US Consumer Credit Restoration Association

Starting with this post, I will be sharing parts of my recently published book with you called "Behind Closed Doors". My goal is to show you some of the secrets that the credit bureaus, and maybe even your own banks, do not want you to know.

Chapter 1 – Credit and You

Credit should not be feared – just properly managed.
When used wisely, credit can enhance your life. It can allow you to
purchase things like a home, a car, and even finance a college education.
However, when you use credit unwisely, your financial life can become
stressful and difficult.

Remember, credit is a financial tool that can help you get what you want.
Financial tools themselves are neither good nor bad; they are just tools. How
you use the tools available to you determines whether they will have a positive
or negative effect on your life.

Credit comes in many forms: credit cards, charge cards, car loans,
mortgage loans, home equity loans, personal loans, consolidation loans,
student loans, and more. When you use credit, it becomes a debt. Anytime you
use credit, you are relying on the fact that you will be able to pay back the
debt in the future, regardless of what is happening in your life.

When you purchase an item on credit, you are committing to pay extra for
it in order to get that item now. This extra amount is called interest. The
amount of interest you pay will be determined by the rate of interest, how the
interest is calculated, and length of time interest is paid. You will also pay additional fees to use some loans and credit cards.

The less interest and fewer fees you pay, the more money you have for things you need and want.

Whenever you use credit, you should calculate the true cost of an item,
which will include all fees and interest you pay. It is not uncommon for people
who make purchases using credit to spend two to three times more than if they
were paying cash for the purchase.

The most common types of credit include revolving credit, installment
credit, and service credit.

Revolving credit allows you to borrow up to a specific dollar amount. The
monthly payment may vary as your balance changes. As you repay the credit,
you will be able to borrow it again. Credit cards are revolving lines of credit.
Installment credit allows you to borrow a specific amount, for a specific
period of time. The monthly payment usually remains the same. When you
have repaid the amount, the loan is closed. Car and mortgage loans are
considered installment credit.

Service credit allows you to pay for a service at a later date. If you cannot
make the payment in the agreed upon time, there is a penalty. Utility
companies offer this kind of credit.

Most types of loans can be categorized as secured or unsecured. Secured
loans are backed by property that has value, also called collateral. An example
of a secured loan is a car loan, as the car is security or collateral for the loan.
In other words, if you don’t make the loan payments, the lender can take back
or repossess the car.

If you have enjoyed this small part of Chapter One and would like to get a copy of the entire book for yourself, please visit our website at www.USCCRAonline.com.

For a limited time, we will be giving away this book as a FREE digital download.

Scott Swinford, your Northwest Indiana Mortgage Planner and Credit Expert

Here is a link to another blog I have titled "What is a Good Credit Score". The site, which has multiple entries that I will be reposting here, contains a great deal of information on credit reports in general and how to improve your score.

Visit the site to see What is on Your Credit Report.

Scott

To contact me, please call 219-695-0369 or email scott@usccraonline.com

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.

(Another slected entry from a previous post on a different blog)

Guess again....

In the 2004 report "Mistakes Do Happen: A Look At Errors In Consumer Credit Reports" published by the National Association of State PIRGs, it was noted that 79% of credit reports surveyed contained "either serious errors or mistakes of some kind".

79% of ALL credit reports contain errors in case you just glanced over that part!

Additionally, here is what they found.....

• 25% of the reports contained serious errors that could result in the denial of credit, such as false delinquencies or accounts that did not belong to the consumer;
• 54% contained personal demographic information that was misspelled, long outdated, belonged to a stranger, or was otherwise incorrect;
• 22% of the credit reports listed the same mortgage or loan twice;
• 8% (almost) were missing major credit, loan, mortgage or other consumer accounts that demonstrate the creditworthiness of the consumer;
• 30% contained credit accounts that had been closed by the consumer but remained listed as open.

To view the rest of the article, please visit the NWI Loan Guy blog.

Scott

To contact me, please call 219-695-0369 or email scott@usccraonline.com

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.

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.