An inquiry is a record that the credit bureaus keep of when a creditor, collector or other company requests a copy of your credit report. There are two types of inquiries: Hard Inquiries and Soft Inquiries. Hard inquiries can affect your FICO score for up to 12 months, and stay on your credit report for 2 years. Soft inquiries stay on your report for 2 years but do not affect your credit score. Hard inquiries hurt your credit. Soft inquiries do not.
If you have a lot of hard inquiries on your credit report it can actually have significant negative impact on your credit. Most of the time a hard inquiry should be in connection with an application for credit by you, the consumer. Read more…
Of course it is. You have the right to address all creditor accounts through an audit and verification process scheduled throughout our 30-day intervals. Every line item needs investigating first and foremost for the information needed for an audit validating the account as required by law under The Federal Credit Reporting Act (FCRA1987 revised 2004) and The Fair and Accuracy Credit Transaction Act of (FACT2004) to show that the account belongs to you and that the specific derogatory reference is entitled to remain. Once you get that out of the way and have dealt with the bad credit, any remaining accounts will need the same type of investigation, but towards the balances reflected, to include an audit of any additional fees and interest. Read more…
11 Apr
Posted by Gabrielle Geoghegan as Repair Credit Score
Last week, the weather finally cleared and I found myself at my local Thai restaurant. I was enjoying an extra spicy beef pad kee mao when what did I overhear? Personal finance tips being traded between two customers, two tables away. Both men were in their 60s, in gray sweatshirts and fuzzy baseball caps, and chatting about their pension plans and retirement. Through their munching, I overheard bits like “I took a big hit lately but I’m starting to come back” and “[my investment advisor] is a certified financial planner and broker. You name the title, he’s got it.”
While you and I might be a few decades away from retiring, I think we have a lot to learn from these two loud patrons: finding a buddy to trust about personal finance is golden. Yes, it’s t
08 Apr
Posted by Debora Watt as Repair Credit Score
No matter what credit program they buy (or even if they don’t buy one at all) many people find themselves consistently coming up short in one single area of credit repair… and it happens to be one area that can have a considerable negative impact on their credit score. One thing, that’s it. And it can be blamed for a good 80% (or more) of the FAILURE related to your credit repair efforts. It’s the one common mistake people make no matter what method they choose, no matter what program they buy, no matter how smart (or stupid) they seem to be. We don’t know why people so consistently make this same mistake, but they do. Read more…
07 Apr
Posted by Gabrielle Geoghegan as Repair Credit Score
I learned the importance of obtaining a good recommendation letter the hard way. After working for a professor for almost two years, I had helped him with academic research, class administration and lesson updates. When he was asked to teach executives in China, I got on the phone, helping him plan logistics and hotels (in Mandarin). Around graduation time, I felt confident that he would help me with references. Fast forward two years later when I visited his office to say hello: he started by calling me someone else’s name! On top of that, he had confused my background and interests with those of another student researcher.
So what can you learn from my mistake? The best time to get a recommendation letter is now. Yo
Changing a financial habit is hard — whether you have a history of overspending on luxuries, losing track of account balances, racking up credit card debt or something else. Whatever bad habit you’re trying to change, its great that youve decided to work on it. Just know: there can be slip-ups. And they don’t mean your efforts are lost. Instead of beating yourself up about it, why not get back on track?
This actually just happened to me. My recent move ended up costing more than I thought. Then I put a new TV, couch and rug on my credit card, knowing I didn’t have that money in the bank and would have to pay it off (Doh)! A month later, that $1,400 balance is growing, and I’m kicking myself for getting off track. But, bein
LOAN TYPE ABBREVIATIONS
MN – Open/Monthly Account is an account to be paid in full after each billing.
IN – Installment Account is an account with a fixed number of specified payments.
RV – Revolving Account is an account with regular monthly payments on the balance due.
UN – Unknown Account is an account with an unknown loan type, too new to rate; approved, but unused.
IN-Individual has contractual responsibility for this account.
J- Joint account, creditor/repository is unable to distinguish between Joint Account -
Contractual Responsibility or Joint Account – Authorized user.
JI- Spouse and becomes liable if the other individual defaults. These are
others who may also have contractual responsibility for this account.
JA- Individual is only authorized to use this joint account, another individual is responsible for payment. Another indi