Low Interest Credit Cards: A Thing of the Past?
September 2, 2010
With interest rates rising, low or zero percent credit cards may soon become a thing of the past. However, the wise shopper can still secure a low rate by carefully shopping around. Here are some ways you still get a bargain rate card:
Contact Your Current Provider. Chances are the interest rate with your current credit card provider has been inching up for the better part of the past year. Whereas previously you could have had a 5% rate, the card may now be up to 8, 9, or even 10%. What can you do? Contact your credit card provider and ask for a lower rate. They can tell you no, at the risk of you going elsewhere, or give you a fixed lower rate. If your provider refuses to budge, see if they would consider a lower rate for a certain period of time, let’s say for six or twelve months. The added savings of the temporary lower rate can be beneficial especially if you have a big purchase coming up that you plan on paying off within 6 to 12 months.
Always Avoid Payment Holidays
August 29, 2010
Once you’ve been paying off a credit card for a while, you might be offered a ‘payment holiday’. You’ll get a letter, saying that since the company knows it’s difficult for some families around Christmas (or whatever other excuse they think up), they’re offering you a month off from paying, as a ’special present’.
Why Would They Do That?
Offers of payment holidays typically have a very high acceptance rate. People think it’s great that they can take a month off from the stress of paying back debt. What they don’t usually realise is that these ‘holidays’ aren’t a present at all - they’re a great money-spinner for the credit card company. For the company, it’s a win-win situation: they get to make big profits just by making their poorer customers happy.
How Can Letting Me Off Paying Earn Them Money?
Well, that’s where the trick comes in. If you read the small print, you’ll find that the payment holiday> isn’t interest free! You’re still being charged interest - and since you’re not paying anything back that month, the interest will be there next month for you to pay interest on (compound interest, you see).
How did a Thief get my Name? Don?t be a Victim of Identity Theft
August 27, 2010
How do these people get my name? If you have a credit card, your name is sold to third parties, if you do not want this to happen, you must contact your credit card companies to inform them that you do not want your information sold. Check the privacy notice that comes with your bill. If you enter contests, your information becomes public. Also, when you buy a new product, and fill out the warranty cards, those companies sell that information you provide to other companies. Since when does your toaster manufacturer need to know you households’ annual income to extend a warranty on your toaster? Thieves use dumpster digging, phishing, and pharming to obtain your information. Things they steal from your trash include:
? Pre-approved credit card offers ? they complete them and have the card sent to them at a different address ? Loan applications- they complete the application and have the money sent to a phony address. ? Bank statements- they then have your bank account number and can print counterfeit checks
Becky Palmer, a Consumer Credit Counselor, knew of someone who had their wallet stolen, and they used the credit card to buy a $5000.00 gift card at Wal mart, this then become very hard to trace.
Fixing A Credit Report
August 23, 2010
Fixing a credit report starts with seeing what’s on it. You may get access for free online. Try a search for “free credit report.” Alternately, when you are denied credit based on a report issued by a local credit reporting agency, you can request a free credit report from that agency within 30 days.
A quick look and you’ll have an idea why you were denied credit. Now how do you fix what you see? What if you find incorrect information on the report? What if you want to change information that is accurate, but unfair?
First, if there is anything you want to dispute in the report, you can write a letter to the agency. Tell them exactly what is incorrect, and they must investigate. Send copies of any documentation, such as canceled checks, and send it all by certified mail.
The agency must contact the source of the disputed information. If they recieve no confirmation within 14 days, they must delete the item from their files, and send you an updated report. You can demand that they send the corrected report to all creditors that recieved your credit report in the previous six months. This last part won’t be done automatically, so be sure to demand it.
The Right Way To Credit Repair
August 20, 2010
If you have a bad credit rating, then you might find that your ability to get financing, loans, and even some jobs is greatly diminished.
Once you have a bad credit rating, it might seem like there’s nothing that you can do about it? but you don’t have to believe that. It’s not as difficult as you might think to get by with a bad credit rating; with a little work and time you can even repair it! Of course, before you do that it’s important to realize exactly what a credit rating is.
Every time a lender or other creditor makes a report concerning your payment history to them, this report affects your credit score.
Your credit score is a numerical indication of the positive and negative reports that you’ve received from creditors and lenders; if the number is high then you have a good credit rating, and if it’s low then you have a bad credit rating.
Basic credit repair
Get organized! Make a folder for all your correspondence offline and online. You will have to do some snail mailing but in most cases you can work your repair online.
Credit and Loan Help for Mortgage Loans
August 17, 2010
Mortgage loans are some of the most difficult loans to receive if you have bad credit because lenders focus heavily on your credit score and history of making payments on time. However, there is credit and loan help for individuals interested in home mortgage loans.
There are many online resources and loan counselors that will provide you with plenty of options for credit and loan help, but often times when you are interested in applying for a mortgage loan the best thing you can do is increase your credit score.
You can pay a credit service to help you increase your credit score, or else you can obtain a copy of your credit report and work on getting negative information removed yourself. This will save you money and improve your score. Simply view your credit report and then send a letter to the credit reporting agency that certain information is inaccurate or wrong and ask for removal of the information. Frequently, this will work whether the information is accurate or not and you will have an instant boost in your credit score, which plays a heavy role in your obtaining a mortgage loan.
Credit Cards - The Basics
August 13, 2010
How Lenders Operate ? And How They’ll Make a Tidy Fortune from the Unknowing
Credit card companies might seem like immensely clever, money making enterprises that exploit every loophole to maximize the interest payments ? and profits ? they are taking from you every month. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. These financial institutions operate on simple principles and exploit the fact that consumer demand and their customer’s naivety will keep business turning endlessly over.
It doesn’t have to be that way, however. Know what to look out for and you can cut your overheads and stop these businesses from making a dime more than they have to.
Lenders exploit the fact that people use one card for many purchases. For example, if you use a balance transfer special card rate for spending in the supermarket or mall, they deliberately structure repayments in such a way that you’ll pay a fortune on the entire balance. To properly play your plastic you need to deploy an army of cards as weapons in the war against consumer debt. Using the right tool for the right job will smash your credit card costs.
The Exact Action To Take When You Find Errors In Your Credit Report
August 11, 2010
There are times when you may be turned down for credit and you do not understand why.
According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report if you have been denied credit because of negative items on your credit report within 60 days of the request for credit, if you are unemployed but looking for work, are on state benefits, or believe that your credit report is incorrect because of fraud.
You may also receive a copy of your credit report for a small fee at any time in which you want to review the information contain therein.
If you dispute any of the information on your credit report, there are steps that you, the credit reporting agency and the information provider must take to have the information corrected or deleted form your report.
1. You should contact the credit reporting agency and request that the inaccurate information be taken off. To do this you will need to send a letter of request and enclose a copy of the report with the incorrect information highlighted. Send your request certified mail and indicate that a return receipt is requested.
Dont Fall For A Scheme When Trying To Rebuild Your Credit History
August 9, 2010
For people with a spotty credit history or bad credit, getting approved for a standard credit card can be difficult, if not impossible.
There are a number of credit card options that are aimed specifically at people who have bad credit and are trying to rebuild or repair it. There are also, unfortunately, a lot of schemes to take advantage of the desperation to get a credit card when no one else will issue one. How do you tell which options are valid ones and which are just taking advantage of a bad situation? Let’s take a look at some the things that you should be wary of below.
Catalog Clubs Disguised As ‘Credit Cards’ For People With Bad Credit.
Some supposed credit cards offer to help people rebuild a bad credit history by making purchases from their catalogs. Products in the catalogs are often overpriced, and you can’t use the ‘credit card’ anywhere else. While they will make reports to credit card companies with your balance and payment history, which will help to repair bad credit, it can be a very expensive way to acquire goods and clear up your credit history.
Understanding Credit Card Penalties
August 5, 2010
Because most of us have one or two credit cards and we use them every day, understanding credit card penalties and fees is a significant issue since one time or another we have paid a penalty for some reason. Every user of a credit card must first understand that every charge on the credit card represent a loan which must be repaid. It’s like the loan for buying a house or a car; the same way these loans should be repaid, the credit card debt should also be repaid and even more it should be paid in time and at least the minimum amount or else you’ll end up paying more interest fees and penalties than the actual borrowed amount. So, we can say it is important that reading and understanding credit card penalties and fees to be done before you apply for a credit card and start using it. A credit card user should read, before signing, the agreement and especially what is written with small letters because those small written lines sometimes are the most important. The agreement of the credit card usually contains rules on how and when the credit card issuer can apply penalties and fees, but you should also look for the lines where it is clearly stated how and when the payments should be done. You, as the future user of the credit card need to have complete and accurate information in order to be able to take a correct decision.
