Below are a few examples of recent credit report dispute results we have gotten for our clients.  As with any client data, we have omitted any personal information such as account numbers and client names from these letters, but that is all that has been “Photoshopped” or edited on these letters. The results themselves are very real.  

Laura -Texas –Enrolled August, 2011

C.W.- Dallas, TX Enrolled April, 2011

N.A.- Colorado Enrolled July, 2011

If you’d like to see results like these, please contact us today!

Cleaning up the negative items on your credit reports is only part of the battle.  Even if every negative item on your credit report disappeared tomorrow, without any accounts in “good standing”, your score won’t improve much.   In addition to resolving the adverse items on your credit reports, here are some proven methods for rapidly improving your score.

Pay down your credit card balances. Reducing your overall debt that’s on your credit report is a very effective way to improve your credit score. If you’re looking for a quick lift in your credit score, the best option is to pay down your debt. If you already have credit card debt, you need to make sure that it’s below 30% of your available credit. That means if you have $30,000 in credit lines, you need to have less than $10,000 on them, otherwise you are negatively affecting your credit score.

Do not close unused credit cards accounts. Cancelling a card can actually lower your score. A better strategy is to occasionally use your older credit cards so the issuer doesn’t stop reporting your information to the credit bureaus. Use it once every couple of months for a tank of gas or smaller purchase and make regular payments. Having a long credit history helps increase your score, keeping older cards is a good idea.

If you don’t have any open tradelines or credit accounts, a secured card can help you build credit if it reports information to the credit bureaus. You have to spend a couple hundred dollars, which the card issuer holds as collateral to open the account. Some secured cards will extend you credit after you show responsible use for a minimum of six months.  Keep in mind, these cards usually give you around a $300 limit, but charge you with fees until upon opening them, which may only leave you with $200-$150 available to use.  Unfortunately you have to immediately turn around and pay down the balances on these cards to make sure your balance is below 30% of the limit.  While this is an inconvenience, consider it as investing in your credit score.

Make sure that the secured card you choose reports to all 3 credit reporting agencies.  Here are a few options that several of our clients have found useful.

• Capital One Secured Visa 

• Credit One Bank

• First Premier Bank

• Orchard Bank

Many of our clients have had success with some different companies that report a line of credit or “tradeline” to all 3 Credit Bureaus.  These companies do not usually give you access to the use the funds as cash or in the form of a “credit card”, but they do have an online store for you to make purchases or you can just pay them to report a line of credit on your reports.

• Credilife

• Hutton Chase

• US Goldcards

If you take out a secured card, you can plan on seeing some improvement within about two months. Make sure that you never pay that card late – ever! Within six months or so you will start to get offers for other cards and they will be much better cards. Take out one or two of those and again, never pay them late. Within a year or so, you’ll be trustworthy to a bank and you’ll be able to get the financing that you need again.

If you need help resolving the negative items on your credit history, please find out more about our credit restoration program. We offer a 100% money-back guarantee. What are you waiting for?

If you are trying to rebuild your credit, paying off old bills can actually hinder the process and even lower your score! Most people with credit challenges have old accounts that have been “charged off”.  The term “charged off” can be confusing. Some people assume that once an outstanding account that has been labeled as “charged off” they no longer owe the outstanding balance, but that’s not the case. The term “charge off” is merely an accounting term that creditors use for a delinquent balance that will likely never be paid by the consumer.  Unfortunately, a “charged off” status does not mean that the unpaid balance is forgiven or is no longer collectable.

Many people assume that a bad debt will drop off of their credit report after seven years. In most cases that is correct, but if you pay off an old debt, it may start that 7-year clock all over again!  For example, if you have a bad debt that is 5 years old and you pay the balance or even make a payment, the 7-year clock may reset with a brand new “last activity” date equal to now. Whereas if you had you done nothing at all, the derogatory account would have simply dropped off your report 7-years after the original charge-off date.  It would be better to have a $1,000 balance on a 5-year old charge off than to have a zero balance on a delinquent account that will continue to be on your credit report for the next 7 years.

As an unpaid bill ages, it has less of an impact on your credit history than more recent activity. If you are trying to repair your credit it is best to focus on newer outstanding bills. Delinquent debts less than four years old are more damaging to your credit score and should be a higher priority for you to pay than old accounts. The credit-scoring formulas behind your credit score that virtually every lender uses to qualify new credit applications do not award a single point for paying off a “charged off” account. 
Some creditors, such as mortgage lenders, may require you to pay off old “charged off” accounts before making a new loan.  In this case, it is imperative to get a “Paid for Deletion” agreement from the creditor or collection agency, before you pay them. This agreement ensures that the creditor will remove the derogatory account from your credit reports upon payment of the debt.

Professional credit repair companies like Take It Off My Credit utilize consumer protection statutes, like the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other legal tactics to demand that credit companies substantiate every detail of the items being reported on your credit. If an original creditor or third-party debt collector has failed to protect your rights throughout the life of the account, the associated credit reporting may be deemed invalid and must be removed.

To learn how credit restoration can help you avoid the pitfalls when repairing your credit or if you have any question, please do not hesitate to Apply for Credit Restoration Today.  

The question has been brought to our attention about whether doing a short sale would affect their credit rating less than going though a foreclosure. In this article, Take It Off My Credit will give you an explanation of what they are and what they can do to your credit rating. It is purely up to you as to what financial decision you will need to make in order to not fall into the pit of bad credit.

A Short Sale happens when a lender agrees to accept less for the property because there is not enough equity to sell and pay all costs for the sale. (Not all lenders will negotiate this kind of sale.) Most of the time you would need to get a real estate agent and/or a lawyer to help with this process. This is not a very easy process, but is do-able.

A Foreclosure is when the lender takes possession of the property and auctions it off to other lenders or the general public. It works just like an apartment eviction, as you will be told to vacate the property once the repossession occurs and they will resell your property (Home, Farm, etc).

FICO reports that a Short Sale can deduct 85-160 from your current credit score. A Foreclosure can deduct 200 or more points from your credit score. Foreclosures can keep you from purchasing another home for 5-7 years, whereas a Short Sale can take a minimum of 2 years.

Either process can be damaging to your credit score and hinder your ability to purchase another home. If you are having financial problems and need to sell your home, you have options. One may be a harder process, but will be able to dilute the damage to your credit. The other is easier, but will have heavier consequences.

Catherine Coy, a mortgage broker in southern California, has said, “The effect on a consumer’s credit report — foreclosure vs. short sale — is the difference between being hit by a train or a bus.”

If you have already been through a Short Sale or Foreclosure and need help with cleaning up your credit report, we offer legitimate services for clients to increase credit score, and rebuild credit. Take It Off My Credit’s mission is to educate consumers about credit reporting, scoring, and help you fight back. If you have any question, please do not hesitate to Apply for Credit Repair Today!  – all matters will be discussed in confidentiality.

Many people may not be familiar with the Moody’s credit rating system or even Moody’s the company itself. The most prominent company in determining credit ratings is Fair Isaac, but Moody’s is also a player in the credit rating and financial market.

Moody’s provides more than just credit ratings. They also give lenders extensive research tools and risk analysis when it comes to consumers and their credit worthiness. They are a global company and employ over 3,000 people all over the world.

Moody’s credit ratings and research help investors analyze the credit risks associated with fixed-income securities. Such independent credit ratings and research also contribute to efficiencies in fixed-income markets and other obligations, such as insurance policies and derivative transactions, by providing credible and independent assessments of credit risk.

Moody’s default studies validate their predictive ratings. Their published research and investor briefings draw thousands of attendees each year and keep investors current with the rationale underlying our credit opinions.

In addition to its ratings services, Moody’s publishes investor oriented credit research, including in-depth research on major debt issuers, industry studies, special comments and credit opinion handbooks. While research, analysis and data are delivered through a number of channels, most of Moody’s clients use their website for access to such services in a real-time environment.

Customers who use the Moody’s credit rating service include a wide range of corporate and governmental issuers of securities as well as institutional investors, depositors, creditors, investment banks, commercial banks, and other financial intermediaries.

While your FICO credit rating is known as the industry standard, Moody’s is a company that provides much of the same services that FICO does including individual credit ratings as well as credit ratings of various companies and financial institutions. They have been around almost as long as Fair Isaac and have been providing credit ratings along with other risk analysis tools for just as long.

Essentially, Moody’s credit rating service caters to businesses and corporations while FICO caters to individuals. However, both are important in the financial world when it comes to determining credit worthiness. Lenders put a lot of stock into the Moody credit rating and they are highly respected in the business world.

We often live on credit – that includes businesses as well. Moody’s credit rating service helps to keep lenders safe when they are giving out money to various entities and they want to be sure they can provide the most accurate information as well as the most up-to-date information that is possible.

Our mission is to educate consumers about credit reporting, scoring, and help the consumer fight back. Take It Off My Credit offers legitimate services for clients to increase credit score, rebuild credit, and enter the financial world again.

To learn how credit restoration can help you close more loans or if you have any question, please do not hesitate to Apply for Credit Restoration Today. – all matters will be discussed in confidentiality.

Ok, we’ve been talking a lot about Bad Credit. But, what does it take to rev up a good credit score? Well, first it takes time. Having good credit doesn’t happen overnight. You’ll need to actually have credit before you worry about a good credit rating score. To do that, you may want to start out small with a department store or gas credit card. Once you have the card, charge some small items and then pay the bill off in full for several months. Take It Off My Credit must caution you here – don’t charge more than what you can pay off in full. If you carry a balance, it won’t reflect well on your credit report.

Another way to get a good credit rating score is to have a co-signer on a large loan like a car loan. The co-signer is basically guaranteeing that you will pay the loan and if you do, it will reflect very well on your credit report and raise your credit score.

>What we mean by that is that you don’t want to apply for and get several different credit cards and charge items on all of them. This just shows the credit companies that you are being irresponsible with your credit and have little financial finesse or know-how when it comes to managing money.

To get a good credit rating score, the most important thing to remember is to pay on time. Take It Off My Credit can’t stress this enough. Most companies that extend credit to you will allow you a grace period to make the payment. For example, if your payment is due on the first of the month, they usually tell you late charges will occur if you pay after the 13th. So essentially, you have between the 1st and the 13th to make your payment. While this sounds great, if you wait until the 13th to make your payment, this really can reflect poorly on your credit report. So if your bill is due on the 1st, pay it on the 29th, 30th, or 31st of the previous month just to be sure.

A great way to insure that you are making on-time payments is to have them deducted directly from your checking account. This alone will contribute toward a good credit rating score because it shows fiscal responsibility. Plus, it insures that your payments are made on time and you won’t miss any payments. Of course, you’ll have to be sure there’s enough money in your account to cover the payments since credit bureaus also look at your checking accounts.

To rev up and maintain a good credit score is actually quite easy. If you have already fallen into the bad credit pit, Take It Off My Credit can help. We offer legitimate credit repair services for clients to enter the financial world again. Please do not hesitate to Apply for Credit Repair Today. – all matters will be discussed in confidentiality.

It’s going back to school time again and College students are running up an alarmingly large amount of credit card debt these days and it is only increasing with the passage of time. The average undergraduate student carries $2,500 in credit card debt and by the time they graduate from college, they are beginning their new lives in the “real world” with debt that they can’t pay.

Students figure, I’ll live like I want to now and then when I get a job it will be easy to pay it back. This is often not the case. Lower-than-expected salaries, plus higher-than-expected living expenses and hefty student loan payments, make handling credit card debt all the more difficult for students and recent grads.

And the worse part about college students having so much credit card debt is that it takes so long to pay it off. Even if they are able to make the minimum payments, by sticking to minimum payments it would take a student more than 12 years and $1,115 in interest to pay off a $1,000 bill on a card with an 18 percent annual rate. If students fall behind in their payments, they get slammed with high late fees. And it’s easy for things to get out of hand.

Of course, there are two sides to this story. Most college students start out with little and even no credit, so having a credit card seems like a good idea so they can start building a credit history in anticipation of owning a new or better car and even, someday their own home. Except for if they haven’t been warned of the dangers of using credit cards or are especially naïve, this could be a bad move.

Credit card debt for college students affects many, many aspects of their college lives. They can’t pay their bills regularly and find themselves short of cash. Plus, it can affect their ability to secure a student loan which can be crucial with ever-rising tuition rates. And parents should beware of putting their college student on their own credit cars as an authorized user as the same debt can pile up under the parents’ names and cause some serious credit problems.

Armed with the right information, many students are able to establish credit and steer clear of card debt. Even though college students do carry credit card debt, 54 percent of college students pay off their credit card balances every month. Most tend to be responsible and use the card wisely.

However, some of them don’t and they’re getting into trouble. If your college student has gotten into bad credit, Take It Off My Credit can help. We offer legitimate credit repair services for clients to increase credit score, rebuild credit, and enter the financial world again. Please do not hesitate to Apply for Credit Repair Today. – all matters will be discussed in confidentiality.

If you have bad credit and are looking for a mortgage loan, you may want to look into getting one from the VA (Veteran’s Administration). Our government does a lot for our veterans of the armed forces, especially through the VA. They offer a variety of services to veterans and that even means a VA mortgage loan for veterans with bad credit.

With unforeseen circumstances that often affect veterans; their finances can get out of control. This is especially true with veterans who have been injured in the spoils of war. Being a disabled veteran makes it more common for them to get into credit trouble and they often find themselves with bad credit making it more difficult for them to obtain a mortgage loan.

That’s why the VA offers mortgage loans for veterans with bad credit. Just like with other bad credit mortgage loans, the interest rate might be a little higher than a conventional mortgage loan, but it will be possible for you to get a loan to buy a home.

If you are a veteran or the close relative of a veteran and you have bad credit, all you need to do is contact your local VA and let them know you are looking for a mortgage loan. You will have to go through an interview process and, of course, fill out the necessary paperwork. Then they will look into your credit to see where things went wrong in your finances that led to your bad credit rating.

This is where you can explain how you got yourself into the credit problems that are plaguing you. Be very honest with the VA rep and reassure them that you are trying to take steps to repair your credit and that you truly would love the chance to prove this to them. When you can get a VA mortgage loan, your bad credit can be well on the way toward getting repaired given that you make on time payments and don’t fall behind.

This is key with a VA mortgage loan. They are taking a chance on you solely because you were brave enough to fight for our country’s freedom. They feel like you do deserve the chance to have a fresh start because of your service to our country. That’s the reason they exist in the first place – to help veterans in many different ways.

While your bad credit will be taken into consideration, a VA mortgage loan is possible to obtain. Take It Off My Credit’s mission is to educate consumers about credit reporting, scoring, and help the consumer fight back. We offer legitimate services for clients to increase credit score, rebuild credit, and enter the financial world again. Take It Off My Credit proudly Supports Our Troops and Veterans!

To learn how credit restoration can help you close more loans or if you have any question, please do not hesitate to Apply for Credit Restoration Today. – all matters will be discussed in confidentiality.

As a consumer in the United States, the Federal Government decided back in 2003 that you are entitled to receive a free annual credit report so you can monitor your credit and your credit rating. It was named THE FACT Act and was passed unanimously so that all Americans could get a free annual credit report and be able to keep track of what the credit reporting agencies were compiling on them.

This was groundbreaking in that people are now able to see what lenders see, correct any errors that are on the report, and keep track of their credit to prevent any blemishes that might damage their worthiness as a credit risk. Before The FACT Act was passed, the only people privy to this information was the lenders and the credit reporting agencies.

There are two ways you can go about receiving a copy of your free annual credit report. Take It Off My Credit’s recommendation is to obtain your free annual credit report from www.AnnualCreditReport.Com. They will eventually be directing you to the credit reporting agency of your choice, but they will be able to easily guide you through the process of getting your free annual credit report. Or, you can go directly to any of the credit reporting agencies websites. These agencies are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

You will have to answer a few personal questions and provide proof of your identity based on some of the information on the credit report. Then the report appears directly on your computer screen so you can view it, download it to your computer, and/or print it out.

It is very important that you take advantage of getting your free annual credit report each year and checking it for accuracy. Mistakes can be made, and they can affect the decisions of lenders when you apply for a line of credit or a loan. Just one mistake can make the difference between a yes and a no from the lender.

The free annual credit report is a great tool for consumers to have when it comes to their credit. Not using it is a huge mistake, so go out and get your free annual credit report today if you haven’t already. It’s the best thing you can do for yourself.

Take It Off My Credit’s mission is to educate consumers about credit reporting, scoring, and help the consumer fight back. We offer legitimate services for clients to increase credit score, rebuild credit, and enter the financial world again.

To learn how credit restoration can help you close more loans or if you have any question, please do not hesitate to Apply for Credit Restoration Today. – all matters will be discussed in confidentiality.