Irena Bocheva asked:




Raising credit score is not hard once you start thinking outside the credit box. Most of the 35 million Americans with less than stellar credit have embarked on the traditional way of fixing credit score-financial discipline, careful budget planning, patience and dedication. A small percent of Americans, however, hove found there are a lot easier and faster ways to fix FICO score. The only thing required is knowledge about the credit system and various loopholes in it.

Here are 3 simple tips that will help you understand how fast credit repair works:

1 The collection agency strategy.

Contrary to what you think, paying off an old collection can actually lower your credit score. Why? Because it will upgrade the account status to “current”. The bad debt (although now paid) will continue to impact your score adversely and will stay on your report for additional 7 years. If you want to fix collection accounts, you have to approach collection agencies in a different ways. There are two things you have to keep in mind. 1 Collection agencies usually pay pennies for each dollar that you owe and still make a profit even if you settle for 20 % or less.2 A paid off collection account is still considered a negative item. A deleted collection account, on the other hand, will bring an instant increase in your credit score. These two facts will help you understand which are the two main priorities when dealing with collection agencies-get collection agencies to agree on a very low settlement amount and convince them to delete the item once you pay the settlement. There are various strategies you can use in order to achieve these 2 objectives.

2 The 623 Dispute strategy

Dispute 623 allows you to dispute a listing with the original creditor. In such cases you are not disputing the validity of the whole account (the debt is not mine), but the validity of a specific item within the listing ( wrong account balance, wrong account limit, I didn’t pay late that moth etc).Contrary to what you might think, there are very few original creditors who keep decent records. Most credit card and mortgage landing companies only keep records for a 13-18 months. Why?Because it takes a lot of money to preserve various data in your files as well as to transport data from one system to another ( in case of acquisition). So if you debt dates back to more than a year and a half ago, the original creditors might not be able to prove that you are wrong. If the collection agencies have no record to prove that the specific listing is correct, they are required to remove the negative items from your record

3 The lawsuit strategy.

Stop thinking about yourself as the victim in the credit game. You have more rights than you think. For example, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act you are allowed to dispute any inaccurate, outdated, incomplete, questionable and ambiguous item on your record. If credit bureaus fail to come up with a decision on your case within 30 days, they are in violation of FCRA. Collection agencies are also breaking the law if they don’t validate the debt( upon your request), but keep it in your credit file; if they still call you after you send them a cease and desist letter; if they claim to garnish your wages, seize property or have you arrested. In such cases, you are entitled to sue the respective agency. When it comes to credit repair, you have numerous rights. The more you know about these rights, the better your chances to raise credit score fast.

Raising credit score is not hard. There are various tricks and little known secrets that will help you boost your score in no time. Once you start thinking outside the box, you’ll be surprised to find how easy credit repair actually is.

Stephanie

Irena Bocheva asked:




Are you planning to apply for an auto or mortgage loan, but fear being turned down by creditors? Do you want to raise your FICO because a potential employer is conducting a mandatory credit check? Do you simply want to get rid of debt and start with a clean credit slate? Whatever your specific situation is, fixing credit score is always a good idea.

Here are 3 possible routes that will take you to the land of “better credit”.

1 The hard way.

This is the most popular and most laborious way to raise credit score. According to the mainstream credit advisers credit repair can only be achieved through careful budget planning, financial discipline and patience. In order to succeed you have to take a look at your income, track monthly expenditures, curb any unnecessary spending and and start paying off your debt. Slowly but surely you’ll work your way up to a better credit. There are various caveats associated with this long term approach to a better credit. For example, most of the people that need better credit score can’t wait years to see the positive results. They need that house or brand new car NOW, not later. Besides, people with outstanding credit debt have to spend literally decades of their lives paying off what they owe. Last, but not least-paying off your debt in full can sometimes harm your report and lower your score. For example, paying off a collection that is more than 2 years old will upgrade the account status to current. The bad debt (although now paid) will continue to influence your score adversely and will stay on your report for additional 7 years.

2 The expensive way.

A lot of people feel helpless and overwhelmed when it comes to credit repair. They turn to credit repair services and pay exorbitant fees hoping to see their score skyrocket soon. What are the problems associated with this type of credit repair? First, there are many scam services out there which prey on the huge crowd of misinformed people. Typical tell-tale signs that you are dealing with scam services is when they ask for the money upfront or when they don’t inform you of your legal rights. The second problem is that these companies simply do the things you can do yourself IF you had enough credit knowledge.

3 The smart way.

This is the fastest and most painless way to a better credit. The only requirement-knowledge about the credit system and the various loopholes in it. Do you know what’s the formula behind your FICO score? Which 2 credit factors account for more than 30% of your final credit score? How many points does each type of negative item take away from your credit report (bankruptcy, foreclosure, loan default, collection, legal judgment, late payment, credit inquiry etc)? Do you know how to get credit bureaus, collection agencies and original creditors to delete items from your record? Do you know how to file Rapid Rescore and remove mistakes on your report within 48 hours? Do you know how to bring your credit card balances to the “healthy zone” (30% balance to limit ratio) without paying off your balances? How to settle with collection agencies for less than 20 % of what you actually owe? In a nutshell-the more you know about the credit system, the faster you will see positive credit results.

Fixing credit score is not than hard. Knowledge about the credit system and the little known secrets in it will boost your credit in no time. Once you start thinking outside the credit box, you’ll be surprised to find how easy credit repair actually is.

Jose