28.03.11
With interest rates getting very close to historical lows many hard-working Americans are looking to take advantage of gaining access to cheap money. Before doing so it may be a wise decision to take advantage of the free annual credit report online that should help Americans better understand their specific financial situation from the eyes of creditors. The free annual credit report online is an interesting government credit help service that includes analysis from the bureaus of Experian, Equifax and Transunion. It is very important to remember that this resource is only available at one website – annualcreditreport.com. Any other website that claims government approval will receive punishment in the near future from the FTC. When it comes to borrowing money at cheap rates it is advisable to make certain that there are no mistakes or errors on a credit history report. By having mistakes or errors on a credit history report it is often the case that Americans will find that their credit scores negatively affected by as much as 100 points.
It is also important to recognize that the free annual credit report does not include a free credit score . To purchase a credit score is usually between $20 and $40 depending on the service. Sometimes it is worth it to spend the extra cash to put a numerical value on a credit history and understand just exactly what number lenders are looking at.
When making any major financial decision in one’s life is always a good choice to do as much research as possible. With the many free resources available online today there is no reason to pass up the opportunity to much better understand how creditors look at a specific financial situation.
So lately, I’ve been itching for a new laptop. I went to Best Buy last weekend, and decided to pick one up. It was $1,600. I had $1,200 in my checking account. I decided that instead of waiting for my next paycheck, I’d try one of their financing options. I figured it would be a breeze and I’d be at home firing up my new laptop in no time!
An employee was sitting behind relaying credit card application questions interrogated me for a good half an hour. After he began, I started getting nervous. Then, he asked me my annual salary. "fifty-seven thousand," I said. He raised his eyebrows and pushed his bottom lip up as if to say "not bad." I felt a rush and started getting excited at the thought of racing home and firing up a fresh machine with specs twice as good as the specs of the laptop I had. "It’ll be just a sec!" he said. I turned to my girlfriend and we smiled at eachother. She new I had been wanting a new laptop to do my work on. Two minutes
Unfortunately, as a result of the 2008 "credit crisis" a shift has been made towards using the credit score as the sole means of determining credit
| Feb 28, 2011
Check those credit reports once a year for free.
This is a must. Go to
Annual Credit Report.com
You might have to get them by mail if this is your first time by calling the 877 number.
If they request you to mail a copy
Cold | Feb 28, 2011
I personally know of an 18 year old who deposited a financial aid check in his (Wells Fargo) acct, and was issued a $500 balance credit card (took two weeks to issue it).
Have you failed to pay anything?
Get a lower credit limit on a card, and use it for very small things. Pay it off each month. In six months, they will raise your limit.
Good luck!
Sean | Feb 28, 2011
Unfortunately, as a result of the 2008 "credit crisis" a shift has been made towards using the credit score as the sole means of determining credit
Rebuilding Credit | Feb 28, 2011
The second thing you need to do is to try to get a "secured" credit card, but you need to try only one time, and only after you have not tried for more than a year, and most importantly, you need to try only to get a "secured" card and not try to get any other kind.
No one issues credit cards based only on income
StephenWeinstein | Feb 28, 2011
Since you make so much money, take $300 of it and go to your bank with the guido guy and ask if they offer secured credit cards.
You seem to think that just because you make a decent salary that credit card companies should be falling at your feet
My Take on It | Mar 01, 2011
My bank sent me a notice that they are going to start charging me a $60 annual fee because of a negative report on my credit file from TransUnion. I requested a copy of my report and found out that there is a negative record from a company my husband and I had an auto loan through. The loan in question was paid off in December, but on my report it is showing that the current pay status is "30 days past due." The last payment on the account WAS 30 days late, but shouldn’t the account status be showing that it has been paid? The section that lists the number of 30, 60, and 90 day late payments on the account doesn’t even list the one late payment that was made on the account.
Also, is there any way I can pull my reports from Equifax and Experian to verify that the account is reported correctly there? I’ve already used my free reports for this year so that’s not an option. Would I be able to file a dispute about incorrect information without getting a recent report?
Send a dispute to TransUnion indicating that the loan was paid off in December. It’s probably a reporting screw up on the lenders part and easily fixed. I once had a loan that I paid off 18 months early. Some how a year later, the loan was showing as 30, 60, 90 days late. It was corrected within 2 weeks of my dispute.
Unfortunately, getting your bank to remove that annual fee requirement may not be as easy to fix.
You can get free annual copies of your credit reports
bdancer222 | Feb 23, 2011
Unfortunately, getting your bank to remove that annual fee requirement may not be as easy to fix.
You can get free annual copies of your credit reports
bdancer222 | Feb 23, 2011
I know that there are lots of scam sites but I want to know the URL if the REAL free website. It has the word annual in it I think.