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Posts Tagged ‘credit report’

How to Avoid and Recover From Credit Fraud

We hear it on the news, we hear it from our friends, we see it on the Internet, identify theft and credit fraud.  Don’t be a victim yourself, do what you can to protect and education yourself against them both.  Don’t have your credit ruined only to have to apply for personal bad credit loans later on down the road.

How do we go about protecting ourselves from these scam artists.  Avoid having financial problems and applying for bad credit unsecured loans that we don’t want in the future?  Yes, I said bad credit, these scammers can ruin your credit tremendously.

Here are a few ways to help avoid and fight against credit fraud:

1.  Monitor.  Check track of your personal credit report.  By keeping track of your credit history you are able to catch any fraudulent activity quickly and nip it in the butt.  Is it difficult to do this?  No!  Contact or hire a credit agency to contact the three (3) credit reporting bureaus and get a copy.  Once a year you are entitled to receive one free copy from all of these agencies.  Plenty of opportunities to keep track and check your credit reports.

2.  Damage Control.  What if they did rip you off?  What if there is fraudulent activity from scam artists on your report?  Send a form letter to each of the credit bureaus to explain your situation, in detail.  They will have to validate the claim and run an investigation, but this is imperative to do, so let them.

3.  Education.  Read about what is going on.  Know that you have the right to research and find out what could be on your personal credit reports that are fraudulent and how to go about fixing them.  Knowledge is the best information and education you can provide yourself against these scheming scam artists.

Always remain cautious, taking preventive measures to stop this from happening from you.

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Don’t Pay For Your Credit Report!

There are few things in life that are free anymore, but one of them is access to your credit report. The government has determined that getting to look at your credit report is important enough that you should get to look at it once a year for free. There are actually federal laws that give you this right.

Your credit report contains just about everything about your financial history. It shows where you spend your money, what your credit score is, and most importantly if you are a worth of credit or not. Getting to see this information about yourself is both informative and can help prevent identity theft. Since it is so important, you get one free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus each year. That means that if you spaced it out correctly, then you could get one every four months.

If you decide to take your free looks online (as most people do), then you are probably going to want to make sure that you print out the report for your files. If you just take a look at it and then close the browser, then that counts as your free look for the year from that bureau. You would have to pay to see it again or else burn another free look from another bureau. It makes everything easier if you just print it out or at least write it down.

Do not neglect looking at your report for too long, because as already stated, it can help prevent identity theft. If you notice very strange behaviors on your credit report that you know are not attributable to you, then you may have a case of identity theft. If you believe this to be the case, then contact the proper authorities immediately. This is why everyone should take advantage of their free looks at their reports.

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Timeshare Foreclosure and Your Credit Report

If you find yourself unable to pay for a timeshare you financed, you might wonder if it is best just to let the timeshare get foreclosed on. But if you have question about just how timeshare foreclosure impacts your credit report, the answers aren’t too great.

Most timeshares are deeded real estate, just like the home you own. Even many points programs such as Wyndham, RCI or Disney Vacation Club, have a property underlying the points. In fact, if you finance a timeshare purchase you are essentially taking out a mortgage and can declare your interest payments on your tax return.

Since timeshares are property, going through a timeshare foreclosure is going to hurt your credit report. While some potential creditors in the future may take a look at your complete credit history and decide that a timeshare foreclosure isn’t as harmful as regular mortgage default, it will still remain on your credit report for at least seven years. And you can expect that many of the companies and banks who will pull your credit report in the future will consider such a foreclosure to be quite negative.

While the entry will remain on your credit report for seven years, usually the first three years carry the worst consequences, i.e. making it tough to get credit cards or a mortgage or other loans. So you probably want to think about what your future plans are before you decide to either just let the timeshare go or start looking for some timeshare relief.

For example, if you already own your own home and don’t expect you’ll need any additional credit within the next three years, then the direct impact on your lifestyle may be fairly insignificant. You may however want to think about the likelihood of a career change though as many companies nowadays pull credit reports before making a final decision on hiring. In fact, even something as simple as getting a new cellphone could become difficult as cellphone companies pull your credit report too.

Of course, if you are deciding between making your timeshare payment and paying your home mortgage, I don’t think there’s any contest. Your home is more important that the timeshare. In the long run, you’ll need to make your own decision on how badly a negative entry on your credit report will impact your life, but if it down to one or the other, I’d pay my home mortgage and take my chances on the timeshare.

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