Your credit score and history are going to follow you around for the rest of your life. It is the one thing that will never leave you for as long as you live. If you have any plans in the future to purchase a high ticket item such as a home, you need to make sure that your rating is as high as possible.
In this day and age it is rare to find anybody that can afford to pay cash for a new automobile or a home. Getting credit has become a way of life for most people and having access to credit a necessity.
Even people that do not intend to become a homeowner should have access to some sort of credit. A credit card is a form of security should an emergency arise. Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you and it is important to keep yourself covered as much as possible. Knowing that you can access credit in the future is definitely the type of security you need.
Even if you decide that you are going to be a renter for the rest of your life don’t assume that bad credit won’t come with its own set of consequences. You may be turned down for a rental unit if the owner decides to run a credit check.
If you want to own a cell phone with a monthly plan you should have a clear credit history as well. As times change more and more companies are looking at your credit history to determine whether you are a good risk as a business client.
Your credit score is going to be with you forever. It really doesn’t take a lot to keep it clean. If you make your payments on time and always honor your agreements you will maintain your rating. The problem occurs when you start making late payments or actually default on a payment either by mistake or due to rough financial times.
There is no escaping your credit score and the best way to deal with it is head on. If you have made some mistakes in the past they can be repaired. If you decide to ignore them they will not go away on their own. It is important to take a look at your credit score and monitor it regularly to make sure that it is kept squeaky clean.
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If you need to find out what your credit rating is quickly, you’ll want to have access to an instant credit report. There are times when you may need to take a look at your rating fast, especially if you suspect that your identity may have been compromised. While there are a lot of ways to get access to your credit report, you need a service that delivers it promptly when you really need it.
Applying for a loan.
If you have a sudden emergency and you need to apply for a loan it’s good to have a copy of your credit report to bring in. This will speed up the processing on the loan and in some cases a loan officer can grant an approval instantly if you meet all of the other qualifying factors.
Your credit report will help determine the interest rate you will have to pay on the loan. If you have a low credit rating you will either be turned down or have to pay an extremely high rate of interest. If your credit is good, however, you’ll get a better rate and approval can be very quick in many cases.
If you have your credit report handy it will also serve as a piece of identification since it contains your Social Security number, telephone number, date of birth, address and full name. Of course, you will need to provide additional pieces of identification when applying for a loan.
Identity theft
If you suspect that you have become a victim of identity theft you’re going to want to see a copy of your credit report as fast as possible. Time is critical in this type of situation and you’ll need to act fast. If you have credit reports arriving on a regular basis to your inbox, you’ll have the security of knowing that if anything were to happen your credit, a report is on the way.
There is a lot of work to be done if your identity has been compromised and the sooner you rectify the situation the better off you’ll be. Having access to an instant credit report is vitally important in this day and age. Technology has stepped one giant foot forward and you need to keep up with it to protect yourself and your family.
By setting up routine access to an instant credit report you’ll be able to stay on top of your finances at every turn. It is a protective type of insurance to make sure that your identity remains safe. It is also good to have at hand in case a sudden emergency occurs and you need to apply for credit quickly.
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A lot of people are having a hard time keeping up with their credit card payments and this is directly influencing their credit report. Since most people do not regularly monitor their credit file to find out what is being added or removed, they have no idea how bad their file really is. Sometimes a person will apply for a mortgage only to find out that he is turned down due to a bad credit rating. There are some things that you should understand about your credit card and how it can instantly damage your rating.
1. Missed payments
It can happen from time to time that you have to miss a payment completely on your credit card. Even your credit card company understands that emergencies can come up forcing you to skip one of your monthly payments. If you contact the lender that has issued you your credit card you can usually work out some kind of arrangement to repay more the next month. This is often reassuring news and you can sit back and breathe again knowing that you have worked some things out.
The problem with this type of arrangement, however, is even though the credit card company has extended the payment date it does not necessarily mean that this skipped payment won’t be reported to the credit bureaus. You will need to specifically ask if there is any way around having this payment noted on your credit file.
In most cases this missed payment will be reported. Missing a payment entirely is one of the worst things you can do to damage your credit rating. It is not enough to satisfy the credit card lender in order to keep your credit card active, you need to go one step further and insure that your credit history remains intact.
If you have to borrow money from a friend or a relative for a month you’ll be much better off than by skipping a payment entirely. Your friends or relatives may grumble about loaning you the money, but they certainly won’t be complaining for seven years, which is how long this negative information will remain on your file.
2. Late payments
Credit card companies keep track of every late payment and usually report them to the credit bureaus. It is your responsibility to know the payment due dates on your credit cards and pay at least the minimum amount promptly. If you plan on paying by mail you’ll have to make sure that the payment is sent early enough to reach the office by the due date.
If you have too many credit cards and have a hard time keeping track of all the due dates you may want to transfer some of your balances over to one or two cards to keep things straight. This is how important it really is to make your payments on time every month.
A lot of people don’t realize how damaging a credit card missed or late payment can be to their credit scores. On the other hand, most people also don’t know that the credit card companies can report a late or missed payment to the credit bureau by mistake. When you think about it, it is actually humans that are working at these credit card companies and mistakes can be made. It is not enough nowadays to simply make your payments on time every month, but you must also monitor your report to make sure that everything is kept straight and your credit history remains clean.
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It can happen to you. One day you decide to purchase your first home and walk into the bank with full confidence knowing that your credit file is spotless and you qualify for a mortgage. The loan officer takes one look at your credit report and instantly turns you down.
What could possibly have gone wrong? You know that your credit is good and you have always made your payments on time. There is no logical explanation for being turned down for a loan and you are baffled.
We hear these kinds of stories time and time again. Identity theft is real and it can happen to you. In some cases it can take quite some time to figure out that you have become a victim and by then it is too late to easily handle the situation. Your credit report has become damaged and it will take some time to get it repaired.
Identity theft
If your identity has been compromised a thief can use your information to sign up for programs, apply for a loan or even fill out applications for a credit card. Purchases can be made in stores or on the Internet using your personal information.
When the loan officer takes a look at your credit report he may be seeing things that you don’t know even exist. There may be multiple applications for credit cards or payments due to companies that you have never dealt with in the past.
Find out first
Before walking into a financial institution to ask for mortgage you must always check your credit report first. You need to make sure that there are no mistakes or discrepancies showing up on the report. If your report is not in good shape, you don’t want it to be seen until it is repaired. Once the loan officer sees a bad credit report it will be documented and may harm your chances of getting a mortgage later.
Being 100% sure that your credit is good is not enough these days. You need to get a copy of your credit report and inspect it for yourself. To take it one step even further, you absolutely have to monitor it on a regular basis to protect yourself against identity fraud. It is your responsibility and yours alone to ensure that your credit rating is a true reflection of your spending habits.
Enroll in our free trail of credit monitoring, with it you will also get a free credit score.
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Most of our customers are between the ages of 35-50, at that age your most likely to have lots of credit, and monitoring it is a priority in your life. What about our younger customers? When should they get credit, and why is it important to start getting credit while your young.
To legally enter a contract you must be 18 years old, so that seems like a good time to start if you ask me. Why is it so important to gain good credit when you are young? One very important factor in your credit score is how long you have had credit. So if you start out when you are young, you will have a huge advantage over those who start out later in life.
Ok so where to start? You have a tough battle to get credit, you have never had it, so there is no credit file on you, and lenders are not sure what to do with you. Do not be surprised if you go for a large ticket item like a car and are turned down, its just to risky for the lender. Do not get discouraged though, it wont take very long to get a good credit score.
I would start with a student credit card. These are marketed to your age group, and will have a lower limit on available credit, and usually a slightly higher interest rate. Read all the fine print and apply for a card that you feel will fit your lifestyle, and that you can afford.
Once you have your card, you will want to use it. I recommend that you try not to use more than around 20% of the balance at anytime. This will show that you are be responsible with your credit, your are not overextending your self, and most importantly pay your bill on time! In a few short months of doing this, you will often get your credit limited increased, and with that your credit score will also usually increase. With this slow but steady approach you will have a great credit score, you will have a long credit history, and you will be on your way to a great credit future.
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Fear seems to be the way the news likes to motivate us these days. It can be anywhere from there could be a terrorist in you bathroom, or global warming and you, polar bears could soon be eating your children. I also see this a lot in in my field, high pressure sales pitches that are driven by fear to get you to sign up for credit monitoring services. Of course I think everyone should have it, I feel the pro’s by far out weigh the cons. Then again I am a late 30 year old guy, and my priority’s in life have changed. So do you really need to sign up for our services?
I will say yes 100% if you feel that you may have been the victim of ID theft. This could be anything from you read or heard that any place that may store you personal information has been compromised. Then yes you really should use a credit monitoring service.
What if you just turned 18 or are in your early years of college? Well you are just started on your road to getting credit, and you are just entering the work force, and I am going to assume you are in good health so you trips to hospitals and clinics are going to be less than someone my age. In this case, I would at least sign up for the free trial so you can check your credit report, and get your credit score. If everything is clean, then to be honest I am not sure you will need the service for a few years. Then again, hackers have been targeting many online game services, so if you are signed up for one that has been hit, get the service!
I would say also if you are in the stages of life where you are getting ready to make a large purchase, car, home, etc, then its worth it again to check your report and score to make sure there are no surprises. I like to keep know whats going on with my reports, so I would stay on the service, you would be surprised at how many odds things pop up now and again. And if you have a lower score than expect the tools we give you and access to updating your score as often as you like will really be worth the monthly cost.
I really feel for less than 50 cents per day, the insurance you get with a credit monitoring service is so valuable that it would be hard to not recommend this service to everyone.
ShareID theft is all around us, it can be as high tech as someone one hacking into a database like a hospital, credit card, game center, anything that stores you information. It can be as low tech as someone snooping through your garbage and finding a credit card statement. There is so much of it that is out of our hands, that the best we can do is be proactive in our daily lives and let our credit monitoring services do its job.
So the tip of the day today, well tips, is going to focus on physical protection of your identity.
First is your computer. If you have to leave it unattended for any period of time, log out. This is more important in the work place than at home, but it still a good habit. A would be thief is not likely to spend the time trying to guess your password while at work, but if they see an open desk top, they may be more inclined to take a peek around. I know its a pain to have to log in every time you sit down, but after a week of doing it, it will become second nature and you will not even notice that its a choir.
Next is you mail anything that you plan to throw away that has your personal information on it you should shred. If you do not own a shredder, just rip it all up and toss it out. You would be surprised how many victims of ID theft come from people going into the trash and pulling out old letters with personal information on them! And if you have a pet and are feeling a little extra sassy, throw you old mail in with the kitty litter, or the dog poop, I think that would keep most anyone away!
These are some simple things you can do to make sure that your ID is safe from would be thieves. And in the event that your ID is stolen, know that you are protected with our credit monitoring service 24/7, and you will be alerted as soon as anything suspicious occurs on your credit reports.
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Were all human, and our lives are very busy. We all make mistakes, its just a fact of life. What hurts is when an honest mistake can lead to a change in your credit score. So what is my number 1 pick for top credit score mistake. Missing a payment.
A simple missed payment can make your score plummet. From a great score to bad in with a simple over site. If you do happen to miss a payment make the payment as soon as you can. The damage is done, but you will want to get back 0n track as soon as you can.
If this is your first late payment and you have a history of making payments, then you can call and ask to have it forgiving. You will have no luck with the first reps you get on the phone, you will have to speak to a supervisor. It will be frustrating, but it is worth it to stick at it. The first person you get is not going to allow you speak to a supervisor, they are going to tell you there is nothing they can do, they will make it seem like you have a better chance of having unicorn for dinner than to get this removed. Just stick with it, and keep asking to speak to a supervisor.
Once you have the supervisor on the phone, just explain to them that it was an accident, and that you have not done this before. Ask them as a valued customer if you could please have this one late payment removed. More times than not, they will remove it for you, and it will be taken off your credit reports, and your score will bounce back!
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Any negative information that is showing up on your credit rating can be damaging for many years. Even if you are up-to-date with new loans or credit cards, if you have negative data showing on your credit history from many years ago, you can rest assured that it will be seen by lenders. This will affect how much interest you will have to pay for any major purchases.
Here is some information about how long you can expect certain items to remain on your credit file.
This information remains on your credit file for seven years after the total amount has been repaid. There has been major changes to Tax Liens, read about them in this blog post. Tax Lien Changes Great news for consumers.
If a lawsuit is pursued by one of your creditors it can also remain on file for up to seven years or longer depending on the statute of limitations and when it expires. All of the information about the judgment will be listed on your file.
Government loan defaults
Any defaults on government loans such as a student loan or insured loan may be added onto your record at the credit bureaus for seven years.
A bankruptcy can remain on your credit file for 10 years.
In most cases any negative information about your credit can remain on file for seven years. This includes defaults on loans, late payments and missed payments. The time period begins from the date that the last payment was made or was brought into collections.
It is a lot easier to prevent negative credit information from entering your account than to handle it once it has been reported. If you are having a problem paying an account it is always best to get into communication with the lender to get things sorted out. This way, you may be able to preserve your credit file rating for many years.
Another proactive thing that you can do is monitor your credit report to make sure that everything looks fine and that nothing has been mistakenly reported. Keep in mind that lenders can often make a mistake and report something that shouldn’t be showing up in your file. In this case it is actually your responsibility to get it sorted out so that your report stays clean.
More and more people are staying on top of their credit report and reviewing it on a constant basis. As you can see above, any negative information added to your credit file would have an impact on your financial situation for many years to come. The easiest way to keep on top of your credit is with a credit monitoring service.
ShareWe have all heard that S&P downgraded the US credit on Friday to AA+ from is previous top rating of AAA. I know it came as a shock to many of us, but honestly the signs were there and those who are in power chose to ignore them. Months ago S&P let us all know that we were on the verge of a downgrade in our credit. They even told us what they wanted to see to avoid this.
They gave us three things to do to avoid this. Pick a realistic financial goal to reach for. Stabilize the debt, get the GDP back to at least 60% or lower.
Put a multi year plan in place now. Not later, we have to have a plan in place now to show that we can cut into the trillions of dollars of debt.
Address the budget. There will be hard choices that have to be made, but they have to be made.
If we can do these things we can get back on track to get our AAA rating back.
So what does this all mean for the average citizen? That is yet to be seen actually, but all predictions are interest rates on everything will go up, this means your gas card, store credit, car loans, mortgages, everything. Its hard enough right now for many of us to pay the bills we have, and an increase to our interest rates will be a very hard pill to swallow.
I hate to say you should be spending more money in these times, but signing up for credit monitoring services at this time I feel is very important. In the coming times, I feel that it will be more important than ever to maintain a great credit score, and if you are not there yet, then to work hard to get your credit score to the top range in a short amount of time.
We here at Best Credit Reports.com will do our best to keep on top of this, and do everything we can to keep our customers informed. In addition we will be hiring new staff to write articles and educational materials on ways to improve your credit scores. More to come soon….
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