Credit Report Hassles
September 1, 2010
There is no end to the amount of pain that your credit report can cause you. If you have a bad credit history this is something that can follow you around and wreak havoc on your life without you even knowing it. Do you know how many people did not get a job because their credit report was awful? Thousands and how many do you think realized that that was the reason they did not get a call back? I would venture to say a big fat zip. Credit counts for everything nowadays and it is only going to count for more in the future.
Whenever you apply for a job, an apartment, a loan or for credit your report is likely going to get looked at. No one wants to get involved with an unreliable person, especially those who are going to have to depend on this person for some important reason, like a rent check or to keep their business running. That is why people with bad credit find themselves getting the short end of the stick all of the time.
Harassment of People in Debt by Creditors
August 30, 2010
Harassment
Harassment of people in debt by creditors or their agents is a criminal offence under the Administration of Justice Act 1970. It is often difficult to know what to do when you feel a creditor is not dealing with your account fairly. In order for you to identify what activities by your creditors may involve harassment and what can be done about the problem, this factsheet outlines:
The relevant section of the Administration of Justice Act The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) Debt Collection Guidance on harassment How to deal with harassment by your creditors.
SECTION 40 OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE ACT
S40 Punishment for unlawful harassment of debtors.
1. A person commits an offence if, with the object of coercing another person to pay money claimed from the other as a debt due under a contract he: harasses the other with demands for payment which, in respect of their frequency, or the manner or occasion of making any such demand, or of any threat or publicity by which any demand is accompanied, are calculated to subject him or members of his family or household to alarm, distress or humiliation; falsely represents, in relation to the money claimed, that criminal proceedings lie for failure to pay it; falsely represents himself to be authorised in some official capacity to claim or enforce payment; or utters a document falsely represented by him to have some official character, or purporting to have some official character which he know it has not.
It Is In Your Best Interest To Do The Math On Your Credit Card Interest
August 26, 2010
If you begin foaming at the mouth once a month when you receive your credit card statement, join the millions of Americans that are foaming along with you. There is a growing outrage at the seemingly endless journey towards eliminating the balance on your credit card and that is due primarily to the extravagant interest rates charged by credit card companies.
Your bank is probably touting the super rates it offers on Certificates of Deposit or CDs. "Just deposit $5,000 for 6 months and we’ll give you a ‘whopping" return of 2.83%." Yet, in contradiction to the low rates banks are willing to pay you for the use of their money, the interest on credit card rates can be 10 times the amount offered on a CD. Why?
The interest rates on savings accounts and CDs are based on competition, the cost to the bank of borrowing money and the expected return on investment to the bank for the use of your money. Because a savings account is liquid, the bank does not know from day to day how much of your money will be available for its use. A CD, on the other hand, requires that you place your money in the bank for a specific amount of time. The longer the time period, the higher the return. That is because the bank has greater flexibility with your money and knows exactly how long they have to work with it.
Bailiffs & Council Tax - Knowing What To Do
August 22, 2010
This article is about bailiffs who may call trying to collect Council Tax or Community Charge (Poll Tax) arrears. If a bailiff has contacted you to collect another sort of debt the law might be different.
Council Tax and Poll Tax are usually collected by private firms of bailiffs on behalf of your local council. They try to take your goods away and sell them, usually at auction, to raise money to pay the debt. The process they have to follow to say they want your goods is called ‘distraining’ or ‘levying’.
From October 1998 bailiffs who call must be “certificated”. This means they must have a certificate from the County Court allowing them to act as bailiffs. You can complain to the County Court about a certificated bailiff.
From April 1998 you should get a letter from the Council telling you how much you owe and warning you that a bailiff will call if you do not pay the debt within 14 days. It will also tell you who to contact at the council if you have a query. Contact the council and try to make an arrangement to pay what you can afford immediately. If the council agrees then they can stop bailiffs calling out and save you extra fees.
How to Deal with Hire Purchase Debt
August 19, 2010
WHAT IS HIRE PURCHASE/CONDITIONAL SALE?
Although people often talk about “buying on HP”, Hire Purchase Agreements are quite unusual these days. Cars are the most usual goods sold under Hire Purchase or Conditional Sale Agreements. With Hire Purchase and Conditional Sale Agreements, you do not own the goods until you have paid the credit agreement off. This means they are not the same as ordinary credit agreements.
This means you cannot sell the goods yourself without the creditor’s written permission. If you sell the goods without permission, it can be a criminal offense.
On ordinary credit agreements, the goods you buy belong to you from the time you take out the credit. The lender cannot take the goods back. They can only ask you to pay the money you owe under the agreement.
WHAT IF I CANNOT AFFORD TO PAY?
If you fall behind with your payments on a Hire Purchase or Conditional Sale Agreement, the creditor may be able to repossess the goods. Look at your agreement. There will be a box telling you how much you need to have paid to stop the creditor taking the goods back without a court order. This should be a third of the total amount payable under the agreement.
Your Credit Score
August 14, 2010
Credit scores: all lenders use credit scores to determine interest rates and credit limits.
The credit scoring system was developed in the early 1950’s. However, it was not widely utilized until the early 1980’s, when it was overhauled by Fair, Isaac & Company. At that time the 3 major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian and Trans Union, worked with FICO to create three separate credit models, one for each bureau.These agencies still use their own criteria to rate credit holders but the numbers have been normalized so that a score of 650 at Bureau A is equal to a score of 650 at Bureau B, etc.
Simply put, a credit score is a mathematical equation calculated by the review of a potential applicants credit history. It is based on factors such as income, instances of late or missed payments, types of debt owed, number of credit inquiries on file and the percentage of available credit that is actually being used.
Credit scores generally range between 300 and 800. The average credit score lies somewhere between the 600 and 700 range. As a rule, in order to receive a standard, lower cost loan a score of 620 or above is required. A high score indicates a low credit risk, meaning those with high scores find it very easy to obtain credit.
Credit Worthiness
August 11, 2010
Credit Worthiness is an important business and personal asset each person has to manage. I mean this is an asset which could make or break business relationships and interestingly in some cases personal relationships. This is a complex abstract thing that is evaluated in many ways by different entities. What factors contribute to the credit worthiness is really dependent on the case for which this is evaluated. Mostly for small debts or purchases the credit worthiness is just a credit card reference, but for larger one it starts with that but really ends with a personal visit by evaluators. The typical purchases where your credit worthiness dictates your payment terms are credit cards, real estate purchases, business credit, and any type of loans. This is also used to judge the qualification of foster parents, just to mention a diverse application of the concept. Given that the number of factors that contribute to this worthiness, it is worth noting the few important ones. And try to make sure your credit worthiness is in the positive side.
Bad Credit Credit Cards
August 7, 2010
Chances are you’ve gotten your share of offers like this in the mail Bad Credit Credit Card, Bad Credit Visa Cards and Credit Cards for People With Bad Credit. Re-establish your credit with a bad credit credit card, credit cards for people with bad credit or pre-approved Visa cards regardless of your bad credit history, some with low introductory rates and other perks. Many of these solicitations urge you to accept “before the offer expires.” Before you accept, shop around to get the best deal. A credit card is a form of borrowing that often involves charges. Credit terms and conditions affect your overall cost. So it’s wise to compare terms and fees before you agree to open a credit or charge card account.
Understanding Your Credit Score
August 4, 2010
When you apply for credit one of the first things almost all credit officers do is check your credit score. Although not all of those officers explained to us what a credit score is, we are all rated according to it and the offers we receive were all dependent on that score. This is why understanding your credit score is of utmost importance, and for future reference at least basic knowledge should be acquired. In the following paragraphs we will tackle understanding your credit score, realizing what your credit score means and analyzing what you can do to improve it.
Credit score is actually computed as an average of several elements from your credit report. This report is typically broken into five different sections and each of these sheets will represent a piece of the final score. Each category of credit report information occupies a certain percentage in the final score. To begin with, it is essential to say that the highest percentage is taken by the category made up of credit and payment history. An issuer will look at all types of payments: credit card payments, retail accounts, installment loans and so on. He or she will particularly look at the number of delayed or not paid payments, time passed since the last skipped payment, number of problematic accounts as compared to accounts in good standing.
Tackling Bad Credit
July 31, 2010
The first time I heard the term credit history was when I approached a lender for a secured loan. Being a first timer I was completely ignorant of the procedure and didn’t even know that a credit record of our transactions is prepared by some credit reference agencies.
Thanks to the discipline in making the repayments to the loans and mortgages, I never let my credit history degrade. But there are many who are not as fortunate as me. A recent statistics revealed that one out of every five people is having a bad credit history, i.e. a sizable part of the population has defaulted at some point of time in the past.
Loan providers are not as generous to the people having a bad credit history as they are to people like us. Whatever be the reason of the default, loan providers always believe that the borrowers intentionally default on the loan. A play safe policy describes their dealings with such borrowers. The more cautious lot of lenders will immediately reject the applications. The remaining lenders provide for the security of the amount lent through a higher interest rate.
