Author Login | Popular Articles | RSS Feeds | Sitemap

Home | Finance


Repairing Your Credit Report

By: drew miles

Fixing your credit report and repairing your credit are two distinct processes and problems. If your credit is bad, you can implement some of the strategies below to fix a low score.

Negotiate down the amount of debt (it’s easiest with private individuals). To do this, you must demonstrate the reason for falling behind. One of the tools you can use as leverage is offering something (not the full amount) rather than nothing. For example, explain why the lender should take $5,000 instead of $10,000. You can say “I’m calling five other creditors today. I’m offering you $0.50 on the dollar and if you aren’t interested, I’ll file for bankruptcy,” in which case they wouldn’t get a nickel).

Negotiate a forbearance with credit card companies and clients with mortgages. If there was an illness, death of a breadwinner, divorce or some other legitimate reason incurring severe financial difficulty, you may have a case. Show them you had a good reason for falling behind, agree to stay current on the current payment and offer to pay X amount per month toward what you owe. You also can stick the amount owed on the back of the loan. These are legitimate ways to negotiate and repair your credit.

Beware of illegitimate ways to repair credit
Watch out for companies that will put together new tax returns for you. They’re essentially offering to dummy up tax returns. Another scam is when they take advantage of the credit reporting service’s limited window to answer disputes. If, for example, the window is 14 days, they’ll write a letter saying you don’t owe (when you actually do). It’s just a matter of time before the bank fails to meet the 14-day window; when they miss deadline, you are not required to pay the disputed amount. Not only is this wrong ethically, but it doesn’t fix your credit problem. Additionally, companies that charge you an upfront fee to get you new credit (often ranging from $100 to $1,000), especially out of other countries, is a scam.

Recommended Read
I recommend “Your Credit Score” by Liz Weston, a helpful book on different strategies of legitimate ways to improve your credit score on your own. If you feel like you need/want help, there are legitimate services available to you as well.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
During my years of law school, I completed an internship with a New York Supreme Court Justice and second legal internship with a law firm and also began investing in real estate. Immediately upon graduating law school and passing the bar exam, I opened my own law practice. From 1988 to 2001, I practiced with my partner under the name Miles and Gillard, where I concentrated in the area of real estate and business law. Drew Miles Find Out More: http://www.pfbs.com

Tags: , ,
| Print | Ezine Ready | |

Please Rate this Article

Recent Finance Articles

Today's Hot Articles

Comments

Search Ebay

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Add to Google
ArticleSnatch Authors:
Member Login Sign Up Submit Articles Learn More Submission Guidelines Top Authors
For Publishers:
Most Popular Articles Ezine Notifications Article RSS Feeds Terms of Service
For Everyone:
Blog About Us Link to Us Contact Us New Stuff Link Directory Privacy Policy Sitemap Resources
Our Sites:
Free Magazines Book Your Hotel Stay Free MySpace Tools Massive Video Collection MJE Sales, LLC Blog MyWorldPlus Discounts Freedom Rocks MJE Sales, LLC
Stay and Watch a Video:
Click here to submit your free, permanent ads to TheFreeAdForum.com!

Submit Your link to the Open Link Directory Project

Copyright 2005-2008 MJE Sales, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Proud member of the ArticleCkr Search Network Search Network!
ArticleSnatch.com is free for both publishers and authors to use and is supported entirely from advertising revenue.
Use of our service is protected by our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.