Extra Credit Reports are Offered in Some States

Posted by | Posted on 20-01-2011

While every American can receive at least three free credit reports per year from each of the major credit bureaus, consumers in some states are entitled to an extra copy.

Residents in Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Georgia, and Colorado are all allowed receive to one extra credit report a year due to their states laws, according to WalletPop.

Still, many residents of these states dont take advantage of these services, despite the benefits that reviewing credit reports regularly can have. According to recent research, nearly two-thirds of all Americans dont review their reports even once during a calendar year.

Many financial experts say reviewing a credit report can be a vital part of achieving a good credit score.

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FTC to Study Credit Report Errors

Posted by | Posted on 17-01-2011

The FTC issued another report to Congress last week detailing progress made regarding a forthcoming study of credit report errors.

The study will involve roughly 1,000 randomly selected consumers throughout the nation.

Each will be paired with a so-called expert, who will review their credit reports with all 3 major credit bureaus to help identify potential errors.

Participants will be encouraged to dispute any errors on their credit reports that could affect their credit standing, and those with errors will be sent to Fico (formerly Fair Isaac) for rescoring.

The study aims to determine the proportion of consumers with one or more material errors on their credit reports.

It will measure their frequency and impact on a consumer’s credit score.

Errors will be categorized by type and severity in terms of credit harm and if deemed appropriate, the report may also include recommendations for legislative or administrative action.

Of course, it’s not due until December 2012, so until then you’re on your own.

My guess is that the most common and devastating type of credit report error will be medical collections.

Medical collections seem to be very common and detrimental, leaving even the most creditworthy consumer with a bad credit score.

If you think you’ve got an error on your credit report, it’s simple to execute a credit report dispute online, so don’t hesitate.

They take time, so be sure to act early if anything seems awry.

Checking Credit Reports After Holiday Spending Is a Good Idea

Posted by | Posted on 14-01-2011

Now that the holidays are over, one consumer watchdog group is recommending that individuals check their credit reports for errors that may have occurred during the busy spending season.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) says its important for consumers to make sure their accounts have been accurately charged for purchases, either by checking their accounts online or by calling a lender directly.

This can help ensure that inaccurate charges dont linger or end up creating long-term delinquencies that could end up on a credit report. Since credit reports are one of the primary tools lenders use to evaluate a consumers financial history, leaving an undisputed blemish on the record could cause credit score damage.

If left unchecked, such damage could lead to higher insurance premiums and interest rates on lines of credit, now and in the future.

The BBB says consumers should keep receipts from their online purchases and look for confirmation e-mails for their payments.

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Made to obtain a free credit report

Posted by | Posted on 13-01-2011

Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report every twelve months. E ‘financial housekeeping to report only good you get a copy of each year and then sit down and go over it carefully to ensure there are no errors. Your credit score and report will perform a lot of energy in the modern world, and loans not only to receive. It can mean the difference betweento get a job and not find a job.

Order your free credit report, you should go and ask AnnualCreditReport.com. Once you have signed your credit report for you to be brought to each of the three collection agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

You go through each site, there are a good banner above shows you how to AnnualCreditReport.com may return the report as a result of the subsequent creditAgency agency after you are done with the first credit report.

It ‘s a good idea to get your report files while you’re at home, where you have access to any.

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3 Credit Scores

Posted by | Posted on 12-01-2011

If you’re interested in knowing what your credit score is, keep in mind that there are actually “3 credit scores.”

You see, there are 3 major credit bureaus that keep track of our credit history, so knowing only one won’t do you much good, especially if the bank or creditor pulls your credit using one of the other two.

The three main credit bureaus are:

Equifax Experian TransUnion

These three companies issue credit scores, based on either the Fico score or VantageScore algorithm, though the former is much more common.

And your credit scores will always be different for a number of reasons.

The credit bureaus receive data at different times of the month, report it differently, and may not even receive it from every creditor.

That’s why it’s important to know all 3 credit scores because you credit score could be considered good with one bureau and just average with another.

Additionally, mortgage lenders pull tri-merge credit reports, which contain all 3 credit scores, and take the middle score.

So if you’ve got a 750 score with Equifax, a 680 score with Experian, and a 700 score with TransUnion, the lender will only consider the 700 score.

That could mean a higher rate or even failure to qualify, so be sure to keep tabs on all 3 credit scores to avoid any unwelcome surprises!

***Get all 3 credit scores free to see where you stand!

Financial News Roundup: IRS Filing Delay, Cutting Mortgage Payments

Posted by | Posted on 03-01-2011

Today’s top news headlines feature advice on how to use payroll tax deduction and reduce monthly mortgage payments. Plus, find out why bankruptcy filings were so high in 2010.

Itemizers Must Wait to File Taxes CNN Money The Internal Revenue Service announced taxpayers who plan to itemize their deductions must wait until mid- to late-February while the agency updates its systems to reflect the new tax laws. The delay will not affect all taxpayers, but solely those who plan to itemize deductions, which may relate to tax breaks for state and local taxes, education, medical and dental expenses and charitable contributions.

Recasting May Help Homeowners Save The New York Times Homeowners unable to refinance their mortgages are being urged to explore other options, such as recasting, to save money. R

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