Sarah Dinkins asked:




Though such procedure may be a good suggestion, you may wonder whether it’s the optimal procedure in your particular case and whether it is worth the money it cost. Let’s analyze its benefits and drawbacks and what other alternatives you may have.

Credit monitoring is the key to avoiding identity theft; yet, it is not the only measure you can take in order to impede unscrupulous people from obtaining your credit details and social security number to use them for their advantage. There are other things you can do to reduce the risk of being a victim of identity theft and you can even monitor your credit yourself without hiring third party services.

Credit Monitoring Services Explained

A credit monitoring service provides you with updated information as regards to any access to your credit report. Whenever your credit report is pulled, you’ll receive an alert stating why and by whom was it pulled. Thus, you’ll be able to know immediately if your credit report was pulled with or without your authorization and how does that affect your credit score and history.

Any new account or credit line opened will immediately pop up and you’ll be notified. Thus, you’ll know right away if someone is using your name for illegal activities. This is very important because not only your credit can be affected by these practices, you may also have legal problems due to it which can turn out too costly and you can easily avoid them by using such services.

Finally, all other information included in your credit report is monitored, which implies that if any detail is changed for whatever purpose, you’ll be immediately notified so you can analyze whether it is a result of your actions or if there is someone else acting in your name. This lets you act immediately and take the necessary measures to avoid damage to your credit and assets.

Protecting Your Credit And Monitoring It Yourself

In order to protect your credit and identity, you need to be specially careful as to where you use your personal information like your full name, social security number, etc. This information should only be used and known by you unless needed otherwise due to justified reasons. If you need to use this information online, make sure the site is secure and if you doubt, ask for references before submitting such information.

The same goes to other critical details like credit card numbers, bank account numbers and codes, etc. Should you be asked by representatives for that information, make sure that they are entitled to it due to a request made by you and ask for confirmation that your information will be kept safe. There are online companies that can provide confirmation of the reliability and trustworthiness of online companies. Consult them whenever you think it’s necessary.

Though monitoring services provide continued updates on any access to your accounts and credit report, remember that you are entitled to requesting (free of charge) a copy of your credit report stating recent accesses to your credit history from each credit bureau, at least once a year.

Richard

Kaybee asked:


I’ve made a years worth of car payments – on-time, never late.
And I opened up one credit card which is revolving and current. There are no derogatory items on my report, and I’m current on my school loans.
Why did my score go down 30 points?
Isn’t it the credit reporting agencies responsiblity when it comes to monitoring these things?

Amanda

Francine Denson asked:




In recent years credit monitoring services have become more and more popular as they provide instant alerts to individuals regarding changes to their credit reports. It’s a great way to monitor your individual credit history and recognize potential issues. Why not try to pinpoint issues with your credit history before they become huge problems? Read on to learn more about credit score monitoring and the many uses of these services.

Generally, according to the FTC, it takes about one year before an individual realizes that they have become one of the many victims of identity theft. Nowadays scores of Americans fall prey to this type of crime everyday, it seems paying for credit monitoring services would be a small thing when compared to the potential loss from identity theft. On the average, these services charge under $20 per month with the cost depending on the specific company and type of service you request.

The services and information provided by each credit monitoring service will vary, so it’s important to compare what type of information they are offering versus what you feel you need. Some companies may provide access to all 3 of the credit scores while others may only provide the FICO score. It’s important to know that he FICO score is one that is utilized the most by financial institutions and lending officials as the basis for credit decisions. For a handy comparison of top credit monitoring services, be sure to visit the link at the bottom of this article.

Theres another big benefit to becoming a member of a credit score monitoring service. If you fall prey to identity theft while utilizing a service that offers identity theft protection, you are not liable for any costs as a result of the theft. Most companies offer identity theft reimbursement coverage with a range of limits, again the amount is dependent on the specific company and service you have.

In some cases, credit monitoring companies have online tools and calculators to assist you in determining the impact of financial decisions on your credit score. For example, if you pay off your auto loan, what impact does that have on your credit score? If you pay off your mortgage, what impact does that have on your credit score? When you are trying to improve your credit score these tools can really come in handy in determining your next financial decision, you can predict which decision will result in the largest increase to your credit score.

Depending on the specific agency and service you choose, some companies only report on one of the big three credit reporting agencies, while others may provide access to all three reports. Also, some companies may update your credit information daily while others may have a less frequent update schedule. It’s important to evaluate the company and service offerings to be sure you get the best value to meet your needs. The great news is you will be notified as soon as any questionable activity occurs on your credit report, before the situation gets out of hand.

Ida

Diane Sheridan asked:




It is very difficult to manage out of control credit debt, facing collection calls, dealing with collection agents and leading a life without stress at the same time. The overwhelming debts are bound to bring in debt stress. If you let your finances go off the track it might lead you to face bankruptcy. The most sensible thing you can do to avoid this adversity is to find a reliable and trusted credit debt help.

It is never too late to address your debt situation but the sooner you act the better options you will find. Debt settlement is often considered to be a better solution to severe debts than filing insolvency. If you are considering credit counseling or bankruptcy to bring your finances back on track then debt negotiation can provide you with the best options.

You might have already spent countless months in paying minimum monthly payments without having any effect on the balance debt amount. Debt settlement can bring this never ending cycle of monthly payments to an end. It can also bring you debt freedom in about 1 to 3 years. The best part is it enables you to settle your credit account by paying the amount less than what you owe to your credit card company.

When you negotiate with your lenders to pay off percentage of your debt, you risk your credit score. The effect of debt settlement does not stay longer on your credit report. You can always work to regain your credit score one you put an end on your financial hardships. Many times debt settlement is also referred to as the most aggressive approach to deal with your debt issues. Still is also the most favored approach.

There are few drawbacks of this method and with proper guidance from a legitimate debt settlement company you can take maximum advantage of the plans. For instance you are entitled to pay taxes on the amount you save from your debt repayment. You can opt for tax debt settlement with the help of your arbitrator. It is therefore very important in case of overwhelming debts that you only approach companies with certified professionals. These professionals will have detailed knowledge of debt settlement industry.

Debt settlement is not only the best ways to manage debt but it is your legal right and you can apply for it anytime. It will stop you creditors from taking any illegal or harassing action for debt recovery. They cannot take any legal action against you till the settlement of your out of control debt is in process.

Barry

Justin Fox asked:




Credit report companies can play an important role in helping you with loans and credit, if you find a good one. But what exactly can they do to help you when you decide it’s time to employ their help. Here are a few things you can expect from credit report companies.

Get Your Credit Report – Any credit report company worth its salt will be able to quickly and easily get your personal credit report. Yes, getting your credit report is free, but these guys can do it quickly because they know where and how to get yours from each of the three credit bureaus. Usually this is worth the cost in time saved.

Assess Your Credit Report – Once you have access to your credit report, you then have to begin the laborious task of reading it. Credit report companies know exactly what to look for and what it means for your credit standing. They will be able to point out the problems in your personal credit report.

Offer Steps To Improving Your Credit – Once they have taken a look at your credit report, a credit report company will be able to offer a list of concrete steps that you can take to improve the problem areas of your credit history. This is usually going to be in the form of challenging dubious or mistaken statements on your credit.

Improve Your Credit – If you don’t want to do it yourself, then credit report companies can actually implement steps to improve your credit rating by challenging false or misleading claims on your credit report. These guys have great experience at doing this and know exactly who to contact and how to contact them regarding issues on your creditg report. This service can be a great time saver.

As you can see, credit report companies can save you a lot of time and hassle, and in the long run will usually be able to help you improve your credit score and gain access to more and cheaper finance.

Frederick

C o n f u c i a n asked:


….Or does the score vary on which company retrieves the score? For example, on 11/10 I found out my 3 scores through a Transunion service. Experian score was 668.

Then on 12/10 I signed up for a credit monitoring service (free trial) with Bank of America and my Experian score dropped to 645.

Then today I signed up for credit score analyzer with Discover for $8 a month. I am going to stick with this service. They only use Experian but they are the most difficult. And my score today was 659.

Is this type of fluctuation normal? Look at how my score dropped with Transunion from 713 on 11/10 to 672 on 12/10…seems odd.

11/10: http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/nathan_211/Credit/creditscoresnov102009.png

12/10: http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/nathan_211/Credit/663avgcreditscoreswithBAC.png

I did just get a foreclosed home and was low on cash so I opened a Home Depot store card in November with a $5,000 limit and I used up over 50% of my limit ($2800/$5000). This was urgent so I had to do it!! I will be making a $2,000 payment next month…I suppose this could have brought my score from 713 to 672 but that seems like a big drop in a couple weeks!

Tamara

thatblissguy asked:


I know that the calculations used by lenders for a mortgage differ from Fair Isaac (FICO). I have TrueCredit (by TransUnion) triple credit monitoring which gives me unlimited access to all three of my credit reports (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian) AND my FICO scores. I am preparing myself for a refinance and I want to see how I am scoring with the mortgage calculation, since I have improved my scores significantly over the past year when I got my sub-prime mortgage. My one year prepay penalty is coming up in late December and I want to be fully prepared before I start shopping. Also, what ABSOLUTE MINIMUM credit scores do I need, (FICO) and (Mortgage Lender), to be considered for a Prime rate (<7.5%). Thanks for your help, the people that contribute are greatly appreciated and I'm honored for your time and efforts! Keep up the good work!!!
So I just figured out recently that TransUnion's TrueCredit scoring use FACO and not a true FICO. I went to each bureau seperately and got my FICO and heres what I found, its astounding:
TU EXP EQ
FACO: 637* 596 607
FICO: 637* 660 678

*TransUnion only offers this scoring

I was going off this FACO calculation for over a year! Come to find out I have pretty good credit, and the things I have done to improve it had paid off substantially more than I thought in the past! My Mortgage score was MUCH higher than my FICO when I was applying for my first mortgage. So I now feel that my MORTGAGE SCORE should be in the 700s? Does anyone agree with that? That a middle score of 660 FICO would be at least 700 in Mortgage credit scoring?

Beth

Bill Pratt asked:




Freecreditreport offers online credit reporting resources to consumers worldwide and belongs to the ConsumerInfo family. The company is a leading provider of online consumer credit reports, credit information and monitoring services as well as credit scores.

The company has served 3.1 members thus far and delivered more than 20 million credit reports. The indispensable services and befits offered by Freecreditreport has taken the company to newer heights as the membership count continues to rise.

Consumers can now wield control over their credit by taking advantages of the services offered by this company. The first step involves getting access to their free credit report and credit score. Customers can try these services completely free of cost with the 7 day free trial offer.

The features and benefits also include:
Daily monitoring of Experian, Equifax and TransUnion credit reports
Email reports of any kind of changes and risks of identity thefts to any of the three credit reports
$50,000 Triple Advantage Guarantee feature offered the company

The paid membership comes with access to unlimited Experian credit reports and credit scores.

Monitoring and analyzing the customer’s credit score can result in substantial savings as these credit scores are taken into consideration by lenders for the “credit worthiness” of customers in order to facilitate processing of loan application, credit card application and other lines of credit. This credit score in turn helps in determining whether the applicant qualifies for a credit or not as well as the interest rate applicable on the given credit.

These credit scores are extracted from the credit reports which have a propensity to change on a daily basis. It therefore becomes imperative to monitor your credit reports as this could directly affect the credit scores.

Freecreditreport takes care of all these intricacies for its customers/members while obviating the any associated risks in terms of unauthorized activity or potential discrepancies. Customers also get to guard their identity, as Freecreditreport monitors the customer’s Experian, Equifax and TransUnion credit report on a daily basis.

It is important for the customer to note here that higher credit scores equate to lower interest rates on new loans, thereby resulting in substantial savings.

Joe

Roger Passman asked:




In my work I speak to many people that have unrealistic, almost grandiose, ideas about repairing their credit. My response to the person whose expectations exceed the limits of the possible is to send them to someone else. One of the factors contributing to damaged credit in the first instance is that attention is not paid to the possible allowing grandiose ideas to stand in the way of sound financial planning.

When working to repair one’s credit there are three factors that must be considered. First, is the item you would like removed from your credit report legitimate? If it is it will generally stay a part of your report until time takes care of the item. Secondly, how old is the item you would like removed? The further away from the present the item is the less it impacts your FICO score. Finally, what has your credit history been in the past 12 to 18 months? If potential creditors see a pattern of on time payments and sound financial practices, it is more likely that they will offer additional or new credit even if your score remains somewhat damaged.

Credit repair consists of two important stages, both of which mirror the concerns mentioned above. The first stage is to work to remove inaccurate or mistaken information from one’s credit report that have an adverse impact on one’s credit score. Some items may look bad but have little effect on one’s overall score. A tax lien, for example, that has been discharged may continue to appear on one’s credit report for up to ten-years and, under some circumstances, even longer. But that discharged lien has a low impact on one’s overall score and may not be worth the effort to try and remove it. A pattern of late payments, on the other hand, may have a high impact on one’s score and may well be worth the effort to remove or re-age if removal is impossible.

The second stage in credit repair is to make sure that from the moment one begins to actively repair one’s credit that no additional adverse be recorded on the credit report. Not only does that defeat the purpose of the credit repair effort, it sends up red flags for the credit bureaus to not take your repair efforts seriously. That is the last thing one wants when working to restore one’s credit score to acceptable numbers. This stage requires a change in lifestyle, as one must relearn sound fiscal habits that will assure no additional adverse information be recorded by the credit bureaus.

Effective credit repair seeks to eliminate inaccurate, mistaken and unverifiable adverse information from one’s credit report. It cannot remove items that are legitimate, verifiable and true. To claim otherwise is unethical and may even be illegal.

Victor

chumley asked:


I’ve recently paid off old chargeoffs (by the way, it DOES help your credit score — it raised mine by 50 points); and now I want to raise it by at least another 50 points. Will getting a car loan (that, obviously, I can afford the monthly payments on) help? Is there anything else I can do (besides the obvious – pay bills on time, etc.)? What about credit monitoring companies? Are there any that charge only a monthly fee and don’t charge another large fee every single time I want to look at my newest reports?

Phyllis