Posts Tagged Bankruptcy
How can I increase my credit score?
2blessed2bstressed asked:
I would like to increase my credit score. I don’t have any credit cards or personal loans. I do have $9,000 in student loans that I pay on every month. However I have an old telephone bill of $1,200 that has been turned over to collection and 5 medical bills that totals to about $5000 that is also in collection, which I’m currently making monthly payments on. I have no public records / no bankruptcy. Other than that I don’t have anything else on my credit report. My score is currently 583 and 576 for Experian and transunion. I know it takes time to increase, but what would you suggest to increase my score faster; I want to purchase a home in the next year or so.
Laurie
I would like to increase my credit score. I don’t have any credit cards or personal loans. I do have $9,000 in student loans that I pay on every month. However I have an old telephone bill of $1,200 that has been turned over to collection and 5 medical bills that totals to about $5000 that is also in collection, which I’m currently making monthly payments on. I have no public records / no bankruptcy. Other than that I don’t have anything else on my credit report. My score is currently 583 and 576 for Experian and transunion. I know it takes time to increase, but what would you suggest to increase my score faster; I want to purchase a home in the next year or so.
Laurie
Why You Should Check Your Credit Report After Bankruptcy
Jennifer Quilter asked:
If you’re thinking, as many do, that there is no reason to look over your report after you’re finished discharging your debts, you would be very wrong. There are a number of reasons why you should look over your credit report after bankruptcy, and chief among them is to help you rebuild your finances for the future.
It is extremely common after you’ve discharged debts for companies not to mark them properly on your report. Instead of saying “included in bankruptcy” as they should, they’ll often leave them marked as open. You need to call the companies and get them to mark them as being included, and all of your balances dropped to $0. Having any owed accounts will hurt your credit further right now, and hurt you in the future.
After you’ve finished discharging your score may even go up because you should no longer have any debts, as long as your information is filled out accurately by companies.
The main reason you should check your credit report after bankruptcy is that in as little as two years you can have a good score again if you keep on top of your finances. You’ll have a number of things to do, and it will take time. You’ll need to work on building up a history of on time payments with cards and small loans, but all of this effort starts with making sure your report is accurate.
It is typical for you to have to call multiple times to get them to do this, so a lot of people will give up and decide it’s not worth it. The truth is that this is while you filed in the first place and you’re going to want to get this taken care of, keep calling until this gets changed and save yourself a lot of trouble in the future.
After bankruptcy you have an opportunity for a fresh start, you should check your credit report and make sure these things are taken care of so that you can make that happen.
Barry
If you’re thinking, as many do, that there is no reason to look over your report after you’re finished discharging your debts, you would be very wrong. There are a number of reasons why you should look over your credit report after bankruptcy, and chief among them is to help you rebuild your finances for the future.
It is extremely common after you’ve discharged debts for companies not to mark them properly on your report. Instead of saying “included in bankruptcy” as they should, they’ll often leave them marked as open. You need to call the companies and get them to mark them as being included, and all of your balances dropped to $0. Having any owed accounts will hurt your credit further right now, and hurt you in the future.
After you’ve finished discharging your score may even go up because you should no longer have any debts, as long as your information is filled out accurately by companies.
The main reason you should check your credit report after bankruptcy is that in as little as two years you can have a good score again if you keep on top of your finances. You’ll have a number of things to do, and it will take time. You’ll need to work on building up a history of on time payments with cards and small loans, but all of this effort starts with making sure your report is accurate.
It is typical for you to have to call multiple times to get them to do this, so a lot of people will give up and decide it’s not worth it. The truth is that this is while you filed in the first place and you’re going to want to get this taken care of, keep calling until this gets changed and save yourself a lot of trouble in the future.
After bankruptcy you have an opportunity for a fresh start, you should check your credit report and make sure these things are taken care of so that you can make that happen.
Barry
How to Get Late Payments Off Of My Credit Report
Tim Bock asked:
Anyone who’s working to rebuild their credit understands how frustrating it can be. Your credit score show all of the good and bad habits of your credit history. Late payments are generally one of the largest contributing factors of poor credit. In most cases waiting is the only option. However there are a few things that can be done to help take last payments off your credit report sooner rather then latter.
Late payments will appear on your credit report as either 30, 60, 90 or 120+ days late. Make sure you focus on the 120+ payments first, since they have the most negative impact on your credit score.
You should also look for unusual names. Can you match them up to an account that you have? If the answer is “no”, you need to investigate further. It could be possible that these were charged to you by mistake, therefore affecting your credit in a negative way. Even worse you could be a target of identity theft, which is another reason to make sure someone isn’t charging things to your credit without your consent.
If you’ve ever declared bankruptcy it’s important to understand it should only stay on your credit report for 7 years. If it’s still showing up after the 7 year deadline, you need to send a letter to all the credit bureaus and make sure it’s taken off.
While invalid late payments can be frustrating, it’s important to understand there are ways to fix your credit score. It’s important to act as soon as possible.
Marc
Anyone who’s working to rebuild their credit understands how frustrating it can be. Your credit score show all of the good and bad habits of your credit history. Late payments are generally one of the largest contributing factors of poor credit. In most cases waiting is the only option. However there are a few things that can be done to help take last payments off your credit report sooner rather then latter.
Late payments will appear on your credit report as either 30, 60, 90 or 120+ days late. Make sure you focus on the 120+ payments first, since they have the most negative impact on your credit score.
You should also look for unusual names. Can you match them up to an account that you have? If the answer is “no”, you need to investigate further. It could be possible that these were charged to you by mistake, therefore affecting your credit in a negative way. Even worse you could be a target of identity theft, which is another reason to make sure someone isn’t charging things to your credit without your consent.
If you’ve ever declared bankruptcy it’s important to understand it should only stay on your credit report for 7 years. If it’s still showing up after the 7 year deadline, you need to send a letter to all the credit bureaus and make sure it’s taken off.
While invalid late payments can be frustrating, it’s important to understand there are ways to fix your credit score. It’s important to act as soon as possible.
Marc
A Guide To Reading And Understanding Your Credit Report
Ann Richter asked:
In these days of identity theft, checking out your credit report is a good idea in order to make sure that everything on it is correct. However, once you have your copy in hand, you may be a bit puzzled as to how to decipher all those strange-looking abbreviations and numbers listed on the paper. Take heart – very few people understand how to read a credit report, especially if they are examining one for the very first time. All you need is a simple explanation of the wordage contained to intelligently zip through this information.
What’s In My Credit Report?
You first need to be aware of how a credit report is laid out. These reports normally are divided into four segments of information. These are:
Personal Information that identifies you, like your name and Social Security number, the date you were born, present and past addresses, phone number(s), who you work for, and the same information about your spouse. Public Information lists the data that has to do with your financial history which is available via public record. If you have filed for bankruptcy, had a tax lien, or any sort of monetary judgment against you, it will be listed in this section. Credit History Information is a listing of all the different accounts you have, such as with utility companies, retailers, banks, credit card companies, and other lenders. The Inquiries section is a list of anyone who may have asked to view your credit report. Inquiries are usually divided into two separate sections, hard and soft.
Most of this information is simple to understand. It’s when you start to read the Credit History information that you may wind up with a headache! You’ll see the following entries for each account that you may have:
The date that you opened the account What type of credit (department store, car loan, student loan) Whose name the account is in Loan amount or credit limit The total amount you owe on the account The minimum monthly payment or fixed payment amount Whether the account is open, closed, inactive, or paid Your payment history – late, always on time, etc
Now comes the part that makes most people feel like screaming – all those codes! But, you’ll never have to wonder what they mean again.
J – Joint
I – Individual
U – Undesignated
A – Authorized User
T – Terminated
M – Maker
C – Co-signor
B – On behalf of someone else
S – Shared
O – Open – the entire balance is due monthly
R – Revolving – Each month’s payment amount can be different
I – Installment – The same amount is due each month
0- Approved account, but not yet used
1 – Paid as per agreement
2 – 30 days or more past due
3 – 60 days or more past due
4 – 90 days or more past due
5 – 120 days past due or sent for collection
7 – Making payments as per a special arrangement
8 – Repossession
9 – Charged off
Once you know how to read a credit report, it is simple to check it for mistakes in order to keep your credit standing in good shape.
Kristin
In these days of identity theft, checking out your credit report is a good idea in order to make sure that everything on it is correct. However, once you have your copy in hand, you may be a bit puzzled as to how to decipher all those strange-looking abbreviations and numbers listed on the paper. Take heart – very few people understand how to read a credit report, especially if they are examining one for the very first time. All you need is a simple explanation of the wordage contained to intelligently zip through this information.
What’s In My Credit Report?
You first need to be aware of how a credit report is laid out. These reports normally are divided into four segments of information. These are:
Personal Information that identifies you, like your name and Social Security number, the date you were born, present and past addresses, phone number(s), who you work for, and the same information about your spouse. Public Information lists the data that has to do with your financial history which is available via public record. If you have filed for bankruptcy, had a tax lien, or any sort of monetary judgment against you, it will be listed in this section. Credit History Information is a listing of all the different accounts you have, such as with utility companies, retailers, banks, credit card companies, and other lenders. The Inquiries section is a list of anyone who may have asked to view your credit report. Inquiries are usually divided into two separate sections, hard and soft.
Most of this information is simple to understand. It’s when you start to read the Credit History information that you may wind up with a headache! You’ll see the following entries for each account that you may have:
The date that you opened the account What type of credit (department store, car loan, student loan) Whose name the account is in Loan amount or credit limit The total amount you owe on the account The minimum monthly payment or fixed payment amount Whether the account is open, closed, inactive, or paid Your payment history – late, always on time, etc
Now comes the part that makes most people feel like screaming – all those codes! But, you’ll never have to wonder what they mean again.
J – Joint
I – Individual
U – Undesignated
A – Authorized User
T – Terminated
M – Maker
C – Co-signor
B – On behalf of someone else
S – Shared
O – Open – the entire balance is due monthly
R – Revolving – Each month’s payment amount can be different
I – Installment – The same amount is due each month
0- Approved account, but not yet used
1 – Paid as per agreement
2 – 30 days or more past due
3 – 60 days or more past due
4 – 90 days or more past due
5 – 120 days past due or sent for collection
7 – Making payments as per a special arrangement
8 – Repossession
9 – Charged off
Once you know how to read a credit report, it is simple to check it for mistakes in order to keep your credit standing in good shape.
Kristin
What to do if landlord is up to fraudulent behavior using the personal information of others?
Posted by admin in Renting & Real Estate on November 7, 2009
lighthouse41 asked:
I recently applied for an apartment for rent by private owner. I provided my personal information when filling out the rental application. I now feel the woman never had plans to rent the place, and is using an “apartment for rent” as a front to obtain the personal information of others to commit fraud.
I recently applied for an apartment for rent by private owner. I provided my personal information when filling out the rental application. I now feel the woman never had plans to rent the place, and is using an “apartment for rent” as a front to obtain the personal information of others to commit fraud.
It turns out, my co-worker happens to know this woman personally, and says she recently filed bankruptcy, does not own the property, and was renting it from a relative.
What should I do? If the above is true, she’ll deny we met. This woman has my social security number, personal information, and more. Is there any way to tell when someone pulls your credit to apply for an apartment? I don’t think those type of credit inquiries appear on credit reports.
What should I do to prevent fraudulent behavior? There are Michigan laws protecting landlords, what about those for tenants?
MAYNARD
Keep an Eye on Your Credit Report
Peter Kenny asked:
Vital personal information such as where you live, your place of employment, your bill paying methods, and whether you’ve ever been arrested or declared bankruptcy is all contained within your credit report. This information is vital because it can affect som many areas of your life.
Your credit score is used by lenders to determine interest rates for mortgages and other loans. Employers are allowed to check credit reports before offering employment. And increasingly, auto insurance companies are checking credit reports before determining policy premiums. Even if you’ve never been in an accident or received a ticket, you may still find yourself paying higher rates for insurance.
There are three major credit reporting agencies that gather your financial information and provide your credit report to lenders, insurers, employers and other businesses that have a legal right to access your report. These three major companies are Experian, Equifax and Trans Union.
You should be aware that you are entitled, under federal law, to one free copy of your report from each of these agencies annually. Consumers should get a one copy from each agency because they all get their information from different sources at different times of the month and each report may differ slightly from the other.
It’s recommended to stagger your requests so that you receive the reports separately, one report approximately every four months.
Checking your credit reports regularly is clearly very important, given the information they contain. When looking over each report, make sure that all the information is accurate and up to date. You should also check for any charges or accounts you don’t recognize. This can be a sign of identity theft. If your personal information, such as your social security number or credit card number is stolen, any fradulent charges or accounts will appear on your credit report.
If any inaccurate information is found on your report, it should be reported immediately. The consumer reporting company should be notified in writing. Clearly outline the information you believe to be incorrect or inaccurate. Provide as much detail as possible to back up your statements. The reporting agency is required to investigate your claims. The company that provided the inaccurate information to the reporting agency will receive a copy of your dispute as well. If the information is determined to be inaccurate, the provider is required to notify all three reporting agencies of the correction.
In the event that the investigation does not find that the information is inaccurate, you may ask to have your statement attached to your credit report. This will allow anyone who looks over your report to see that you have disputed the item and the reasons for your dispute.
CRUZ
Vital personal information such as where you live, your place of employment, your bill paying methods, and whether you’ve ever been arrested or declared bankruptcy is all contained within your credit report. This information is vital because it can affect som many areas of your life.
Your credit score is used by lenders to determine interest rates for mortgages and other loans. Employers are allowed to check credit reports before offering employment. And increasingly, auto insurance companies are checking credit reports before determining policy premiums. Even if you’ve never been in an accident or received a ticket, you may still find yourself paying higher rates for insurance.
There are three major credit reporting agencies that gather your financial information and provide your credit report to lenders, insurers, employers and other businesses that have a legal right to access your report. These three major companies are Experian, Equifax and Trans Union.
You should be aware that you are entitled, under federal law, to one free copy of your report from each of these agencies annually. Consumers should get a one copy from each agency because they all get their information from different sources at different times of the month and each report may differ slightly from the other.
It’s recommended to stagger your requests so that you receive the reports separately, one report approximately every four months.
Checking your credit reports regularly is clearly very important, given the information they contain. When looking over each report, make sure that all the information is accurate and up to date. You should also check for any charges or accounts you don’t recognize. This can be a sign of identity theft. If your personal information, such as your social security number or credit card number is stolen, any fradulent charges or accounts will appear on your credit report.
If any inaccurate information is found on your report, it should be reported immediately. The consumer reporting company should be notified in writing. Clearly outline the information you believe to be incorrect or inaccurate. Provide as much detail as possible to back up your statements. The reporting agency is required to investigate your claims. The company that provided the inaccurate information to the reporting agency will receive a copy of your dispute as well. If the information is determined to be inaccurate, the provider is required to notify all three reporting agencies of the correction.
In the event that the investigation does not find that the information is inaccurate, you may ask to have your statement attached to your credit report. This will allow anyone who looks over your report to see that you have disputed the item and the reasons for your dispute.
CRUZ