically used to establish your auto insurance rate.
If it has been a few months since you last checked your credit score, you may be surprised to see that it probably increased or decreased as much as 100 points. That's because the way your credit score is calculated was recently changed, which caused a lot of people to experience some major changes.

By knowing your credit score and understanding where you stand on the credit rating scale, you can:

- Lower your credit card rates and increase your available spending limit - Change your auto and home mortgage rate, which can save thousands of dollars - Use your available credit as leverage to make money by buying real estate for example

Checking where you stand on the credit score scale takes less than 2 minutes online. By using the link at the end of this article, you just enter your name and address to instantly pull up your score for free. You'll have piece of mind knowing how you were affected by the change in the credit scoring scale. If necessary, you'll see if there's anything you need to do to fix your score.

Visit: www.freecreditreport.com to get your free credit report and score.

Take the Mystery out of your personal credit report

The most important step you can take in managing your credit is to insure that your credit report is accurate. Your FICO score relies on your credit report as the base of information in calculating your score. If this base is incorrect then your FICO score will be incorrect and that could impact on what kind of credit is available to you and at what rate. It's important then, to regularly review your report from all three Credit Reporting Agencies. So, where do you start?

If you have not ordered free credit report in the past 12 months, the quickest and easiest way to get all three copies is to visit annualcreditreport.com. This service allows you access to all three Credit Reporting Agencies and allows you to download each of their reports. Remember, this is just your report. If you are married your spouse should run his/her report as well.
If you have been denied credit, employment or insurance you will receive a notice of adverse action from the Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) that provided the information. You have a right to see what information was provided that led to this adverse action and your notice will have instructions on how to receive your free copy. Remember that this is only the CRA that is reporting the information. Get copies from the other two as well to compare info and see if there is an opportunity to dispute.

You can always visit the CRA's website and request a report directly from them. There will be a fee involved obviously, because selling your information is their business. You have to just love it. You give them the content for free and they sell it to others.
Once you have your reports, the challenge is trying to figure out how to read them. Basically the reports are divided into four sections.

Personal Information - This section will have your name(s), addresses, employer, date of birth, social security number and your spouse name if married. Make sure all the information is correct and belongs to you. The first thing to attack here are old addresses as they serve no purpose to a creditor. You may see variations of your name. Obviously you only have one spelling and the others should be removed. This can usually be removed with a call or a letter to the CRA.
Public Records - This section deals with anything that is a public court record, such as bankruptcies, liens, judgments and felony convictions. Our court systems are not exactly a model of efficiency and documents will pass through several hands before becoming the public record. Review these carefully to insure accuracy. If you find an error, send a certified letter return receipt requested to the CRA requesting the removal or correction. Be careful not to send supporting documentation as it may be used to counter your request. If the CRA needs documentation let them ask for it specifically.

Credit history - This is the nitty-gritty of your history. Loans, credit cards, mortgages, leases and collection accounts will appear here along with your payment history for each. An important item to look for is the date of last activity. Generally speaking, the information on these reports has a Statute of Limitation (SOL) of seven years. Exceptions to this are bankruptcies which will remain for 10 years. A negative item will fall off the report after seven years since the last date of activity. Positive items may last forever but no less than 10 years. Each account will be identified as to its type (R=revolving, I=installment) and then payment frequency coded as below:

0 Too new to rate
1 Pays account as agreed
2 Not more than two payments past due
3 Not more than three payments past due
4 Not more than four payments past due
5 At least 120 days or more than for payments past due
7 Making regular payments under W.E.P (wage earner plan)
8 Repossession
9 Bad Debt; placed for collection; skip

There will also be information regarding credit limits. For installment loans it will be the amount of the original loan. For revolving credit like credit cards, it will be the credit limit of the card. Creditors will look at these total credit limits and determine how much you are actually using. An inaccurately reported low credit limit will increase the calculation of your credit usage and give you a lower score. The current balance will be posted. The status of each account will be posted as to it being open or closed. If it is closed it will say who closed it, the creditor or you.
Inquiries: This will list chronologically, all the organizations who have pulled your report. Not just anyone can have access to your credit report. Under the Fair Credit Reporting act the inquirer must have Permissible Purpose to buy your report. Permissible purpose is something you initiate by: Applying for something like insurance, credit or employment where you have given your permission on the application. By virtue of having an open account you give permission to the creditor to pull your report. Have passed on your right to pull your own report via a power of attorney. If you see that there is an organization listed that you have not given your expressed permission to, you can have the inquiry listing pulled, but more important, that organization is subject to a $1000.00 fine in federal and some state courts. Hard inquiries are inquiries made by your creditors or potential creditors. Those made in the last two years carry the most weight as it indicates if you are seeking new credit or having an issue with an existing creditor. Consequently, if there are any non-authorized inquiries you want them gone. Soft inquiries are those made by yourself or credit providers who are building a marketing list to offer you a card. These inquiries are not visible to creditors and have no effect on your credit score.

Credit Score - You may see a credit score on the report but it is most likely a score calculated by the CRA and rarely used by creditors. FICO is the one score that is almost universally used, although maybe differently, by all creditors. So now you have your report and a feel for what you're dealing with. What do you do next? That's another article.

Free Credit Report Scams

Every consumer in America has the right to a free credit report once every year by law as of September 2005. But since that law has passed there has been nothing but confusion.

The web sites that say they are offering this so called free credit report, are asking us to give them our credit card information. Does that sound like a free credit report to you? You may have even given your credit card number to these companies to sign up for a thirty day trial for a credit service that has almost nothing to do with getting your free credit report. In all fairness, you can cancel this service after thirty days. But how many people do you think forget and end up with monthly or even annual credit card charges? In fact, these companies are counting on you forgetting about the thirty day trial and charging that fee on your credit card.

But if the law says you get a free report, what's the deal? A lot of people are confused about these free credit reports because of how some companies are marketing the free credit report. Hopefully, this information will clear a few things up for you. For people who just want the bottom line, a free credit report is available at www.AnnualCreditReport.com and this is the only official site that helps consumers to obtain their annual free credit report. This site's security protocols are excellent with physical and technological security and encryption. That's important for identity theft purposes because the information on your credit report should be seen by your eyes only. So if this site is readily available and anyone can get a free credit report once a year, what's the catch? Here is the catch: the credit report you get from www.AnnualCreditReport.com does not have any credit scores.

Now you may be asking, "Then what good is getting this free credit report without a credit score?" There are a few good reasons why you may want to look at your credit report even without a credit score. Did you know that more than forty percent of all credit reports have errors? If you spot these errors, you can get them cleared up before it affects your credit score. If you contact a credit bureau about an error, they have to clear it up or remove it after thirty days by law. If you monitor and review your credit report, you can check to be sure that you are not a victim of identity theft. If someone takes over your accounts and charges up thousands of dollars in debt, they can destroy your credit score in a matter of hours. These are just a couple of good reasons why you want to get your free credit report once a year and inspect it just to be sure everything looks like it should. You can get your free credit report online at www.AnnualCreditReport.com or by phone or through the mail.

So where do you get your credit score from? This is where the confusion comes in and here is the answer. The law Congress passed did not say anything about a credit score just one free credit report a year per consumer. You have to pay a service to get your credit score and some companies are confusing people with the way they are marketing this. They offer you a free credit report and score and many consumers believe it's their annual free credit report. But if you have to sign up for a credit service they offer for a 30 day trial period, does that sound free? What these companies are counting on is you forgetting about the 30 day trial and charging a fee on your credit card once that trial period is over. It's in the fine print, but how many people actually read that. So here is a good common sense rule of thumb. Any time you have to give your credit card information, ask yourself, "is this really free?" Many of you probably know this is happening because you have been trapped with this kind of marketing tactic. But for those of you that just want your annual free credit report, you can at least be aware as to what is really going on and have a no nonsense way to get it.

Are Free Credit Report Offers Really Free?

Free Personal Credit Report - a simple search on Google yields Millions of search results. Needless to say, the desire to view one's own credit report at no cost is in immense demand. This should be no surprise as almost anything you want to do financially, whether personally or in business, revolves around the single factor centered on credit ratings. If you have a good credit score, you can get the best of the loans at the best of the interest rates. If you don't, you simply can't progress with attempting to acquire any loan with decent terms.

A Credit Report is THE document that captures everything pertaining to what determines whether you can qualify for a good loan. It is of utmost importance that you closely monitor what goes in the report, amend any incorrect items, work towards improving the not-so-good factors, and of-course watch it closely like a hawk to ensure nothing gets in there that is fraud.
With recent regulations, you, as a US Consumer, are entitled to one free credit report each year at AnnualCreditReport. You should certainly avail of this no cost opportunity. But often times, this is insufficient, as once a year, is well, once in 365 days. What do you do at other times? How do you ensure you are tracking your report and how do you ensure nothing wrought with fraud gets in there? This is where these 60 Million search results broadly fit in.

More clearly, there are various agencies that offer Credit Monitoring. These go by various names - Credit Analysis, Credit Diagnosis etc. These are monthly subscription based services that offer to monitor your credit report to ensure nothing unusual surfaces. Additionally, some of these services can also help you with repairing damaged credit items. The monthly costs for these vary, but are generally in the range of $15 - $30 per month.

The firms that offer these Credit Monitoring services often offer free credit reports to entice you as a consumer to try and subscribe to the credit monitoring service. And this is often what is never understood clearly. Consumers, in a hurry, to get a free credit report, do not often read the terms and conditions, and subscribe to what is presented to them. And before they know it, they are locked in a monthly subscription offering and it is only after some lapse of time do they realize this, and then, justifiably, get upset. The credit monitoring firms, to their support, try to argue that consumers signed up to the trial (and subsequent subscription) of their services in exchange for their report, and rightfully so, are justified in having charged consumers. Sometimes, these lead to angry communication and gets turned into ugly reports, and gets labeled as scams. To the consumers support, not all firms disclose these terms and conditions visibly - they are buried deep in and often are tiny footprints that are easy to miss.
So, what do you do? If you are interested in a free credit report, you do have reliable sources to get one from. But be aware of the terms and conditions, and so long as you are aware of them and follow through with canceling any subscription trials if you intend not to continue benefiting from the value they present, you are fine.

Free Personal Credit Report Without a Credit Card

Are you trying to get a copy of your free personal credit report without a credit card? I know it is difficult to do anything these days without that little piece of plastic and getting a copy of your personal credit report is no different. But there is a way to get your hands on your free report without having to give out credit card information.

The absolute best place to get your free personal credit report without a credit card is on the government sponsored website AnnualCreditReport.com. This website was developed to allow all U.S. citizens access their report at no cost without requiring financial information.

On this website, you are able to receive one free copy of your personal credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus - Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. You can only get one per calendar year from these sites. After that they start charging you money.

The site is very well-designed and a breeze to navigate. You simply enter your personal details and the rest is easy. The step-by-step process allows for quick access to your three free reports.
There is one point to remember when using this website however. While you will have free access to your report, unfortunately, your credit score is not included. Each agency does charge a nominal fee for you to view your score. Luckily for you though, I have a great idea for how you can get a copy of your report and your score free of charge.

As you probably know, there are thousands of agencies that advertise free reports and credit score access. The bad news is, these reports are not exactly free. The catch is that you need to sign up (with a credit card) and join their monitoring programs first. However, most of these companies offer a free trial version of their programs. So, if you join the program and cancel before the trial is up, you can walk away with a free report and score free of charge.
Your credit history is a very important and valuable piece of information. It is recommended to view your report at least 2-4 times per year to be sure there are no inaccuracies or errors. An inaccurate history can prevent you from getting the loans or mortgage you deserve!

Free Personal Credit Report

In addition to monitoring your personal savings account and your checking account, another important financial matter that you should consider monitoring is your personal credit report. As economic times have become more unpredictable, it is very important that you maintain a good credit standing so that lending institutions will readily lend you money when a need arises. One way of doing this is to access free personal credit reports either through government-sanctioned agencies (FTC) and consumer-reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) that provide free personal credit reports.

Credit reports are documents that contain four types of information about you, which are relevant to lenders. These include your identity, your credit history, your public records, and other information such as new debts. A credit score is also included in this report; this score is a three-digit number that can determine your credit worthiness. A high score means that you have good credit and this may mean lower interest rates and better terms for your loan. This free credit report is supposed to be provided to you every twelve months, however a system is being put in place by the Federal Government wherein you can access these reports on a quarterly basis. These steps further strengthen the implementation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which mandates that credit reports should annually be given to people who request them free of charge from the various sanctioned agencies.

You can access these reports by going directly to the website (www.annualcreditreport.com) maintained by the sanctioned agencies, by calling a hotline number 1-877-322-8228, or by sending a request through the mail and mailing it to the Annual Credit Report Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

In these unpredictable times, it is always a good idea to be prepared when certain events dictate that you borrow money from lending institutions to fulfill in your financial needs. Monitoring your credit reports and your credit score will not only help you be a good borrower, but more importantly, it can help you get more loans in the future as the need arises.