US Consumer Credit Restoration Association

The Motley Fool ran an article last week talking about the effects of poor credit. I suggest you read it (the link is at the bottom so you read this article first....). The point of the article is that poor credit costs a lot of money due to higher interest rates and other rates such as insurance, etc.

The point of THIS article is that credit restoration pays. Follow me here... if poor credit costs you money and improving your credit saves you money, then credit restoration must be an investment rather than a debt.

To read the rest of the blog and learn how we can help improve your credit, visit us at the Northwest Indiana Loan Guy's blog.

Scott

The best source for Indiana FHA loans, Indiana USDA loans, Indiana VA loans and, of course, Indiana investor loans.

Is less-than-perfect credit an issue for you? Not for us! Click here to get more information and get your FREE copy of our report "10 Myths of Credit Repair" that could save you thousands of dollars.

I have heard that I shouldn't pay anyone to repair my credit. I want to do it myself. Is it hard to do?

Well... that's a loaded question. First, the Federal Trade Commission has said that you should not have to pay anyone to dispute the incorrect entries on your credit report. I agree that you SHOULD not have to, but often times you do.

You see, it's one thing to dispute the entries, but another to get good results. The credit reporting agencies (Trans Union, Experian and Equifax) all make money by selling the information that they collect about you from various sources. They are well aware that they have to follow various consumer protection laws such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). What they count on is that you, the consumer, does not know what you are entitled to under FCRA and that it will be much more difficult for you to successfully dispute the negative items.

Also, the FTC says that information that is "correct" cannot be removed, but they never define the word. The complete phrasing should be "correctly reported". Is there a difference? You bet!

For instance, let's say that Steve's credit report lists a $50 collection from ABC collection agency that they purchased from a doctor's office. If you were to ask if the information was correct, the answer could be Yes. He owes $50 to a doctor. According to the definition, the negative information has the right to stay on the report.

What if we applied the "correctly reported" test? We would then ask the following:

• If the original balance was not $50, how did they come up with that number and what additional fees or charges were added on. Are those charges correct?
• Does ABC collection agency have the original document signed by Steve where he agreed to be financially liable for the charges?
• Does ABC have the right to collect debts in this state?

If the answer is not YES to all three of these questions and other criteria are not met, the item cannot be listed on his credit report. In other words, it was not correctly reported. And, we have not even touched on the Statute of Limitations in the state.

Each year, consumers pay tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars to debt collectors THAT THEY DO NOT NEED TO due to threat of lawsuits, garnishments, liens and even humiliation. If the consumers were well versed in not only the FCRA, but the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) as well, they would know what their rights are and not be taken advantage of.

At USCCRA, our attorneys are extremely well versed in credit law. In fact, they must have handled thousands of cases before they come work for us. They know the laws and consumer protection acts inside and out to make sure that the negative items on your credit report are timely, accurate and verifiable. If not, they cannot continue to report and keep your scores down.

Now that you know the facts, do you still want to dispute your own credit items?

When you sign up as a member of our association, you pay a one time fee for a 12 month membership that includes all the benefits listed here with a couple exceptions. One of those exceptions is a $5 per item fee for each deleted or positively changed item that is paid directly to the attorneys. Where else can you get an attorney to work for you for just $5 per item? This is much, much less than what many other companies charge and is only paid after the disputed item is removed in compliance with the Credit Repair Organizations Act.

In the near future, we will answer some more frequently asked questions about credit repair and why you need a program like USCCRA.

If you have any questions, please click here to email or contact us at 219-695-0369.

Thanks!

PS. If you are thinking about buying or refinancing a home, you need to talk to the Northwest Indiana Loan Guy.

I have heard a lot of bad things lately about credit repair. Should I be afraid?

Great question. I don't think you should be afraid, but you do need to be cautious. There is a federal act that covers credit repair organizations, aptly named the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA).  In a nutshell, the act was passed to make sure that consumers were able to make an informed decision regarding the purchase of credit repair and to protect the consumer from unfair and deceptive advertising and business practices. This act, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, has recently been in the news due to the number of so called credit repair companies that are being shut down for violations.

Two of the reasons that the companies are being shut down are because "the defendants allegedly violated the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) by requiring advance payment for credit repair services and by making false or misleading statements". Some of these statements included guaranties that items would be removed or that the consumers would see a certain increase in their score. Unfortunately, many consumers are currently having financial difficulties and really want to believe the far-fetched stories that they are being told.

In addition, many companies are sending dispute letter after dispute letter to the credit reporting agencies (Trans Union, Experian and Equifax) in hopes that someone will forget to verify a debt so that it has to be removed. Often times, the bureaus consider the repeated disputes as frivolous and treat them as such, despite laws that say otherwise. While sometimes effective, much more can be done to help.

At USCCRA, our credit restoration is done entirely by experienced attorneys. In fact, they do not work on our clients files until they have thousands of disputes under their belt. They will initially contact the credit reporting agencies, but will then go after the original creditors or the collection agencies if they are not following the consumer protection laws (the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) to the letter. For a negative item to stay on your report, it has to be timely, accurate and verifiable. The burden of proof is on the companies reporting the credit to assure that all three criteria are met or the negative information has to be removed. Often times, they "sneak" it on the reports thinking the consumer will not find it or know how to properly dispute it once they find it. Our attorneys will hold their feet to the fire to make sure they are reporting properly.

Is it any wonder that 79% of ALL credit reports contain errors and 25% are significant enough to cause denial of credit?

At USCCRA, we do what we say we are going to do and offer a Triple Results warranty that says your investment is protected. Neither life nor our attorneys offer a guarantee, but past experience shows that you will be satisfied with your results.

When you sign up as a member of our association, you pay a one time fee for a 12 month membership that includes all the benefits listed here with a couple exceptions. One of those exceptions is a $5 per item fee for each deleted or positively changed item that is paid directly to the attorneys. Where else can you get an attorney to work for you for just $5 per item? This is much, much less than what many other companies charge and is only paid after the disputed item is removed in compliance with the CROA.

In the near future, we will answer some more frequently asked questions about credit repair and why you need a program like USCCRA.

If you have any questions, please click here to email or contact us at 219-695-0369.

Thanks!

PS. If you are thinking about buying or refinancing a home, you need to talk to the Northwest Indiana Loan Guy.

US Consumer Credit Restoration Association is a nationwide membership based association that offers attorney facilitated credit repair as one of its many benefits.

In this day and age, LIFE HAPPENS. Because of illness, injury, death in the family, job loss, etc. many, many people are suffering with poor credit. To make matters worse, because of the tightening of the lending standards, even what was considered "good" credit before is no longer good. During the time that a "good" credit score went from 680 to 720, the average consumer's score DROPPED by 30 points.

Is it really fair that a couple late payments or worse that happened several years ago because of illness or injury will stay on your credit report for 7 years and continue to hurt your score? How many thousands of dollars in extra interest and fees will you pay because of something that wasn't your fault? We should really focus on how well you will pay your bills in the future, not continue to penalize you for what happened in the distant past.

Our members that utilize the credit restoration benefit see an average increase of 127 points in their credit scores in just over 6 months. For many, this means they are now able to get into the home of their dreams with little money down and finally start to create a savings program due to the lower interest rates they pay on credit cards, auto loans, mortgage, and lower insurance rates.

In the near future, we will answer some frequently asked questions about credit repair and why you need a program like USCCRA.

If you have any questions, please click here to email or contact us at 219-695-0369.

Thanks!

If you are thinking about buying or refinancing a home, you need to talk to the Northwest Indiana Loan Guy.