Worried about your debt? Consider this: The U.S. is $23 trillion in the red. Today, the country owes over four times more than it did in 2000, when the national debt stood at around $5 trillion. How did we get … Continue reading →
Read more: creditandcollectionnews.com
Congressional leaders and Democratic presidential candidates are proposing huge investments in undergraduate education, including tuition-free public college and larger grants for students from low-income families. Although those policies would reduce the need to borrow for certificates and associate’s and bachelor’s … Continue reading →
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Our own Bruce McClary, VP of Marketing and Rebecca Steele, CEO joined Richard Levick on the ‘What’s Working in Washington’ podcast to talk about about consumer debt and the increasing problems consumers are facing when trying to find help. Consumer unsecured debt continues to rise and is currently sitting at $1.5 Trillion.
Rebecca Steeles says, “The first step is always the hardest to take, but it’s important to move past the shame and take it!” In earlier days, there was a sense of shame in taking on debt and people avoided it, now it’s so common, everyone has it and feels it’s ok and it’s more important to buy things to show people you love them, like for example the holidays. Statistics show that the average consumer racked up $1300 on their credit cards just for the holiday season. While one in ten are still carrying debt from the 2018 holiday season! If you make minimum payments on this with an average of 18% interest, it will take six years to pay it off.
On top of taking on debt, American consumers also report not having at least $400 to cover an emergency, which in turn leads them to going further into debt if an emergency arises. People on average have five major credit cards. It’s hard to get out of debt once you are in it. When people are desperate they need to know where to turn because it’s not just one creditor, it’s on average at least five and when they aren’t able to take care of it themselves, predators come out from all directions.
Here more about the dangers of the “wild wild west” of the debt relief industry at the links below, what we mean by predatory, and what consumers should do instead at the links below:
Part 1: The Problem with Consumer Debt and the Debt Relief Landscape
Part 2: Where to Turn for Free Help for Your Debt
Nonprofit credit counseling can help you figure out the right option for you and how to navigate the landscape of debt relief options. It gives you a safe space to deal with your debt, with a nonjudgmental ear. They are going to help you with a budget, do a thorough review of your complete financial picture and provide a plan customized to you. Credit counseling is typically free. They are there to advocate for you and ensure that you are better prepared to get out and stay out of debt.
“We are not working for the banks, we are working for the consumer,” said Rebecca Steele, “a lot of banks are working with us and we can work with them on your behalf.”
For the full transcript click here.
The post The Debt Relief Industry is the Wild West, NFCC featured on “What’s Working in Washington” Podcast appeared first on NFCC.
Read more: nfcc.org
Two of Fresno’s most prominent eviction attorneys are facing lawsuits from evicted tenants who say the lawyers should be ordered to stop their debt collection practices. Representing three tenants in two separate complaints, Central California Legal Services accused attorneys Steve … Continue reading →
Read more: creditandcollectionnews.com
Summary LendingClub originates unsecured personal loans it then sells to investors. Credit losses on its loans are steep and it looks like the company is worse than banks at underwriting. The stock is relatively cheap, which compensates for most of … Continue reading →
Read more: creditandcollectionnews.com
The worst thing that can happen after you buy tradelines is not seeing your tradelines post to your credit report. Hopefully, your tradeline company offers a money-back posting guarantee, but of course, it’s better to have your tradelines post successfully the first time around.
Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to make sure everything goes smoothly when you buy tradelines. Here are our pointers on how to get tradelines to post.
1. Remove all fraud alerts and credit freezes from your credit report
Fraud alerts, credit freezes, and any other types of blocks on your credit file prevent new information from being added to your profile. This includes authorized user tradelines. Therefore, if you have a credit freeze, fraud alert, or some other type of block on your credit file, your tradelines will not post.
Before buying tradelines, make sure to contact the credit bureaus to remove any fraud alerts, credit freezes, or other blocks on your credit report so that new AU tradelines will not be blocked. Ideally, it’s best to wait about 30 days after removing all blocks to make sure that your credit file is completely clear.
2. Plan ahead and purchase your tradelines in advance
Try to plan your tradeline purchase ahead of time so you don’t miss the purchase by date.
Each of our tradelines has its own reporting period and corresponding “purchase by” date, which is the date by which you must purchase the tradeline in order for it to report on time. The purchase by date is typically 11 days before the reporting period begins in order to allow enough time to process your payment and add you as an authorized user to the tradeline.
Therefore, if you wait too long and the purchase by date has already passed for the current month, your tradeline may not post until the next reporting period a month later.
For this reason, it’s best to plan your purchase ahead of time so that you can be sure to purchase your desired tradelines before the purchase by date. Those who wait until the last minute to buy tradelines are limited to the tradelines with the soonest purchase by date.
Alternatively, some people are in such a rush to get tradelines that they don’t even pay attention to the purchase by date, and they don’t realize that they may have just purchased a tradeline that is not due to post for another month.
In order to ensure that your tradelines post in a timely manner, make sure to purchase them before the purchase by date.
3. Consider buying more than one tradeline as a safety precaution
While we offer a money-back guarantee in the case of a non-posting, unfortunately, non-postings inevitably do happen from time to time due to incorrect reporting by the banks and credit bureaus, which we have no control over.
If you need your tradelines to post within a specific time window and cannot wait for an exchange to be processed in the event of a non-posting, it is safest to hedge your bets by buying more than one tradeline.
Additionally, when buying multiple tradelines for this reason, you may want to choose tradelines from a few different banks. That way, if there is a problem with one particular bank, it will not prevent the rest of your tradelines from posting.
4. Choose a tradeline company that only works with the best banks and has the highest posting success rate
When it comes to tradelines posting, not all banks are equally effective. Some banks report authorized user accounts much more reliably than others. In fact, we only work with a select few banks that we have rigorously tested and found to have the best posting success rates.
Almost all the other tradeline companies out there work with many more banks than we do, which may sound like a good thing, until you consider the fact that most of these banks don’t report authorized user tradelines very well. Therefore, if you buy tradelines from these companies, there is a much higher chance of your tradelines not posting.
You’ll want to stick with the most reliable banks and tradeline companies to minimize your risk of a non-posting occurring.
5. Avoid buying tradelines from banks you may be blacklisted from
Sometimes, banks may “blacklist” certain customers that have a derogatory history with them, such as bankruptcies or collection accounts. If you have been blacklisted from working with a particular bank, this could prevent any tradelines from that bank from posting to your credit file, so you would want to choose tradelines from other banks to ensure successful posting.
If you are not sure about your status with a bank, but you have a collection or bankruptcy with them, it’s a good idea to avoid that bank as a precaution.
6. Use the correct address that is on file with the credit bureaus
Make sure to use the correct address when ordering tradelines.
The banks and credit bureaus use certain data points to verify the identity of the authorized user, and one of the most important data points is the AU’s address.
If you do not use the correct address that you have on file with the credit bureaus, they may not be able to match the tradeline with your credit profile, and this can prevent the tradeline from posting.
Before buying tradelines, check your credit report with each credit bureau to verify that they have your correct address on file, and be sure to use this same address when placing your tradeline order.
7. Avoid “address merging”
As we mentioned, most tradeline companies sell tradelines from many different banks, including banks that don’t report AU data very well. Because tradelines from those banks don’t post well, most companies engage in a questionable practice called “address merging” to try to get the tradelines to post more often.
Address merging is the practice of falsely claiming that the authorized user lives at the same address as the primary cardholder. This allows the account to be matched up to the AU using the shared address as an identifying data point.
While this strategy may improve their posting rates, we do not recommend this dangerous tactic, because lying about one’s address for financial gain is considered fraud and it could get you in trouble with the law.
It is important to be aware that some companies may be doing this without your knowledge and some may not even realize that they are getting their clients involved in fraud. When choosing a tradeline company, keep in mind that if they sell tradelines from a lot of different banks, it is likely that they participate in address merging.
Instead of getting involved in the risky practice of address merging, follow all of the other steps in this article to increase the odds of your tradelines posting as much as you can.
8. Triple-check your order information for errors before submitting your order
Before finalizing your purchase, go over your information again and make sure it’s free of errors.
While your address is a particularly important data point when it comes to the credit bureaus, it’s also important to make sure the rest of your personal information is correct when placing your tradeline order.
Unfortunately, some people submit their orders with typos or misspellings, and each error increases the odds that something could go wrong.
For example, sometimes people even enter their own name incorrectly! Obviously, if the name you provide with your order is not your actual name, then that can definitely increase the chances of your tradeline not posting because the credit bureaus may not be able to match the tradeline to your credit file.
There’s nothing more frustrating than having a non-posting occur simply due to a preventable user error. To ensure this doesn’t happen to you, before placing your order, look over your information and double- and triple-check it for accuracy.
We hope these tips on getting tradelines to post were helpful to you! Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.
Read more: tradelinesupply.com
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed a bill to license consumer debt collectors. The proposal comes as part of the governor’s 2021 “budget bill” and was introduced on Jan. 21. A copy is available here. The bill proposes an … Continue reading →
Read more: creditandcollectionnews.com
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently held that the anxiety felt by a debtor upon receiving a dunning letter was insufficient to bring a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). See Buchholz … Continue reading →
Read more: creditandcollectionnews.com
BY MARY ELLEN KLAS Matt Holland, 32, of Spring Hill is one of two million Floridians who have had their driver’s license suspended because they couldn’t afford to pay the debt. He lost his license when he couldn’t pay $3,000 … Continue reading →
Read more: creditandcollectionnews.com
Did you know that a large proportion of consumers have errors on their credit reports? Unfortunately, it’s true. In 2017, the most common complaint received by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) had to do with incorrect information being reported on consumers’ credit reports.
A study conducted by the FTC in 2012 found that about 25% of consumers had at least one error on one of their credit reports. Some of those consumers were paying higher interest rates on loans as a result of those errors bringing down their credit scores.
From this information, you can see that it’s all too likely that you may have an error in your credit report. Let’s go over some of the most common types of credit report errors and how to fix errors on your credit report.
How to Get Your Credit Report
The first thing you will need to do in order to identify errors on your credit report is, of course, obtain a copy of your credit report.
You can get your credit report for free from annualcreditreport.com, which is the only website authorized by the government to provide your annual free credit report.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you are legally entitled to receive one free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus once every 12 months. You can choose to order all three credit reports at the same time or order each individual report at different times throughout the year.
Watch out for other websites claiming to offer free credit reports or free trials, especially if they ask you for payment information.
However, there are some reputable websites where you can view a simplified version of your credit report for free, such as CreditKarma, CreditSesame, WalletHub, and Bankrate. They are able to offer this service by advertising credit products to users.
Inspect your credit report regularly to catch errors early.
You can also request a free credit report if you are denied credit because of information found in your credit report. The credit report must be from the credit bureau that provided the original report to the lender.
In addition, you can qualify for an additional free report if you are unemployed and planning to apply for jobs, if you receive government assistance, or if you are a victim of identity theft.
Credit experts recommend checking your credit reports at least once a year, so make sure to take advantage of any opportunities to get a free copy of your credit report.
You can also pay to get your credit reports directly from the credit bureaus.
Types of Credit Report Errors
Identity Errors
Your personal information is not accurate. For example, your name is misspelled or your address is incorrect. This is an indication that the credit bureau may be confusing you with another person. This can sometimes happen with family members who have similar names or live at the same address.
Your file has been mixed with someone else’s. If you see accounts on your credit report that belong to someone else who has a similar name or the same address, this could mean that your credit report has been merged with another person’s report due to having similar personal information.
There are accounts that you didn’t open. Accounts that you know you didn’t open but are listed in your name indicate that someone has stolen your identity and used it to fraudulently open accounts.
If there are accounts in your name that you didn’t open, your identity may have been stolen.
Account Information Errors
Accounts are reported more than once (duplicate accounts). Sometimes, the same account may be shown twice on your credit report. This can definitely hurt your credit if it’s a derogatory account that’s been duplicated.
An account reports that you are the primary owner of the account when you are actually an authorized user (or vice versa). It’s possible that the credit bureaus have mixed up who is the primary owner of the account.
Closed accounts are reporting as open (or vice versa). Sometimes, accounts that you have closed in the past will still be reporting as open. This can be problematic especially if it’s a negative account, such as a collection. On the other hand, if an open account is reporting as closed, that’s also a problem because it can hurt your utilization ratio.
There are late payments on your report, but you were on time. Late payments are highly damaging to your credit score, so if you’ve never been late paying your bills but your credit report indicates otherwise, that’s an error you’ll want to correct as soon as possible.
An account has an inaccurate open date or date of first delinquency (DOFD). If an account has an incorrect open date, this could change the age of the account, which could, in turn, impact your credit score. An incorrect DOFD on a derogatory account, such as a collection account, will affect when the negative mark falls off your credit report.
Accounts show incorrect balance or credit limit information. Some credit cards do not report a credit limit at all, which could hurt your credit utilization ratio. Alternatively, your credit report may not be showing the correct balance or credit limit, which could also potentially hurt your utilization.
Clerical Errors
Inaccurate data was added back into your credit report after being corrected. If you’ve corrected an error on your credit report but then see the same error pop back up again, it could be a clerical error on the part of the credit bureaus or the data furnisher.
Duplicate collection accounts with different debt collectors are all being reported as open accounts. As we explained in our article on collections, this situation is called “double jeopardy” on your credit report. If an account has been sold to a debt collector, there may legitimately be multiple accounts for the same collection on your credit report, but the original account should be updated to show that it has been transferred and should no longer show a balance owed. The collection agency that currently owns the debt should be the only entity reporting the collection as open with a balance owed.
There is negative information on your credit report that is more than seven years old. Negative information must be removed from your credit report seven years after the date of first delinquency, so if any derogatory information on your credit report is older than seven years, you can have it deleted.
How to Fix Errors on Your Credit Report
To get the best results, write a letter for each dispute and send your letters by certified mail.
If there are any errors on your credit report, you can contact the credit bureau that is reporting the inaccurate information to resolve the issue. Your credit report should contain information on how to file a dispute.
1. Gather All Necessary Information and Supporting Evidence
When you submit your dispute, it’s important to provide all the information the credit bureau will need to process your claim.
This may include the following:
An annotated copy of your credit report (circle or highlight the incorrect item)
Documentation to verify your identity (copies, not original documents)
A letter containing additional information about the item, an explanation of why it is incorrect, and a request to update or remove the incorrect item
Copies of supporting documents that provide proof of the item’s inaccuracy
The Federal Trade Commission offers a guide to disputing errors on credit reports and a sample FCRA dispute letter for consumers to use as a guide during the dispute process.
2. Submit Your Credit Dispute Letter Via Certified Mail
Although it is possible to dispute credit report errors online, many credit experts recommend instead writing a letter and sending it in the mail along with documentation to verify your identity and supporting evidence.
If you try to dispute an error online or over the phone, you may not have the chance to provide enough supporting evidence, and the credit bureau may dismiss your dispute as frivolous.
It’s also recommended that you send your letters by certified mail so that you have proof that the letters have been received. In addition, it’s a good idea to keep copies of your correspondence in case you need to get outside help.
3. Send a Separate Dispute Letter for Each Error
If there is more than one error on your credit report to deal with, it is best to send a separate letter for each dispute, since the credit bureaus may reject long lists of disputes as frivolous.
4. Consider Working With a Reputable Credit Repair Company
Annotate each error in your credit report and provide documentation supporting your dispute.
If you have a lot of errors to dispute or if you have been the victim of identity fraud, you may consider hiring a credit repair service to assist with the process. [Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links.]
5. Contact the Furnisher of the Incorrect Data
You should also contact the lender that furnishes the data to the credit bureaus to ensure the inaccuracy gets corrected at the source. The FTC also provides a sample dispute letter to send to data furnishers.
If you neglect this step, the error could show up on your credit report again the next time the lender reports to the credit bureaus.
6. If Your Identity Was Compromised, Consider Placing a Credit Freeze or Fraud Alert on Your Profile
If the error on your credit report was the result of identity theft, it might also be a good idea to contact the credit bureaus to place a fraud alert or credit freeze on your account.
A fraud alert requires lenders to take extra steps to verify your identity if someone is trying to open an account in your name, whereas a credit freeze blocks anyone from viewing your credit file except for businesses that you have existing relationships with.
Keep in mind that if you are planning to buy tradelines, you must have all fraud alerts and credit freezes removed first, or the tradelines will not post.
What Happens Next?
Once the credit bureau has received your dispute, they have 30 days to investigate your claim. If their investigation cannot verify the information on your credit report, they must update it with accurate information or delete the item.
In addition, the credit reporting agency is required to provide you with written documentation of the results of the investigation.
You are also entitled to get a free copy of your credit report from the company if your credit report has been changed as a result of the dispute. This free copy is not counted as one of your annual free credit reports from annualcreditreport.com.
Upon your request, the credit bureau must notify any entity who pulled your report in the past six months about the corrections made to your report. If anyone has pulled your report for employment purposes in the past two years, you can ask to have an updated copy of your report forwarded to them as well.
What To Do If You Disagree With the Dispute Results
Option 1: Add a Consumer Statement to Your Credit File
If your dispute is rejected and you don’t agree with the credit bureau’s decision, you have the option of adding a consumer statement to your credit report to explain the situation. However, this is not necessarily the best solution.
Firstly, the statement doesn’t get factored into your credit score, so it won’t help your chances when a lender uses an automated system to approve or reject applicants. If it’s a case where an underwriter is looking at your credit report, adding a consumer statement may just draw their attention to a negative item unnecessarily, especially if the item is older.
Option 2: File Another Dispute With Additional Information
Another option is to submit a second dispute with additional supporting documentation to try to get the credit bureau to investigate the dispute a second time.
Option 3: Submit a Complaint to the CFPB
If the credit bureau still fails to correct the information in your credit report, you can submit a complaint to the CFPB.
The CFPB may not be able to force the credit bureaus, as private companies, to do anything, but getting a government agency involved might encourage the credit bureau to rethink their position.
Option 4: Take Legal Action
Continuing to report inaccurate information after you have disputed it is a violation of the FCRA. If you feel that a credit bureau is violating your rights under the FCRA, you have the option of talking to a lawyer about potentially taking legal action.
Conclusions on Credit Report Errors
Unfortunately, errors on credit reports are very common, so we all need to be vigilant about monitoring our credit for fraud and inaccuracies.
Make sure to check your credit reports regularly by claiming your annual free credit reports as well as using a reputable free or paid service throughout the year. As soon as you spot any errors, try to get to the bottom of them and get them corrected both with the credit bureaus and with the data furnishers as soon as possible.
By making sure that your credit report only contains accurate and timely information, you are helping to protect your financial health and ensuring that credit report errors don’t stand in the way of future opportunities.
Read more: tradelinesupply.com
