Credit Education

In addition to using credit FICO scores, some resellers use a scale of 0-9 to rate credit. On this scale, each number is preceded by one of two letters: “I” signifies installment credit (like home or auto financing), and “R” stands for revolving credit (such as a credit card). Here is how the scale breaks […]

The most difficult items to remove off a credit report are bankruptcies, judgments and foreclosures. These items on your credit report are easy for the credit bureaus to verify. These are not impossible to remove, they’re just difficult. When dealing with a bankruptcy or foreclosure the same magic three standards must be met (I’ll say

Studies show at least 73% of credit reports have errors.  Rarely, have you probably ever, reviewed a report with a client where you didn’t locate erroneous or false reporting accounts. Once they are recognized, still many clients don’t know the huge score impact those small “mistakes” make to their credit scores.  Dates-of-last activity and dates-of-default,

For the best understanding of creating dispute letters on behalf of your customers, let’s review the construction of a credit repair letter: Top of the letter In the upper left side of the page, you should always include your client’s full name and current address. Because the credit bureaus use social security numbers as identifiers,

The Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs) get most of their information from the consumer’s creditors and lenders. A creditor or lender is someone who loans money to a borrower. Creditors and lenders sign agreements with the credit bureaus that they will report payment and credit history.   The companies that report information to the CRAs are

Many people think sending a dispute letter to the credit bureaus is where credit repair begins and ends. It is true that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) provides consumers with the rights to challenge any credit report item deemed to be questionable. It also requires that the credit bureau delete any credit listing that

Credit scoring first started in the late 1950’s to support lending decisions in large department stores. The concept was revolutionary and by the end of the 1970s, most of the nation’s largest commercial banks, finance companies, and credit card issuers used credit-scoring.  However, credit scoring was widely adopted when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fully

There is nothing illegal about credit repair. In fact, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) spells out legal rights and protocols for disputing items on a credit report. In addition, the Federal Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) allows the right to request broad amounts of information regarding billing and payment history from a creditor (e.g.

Make sure you have a contract in place when offering credit repair services.  A contract is very important because CROA specifically states you must have a contract in place before you do any work for a consumer.  The definition of what a service is must be detailed inside your contract. Inside your contract, it should

Here are some do’s and don’t’s relating to compliance. Don’t make deceptive claims.  Often you’ll see certain advertisements like, “We can erase your bad credit,” “100% Guaranteed,” or “Create a new identity legally,” “We remove bankruptcies, judgments, liens, and bad loans from your credit file, forever.”  When offering credit repair services you can’t make these