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Stuart Hunter's Articles in Credit & Credit Cards

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Advice on How to Raise a Low Credit Rating Each day, millions of people throughout the United States struggle with the effects of having bad credit. Some are turned down for credit cards or car loans, others find out their applications for a mortgage loan have been rejected. If you're dealing with the restrictions that get imposed on people with poor credit, you may already realize that your credit reports are in need of repair. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) Has Some Work to Do The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) made significant gains when it comes to cleaning up the consumer credit reporting system, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. As long as there are consumers who get denied for loans because of inaccuracies recorded on their credit files, suffer from bad credit ratings that do not give lenders a fair impression of their true credit worthiness, and get stuck in situations where they have the means to increase improve their credit score but cannot get the information they need to make it happen. Credit Repair Starts with Knowledge For such an important topic, credit is one that only a few have more than a basic knowledge. As a consequence of this lack of understanding, people put themselves in a position to join the countless others who are being victimized by the credit system. 3 More Reasons to Keep Your Credit Reports Clean Most people realize that a good credit rating is helpful in getting approved for loans with the best rates, but not everyone realizes how keeping their credit reports clean plays a part in getting jobs, keeping credit card interest rates low, and minimizing auto insurance premiums. 3 Failures of the FCRA While the Fair Credit Reporting Act has had a positive effect on the consumer credit system, there are still shortcomings in how your credit reports are constructed and how your credit scores are calculated. These flaws result in an unfair credit system that more often than not, punishes the consumer and rewards lenders. Your 700 Credit Rating is Good, But Is It Good Enough? A 710 credit rating is good, but it isn't good enough to get you approved for the best interest rates when refinancing your mortgage. Lending requirements have become much more strict so you may need to work on your credit rating before you can take advantage of today's low interest rates. Repairing Credit: There's Nothing Wrong With Asking for Help If you've never done it before, you can try to bake cookies without a recipe, you can try to repair your car's transmission yourself, and you can try to correct your credit reports. Of course, you risk batches of inedible cookies, a disabled vehicle, and a damaged credit history. Getting help with any of these tasks can help you avoid making a mess that is too tough to clean up. Four Laws Helping You Repair Your Credit There are a number of laws designed to protect you from being taken advantage of by the creditors and credit bureaus. It is these consumer protection laws that state what information can be listed on your credit reports, how long it can remain listed, and what you can do to remove incorrect and unfair bad credit listings. 4 Consumer Reporting Agency Myths They wield enormous power over your life - and the lives of every other American adult. But how much do you really know about the big three credit bureaus? Friend or foe? Fact or fiction? The FCRA and Your Credit Rights Before the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the credit reporting system was particularly unfriendly to consumers. Fortunately, many of the injustices of the system have been addressed and consumers are now able to do something about their credit rating. A Better Definition of Credit Repair Ask 10 people to define credit repair and you will probably get 10 different answers. Even amongst financial experts, there are disagreements about what credit repair is. So exactly what is credit repair? Credit Repair is More Important Than Ever The current credit crisis has created great opportunities for those with excellent credit. Hoping to take advantage of these opportunities, people with poor and average credit are turning to credit repair for help. Accurate Credit Listings, Not What You Think They Are Because of how accurate credit listings are defined by the FCRA and other legal rulings, many of the things on your credit reports that you think are accurate may not be. 8 Common Myths about the Consumer Credit System Misinformation and half-truths abound in discussions about credit reporting and scoring. People have so many different ideas about what is true when it comes to dealing with their credit that regardless of the question you ask, you are liable to get a wide variety of conflicting information. Credit Bureaus: Fact and Fiction Many people have some common misconceptions about the true nature of the credit bureaus that could be argued is exactly what the credit bureaus want. This is because these misconceptions give people the impression that there is little they can do about their credit. Learning the facts about the credit bureaus and the credit reporting system is the first step in taking control of your credit. It's Your Responsibility to Repair Your Credit Reports Making sure your credit reports are accurate is your responsibility and if there are errors in your credit reports, you are going to have to be the one to repair them. You have the right to repair your credit report but even further than that, you have the responsibility to repair your credit.