Feb 26, 2009

How Taxes Can Affect Your Credit Score

Tax season is already upon us and for many this time of year can bring increased anxiety as taxpayers try to figure out ways to minimize their tax obligation while still maintaining financial responsibility and integrity. For some, particularly those who owe back taxes, this time of year is a reminder of the potential consequences and pitfalls that can occur when money is owed to the IRS.

Not paying your taxes on time can have a devastating effect on your credit score. In some estimates, your credit score can drop more than 20 points from a single tax lien. And any tax lien on your credit report will remain there for up to fifteen years. Even if you manage to pay off the taxes you owe, the lien will remain on your credit report for 7 years.

Thankfully, there are some things you can do that can minimize the chances of a tax lien on your credit report. The IRS has taken several steps to help people who owe back taxes, and this year, they are offering options for individuals who may be at risk of tax liens and default:

Flexible Payment Options – if you’ve been making payments regularly, but have suffered a financial hardship, the IRS may be able to allow you to skip a payment, or have a reduced monthly payment without suspending your installment plan.

Collection Action Postponement – if you haven’t been able to pay, the IRS may be able to suspend collection actions if you aren’t able to pay for economic hardship reasons. If the economic situation has recently occurred, you may not have to provide documentation for the initial postponement.

Prevention of Defaults – if you have an Offer in Compromise (OIC) with the IRS and cannot make the payment terms, the IRS will work with you to avoid default and collection activity on your tax obligation. However, you must contact the IRS as soon as possible when the economic hardship occurs.

Because your wages can be garnished for back taxes, failure to pay could also affect your ability to pay other bills, leading to a downward spiral in your credit scores that can prove difficult, if not impossible to correct. With so much at stake, it is essential to handle all tax matters in a timely fashion. Even if you know you won’t be able to pay up front, contacting the IRS sooner rather than later will give you time to make arrangements that can help you to maintain financial integrity.

If you file taxes this year and discover you owe more than you can pay, don’t panic – you can still make arrangements and save your credit score in the process. Contact the IRS and discuss payment arrangements as soon as possible after filing, even if you can’t pay the whole amount. By working with the IRS from the beginning, you can avoid a costly lien and preserve your good credit. The worst thing to do in this situation is attempting to avoid the issue, or putting it off until it’s too late to reverse the collection process. By remaining vigilant with regards to your financial situation, and taking advantage of the proposed compromises offered by the IRS, you can avoid having your taxes negatively impact your credit score, regardless of your ability to pay.

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Jan 8, 2009

Rebuilding Your Credit Score: 3 Quick Tips

Your credit score has a huge affect on your day-to-day life outside of whether or not you can get a loan. Insurance rates, employment, billing cycles and interest rates are just some of the areas where your credit score can and often does have an impact on your life. If you’re just getting started with credit repair, finding a quality credit repair company to work with is a good first step to improving your credit score and lowering the daily costs of poor credit. However, even if you are working with a reputable credit repair agency, there are some quick steps you can take that will also have a direct impact on your credit score and potentially improve your financial standing.

Tip 1: Avoid Excessive Hard Inquiries on Your Credit Report

If you are shopping for a loan, avoid applying to several different places and waiting to see what offers you receive. Multiple credit report inquiries in a short period of time can lower your credit score, even if you have an otherwise clean history. If you have your credit score, a better option may be to shop around without filling out the loan application until you’ve narrowed down your choices. If you know where you fall on the credit scale, then you can make a reasonable estimate as to the amount of interest you’ll be expected to pay and the terms of your loan. Regardless, it pays to keep the hard inquiries to your account to a minimum if you are trying to raise your credit score.

Tip 2: Be Alert for Potential Errors in Your Credit Report

This is a tip that may best be facilitated through working with a credit repair company. If you have errors on your credit report that are harming your score, you have the right to dispute these errors and have them corrected and/or removed. If you don’t recognize an account, or if there is erroneous information about the account, a reliable credit repair agency will be able to successfully contest the negative information on your behalf. Cleaning up your credit report will allow you to focus on taking care of any remaining negatives without having to worry about incorrect information having an impact on your credit score. If you believe that you may be a victim of identity theft, then you should also file a police report and notify the credit bureaus as soon as possible – minimizing the damage done by identity theft is essential to any credit repair process.

Tip 3: Work with Your Current Lenders

If you have some accounts that are in less than stellar shape, but that aren’t in dispute, consider trying to negotiate with your current creditors. This can be done through a credit counseling agency in some cases, but you may also be able to work directly with the lender if you have an established relationship that is mostly positive. One particular aspect you may wish to ask about is re-aging. Re-aging is a process that will get rid of your past due account by making it appear as “current” on your credit report. While federal laws dictate how a creditor may re-age your account, in general if the account is over 9 months old, and if you have made 3 consecutive payments and have demonstrated a willingness to continue to make payments, then re-aging should be an option for you. Creditors sometimes use re-aging to make an old debt look new, but if you’re planning to pay, it’s in your best interest to request that the account be re-aged. It’s quick, it’s free, and it gets rid of all the 30, 60, 90, and 120 days late notations for that account if you keep the payments current.

No matter what route you take with regards to repairing your credit, following these tips will help you to improve your score in a manner that is both ethical and long-lasting. Many credit repair companies can provide additional information and counseling about these techniques, and give specific advice tailored to your particular situation.

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Nov 11, 2007

Identity Theft

What are the steps I should take if I’m a victim of identity theft?

If you are a victim of identity theft, take the following four steps as soon as possible, and keep a record with the details of your conversations and copies of all correspondence.

1.Place a fraud alert on your credit reports, and review your credit reports.

Fraud alerts can help prevent an identity thief from opening any more accounts in your name. Contact the toll-free fraud number of any of the three consumer reporting companies below to place a fraud alert on your credit report. You only need to contact one of the three companies to place an alert. The company you call is required to contact the other two, which will place an alert on their versions of your report, too. If you do not receive a confirmation from a company, you should contact that company directly to place a fraud alert.

Equifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
1-800-525-6285;

Experian
P.O. Box 9532
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)

TransUnion
Fraud Victim Assistance Division
P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton
CA 92834-6790
1-800-680-7289

Once you place the fraud alert in your file, you’re entitled to order one free copy of your credit report from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies, and, if you ask, only the last four digits of your Social Security number will appear on your credit reports. Once you get your credit reports, review them carefully. Look for inquiries from companies you haven’t contacted, accounts you didn’t open, and debts on your accounts that you can’t explain. Check that information, like your Social Security number, address(es), name or initials, and employers are correct. If you find fraudulent or inaccurate information, get it removed. See Correcting Fraudulent Information in Credit Reports to learn how. Continue to check your credit reports periodically, especially for the first year after you discover the identity theft, to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred.

2. Close the accounts that you know, or believe, have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.

Call and speak with someone in the security or fraud department of each company. Follow up in writing, and include copies (NOT originals) of supporting documents. It’s important to notify credit card companies and banks in writing. Send your letters by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you can document what the company received and when. Keep a file of your correspondence and enclosures.

When you open new accounts, use new Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and passwords. Avoid using easily available information like your mother’s maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your Social Security number or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.

If the identity thief has made charges or debits on your accounts, or has fraudulently opened accounts, ask the company for the forms to dispute those transactions:

For charges and debits on existing accounts, ask the representative to send you the company’s fraud dispute forms. If the company doesn’t have special forms, use the sample letter to dispute the fraudulent charges or debits. In either case, write to the company at the address given for “billing inquiries,” NOT the address for sending your payments.

For new unauthorized accounts, ask if the company accepts the ID Theft Affidavit (PDF, 56 KB). If not, ask the representative to send you the company’s fraud dispute forms. If the company already has reported these accounts or debts on your credit report, dispute this fraudulent information. See Correcting Fraudulent Information in Credit Reports to learn how.

Once you have resolved your identity theft dispute with the company, ask for a letter stating that the company has closed the disputed accounts and has discharged the fraudulent debts. This letter is your best proof if errors relating to this account reappear on your credit report or you are contacted again about the fraudulent debt.

3. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

By sharing your identity theft complaint with the FTC, you will provide important information that can help law enforcement officials across the nation track down identity thieves and stop them. The FTC can refer victims’ complaints to other government agencies and companies for further action, as well as investigate companies for violations of laws the agency enforces.

You can file a complaint with the FTC using the online complaint form; or call the FTC’s Identity Theft Hotline, toll-free: 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338); TTY: 1-866-653-4261; or write Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580.

Be sure to call the Hotline to update your complaint if you have any additional information or problems.

4. File a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place.

Then, get a copy of the police report or at the very least, the number of the report. It can help you deal with creditors who need proof of the crime. If the police are reluctant to take your report, ask to file a “Miscellaneous Incidents” report, or try another jurisdiction, like your state police. You also can check with your state Attorney General’s office to find out if state law requires the police to take reports for identity theft. Check the Blue Pages of your telephone directory for the phone number or check naag.org for a list of state Attorneys General.

When you go to your local police department to file a complaint, bring a printed copy of your ID Theft Complaint form and your supporting documentation. Ask the officer to attach or incorporate the Complaint into their police report. Also ask the officer to sign the “Law Enforcement Report” section of your Complaint. If the officer wants more information about the ID Theft Report, you can tell them it is available on the FTC’s Web site’s Section for Law Enforcement at the link for “Identity Theft Report”. Ask the officer to give you a copy of the official police report with your ID Theft Complaint attached or incorporated. (In some jurisdictions the officer will not be able to give you a copy of the official police report, but should be able to sign your complaint and write the police report number in the “Law Enforcement Report” section.)

The ID Theft Complaint can be used to supplement an automated police report. If you can file online an automated report, complete the “Automated Report Information” block of the ID Theft Complaint. Attach a copy of any confirmation received from the police to your ID Theft Complaint.

Soure: FTC.gov

Posted in credit, credit reports, fraud alert, identity theft | No Comments »



May 29, 2007

How to Build Credit from Scratch

Establishing a good credit history has never been as important as it is today.
It’s not just that you’ll need good credit to get decent rates when you’re ready to buy a home or a car. Your credit history can determine whether you get a good job, a decent apartment or reasonable rates on insurance. One little mistake — a late payment, maxing out your credit cards, applying for too much credit at once — can haunt you for years.

If you’re just starting out, you have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a credit history the right way. Here’s what to do, and what to avoid.

Check Your Credit Report

You’ll first want to see what, if anything, lenders are saying about you. That kind of information is contained in your credit report at each of the three major bureaus: Equifax, Experian and Trans Union.

Credit reports are used to create your credit score and help lenders decide whether to grant you credit based on your credit payment history. Most lenders will just go by your credit scores, but they also may look at the report itself, as may the landlords, employers and insurance companies who use credit to evaluate applicants.

Can you have a credit report if you’ve never had credit? Maybe.

Somebody else’s information could be mixed in with your report, either through a credit bureau mistake or because of identity theft; i.e. someone using your personal information to open bogus accounts. Statistics show that 70 percent of credit reports contain serious errors that might cause consumers to be denied credit cards, car loans and even mortgages.

If that’s happened to you, you’ll need to clean up your credit report before trying to apply for new accounts. The good news is that the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires credit reporting agencies to fix these mistakes. But it takes your diligence to make sure it happens.

Establish Checking and Savings Accounts

Here’s a basic step that’s sometimes overlooked by people seeking credit. Lenders see these accounts as signs of stability.

Opening checking and savings account is also one of the few things you can do as a minor to start building a financial history. While you can’t get a credit card in your own name until you’re 18 and can be legally held to a contract, many banks have no problem letting you open an account.

Not all banks will. If your bank doesn’t, you need to either look around for another bank or consider opening a joint account with an adult. Credit unions are usually the most lenient and have the best rates.

Understand the Basics of Credit Scoring

You need to know that the two most important factors in your score are:

• Whether you pay your bills on time.
• How much of your available credit you actually use.

It’s essential that you pay all your bills on time, all the time. Set up automatic payments or reminder systems so that you’re never, ever late. All it takes is a single missed payment to trash your credit score — and it can take seven years for the effects to completely disappear.

You also don’t want to max out any of your credit cards, or even get close. Keeping your credit use to less than 30% of your credit limits will help you get the best possible credit score and should help keep you from getting over your head in debt, as well.

You don’t need to carry a balance on a credit card to have a good credit score. Paying your bill off in full is the best way to keep your finances in shape and build your credit at the same time.

Authorized Users

The fastest way to establish a credit history can be to “borrow” another’s record, either by being added to a credit card as an “authorized” or joint user or by getting someone to co-sign a loan for you.

Having a co-signer can allow you to qualify for loans you might not otherwise get. The loan will show up on your credit report and, if you pay it off responsibly, will help boost your credit score. If you default, however, you won’t be the only one who suffers. The co-signer has basically promised to make good on this account, so any delinquencies will show up on her credit report as well.

Being added as an “authorized user” has its risks, for you as well as the person giving you access to the card. If your father makes you an authorized user of his credit card, for example, his history with that account can be imported to your credit bureau file, giving you an instant credit record. If he has handled the account well, that reflects well on you. But if he hasn’t, his mistakes would also become yours. Any late payments or other problems could make it harder for you to get future credit than if you’d established your history without help.

Some credit issuers won’t report authorized users to the credit bureaus, particularly if the user is not married to the original card holder. If the point is to give you a credit history, the person who’s adding you as an authorized user should call the issuer and ask how (or if) your status as a user will be reported.

Apply for a Secured Credit Card

If you can’t get a regular credit card, apply for the secured version. These require you to deposit money with a lender; your credit limit is usually equal to the deposit.

You’ll want to screen your card issuer carefully. To be frank, there are a lot of bad guys in this particular niche of the credit world. Some charge outrageous application or annual fees and punitively high interest rates.

Your credit union, if you have one, is a good place to start looking for a secured card.

Ideally, the card you pick would:

• Have no application fee and a low annual fee
• Convert to a regular, unsecured credit card after 12 to 18 months of on-time payments
• Be reported to all three credit bureaus.

If the issuer doesn’t report to the credit bureaus, the card won’t help build your credit history.

Get a Finance Company Card

Gas companies and department stores that issue charge cards typically use finance companies, rather than major banks, to handle the transactions. These cards don’t do as much for your credit score as a bank card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, etc.), but they’re usually easier to get.

Again, don’t go overboard. One or two of these cards is enough. If you get many more, you may find that later in your life these accounts could prevent you from getting the highest possible credit score. That’s not a reason to avoid them completely, because right now they’ll do you some good.

Get an Installment Loan

To get the best credit score, you need a mix of different credit types including revolving accounts (credit cards, lines of credit) and installment accounts (auto loans, personal loans, mortgages).

Once you’ve had and used plastic responsibly for a year or so, consider applying for a small installment loan from your credit union or bank. Keeping the duration short — no more than a year or two — will help you build credit while limiting the amount of interest you pay.

Use Revolving Accounts Lightly, but Regularly

For a credit score to be generated, you have to have had credit for at least six months, with at least one of your accounts updated in the past six months. Using your cards regularly should ensure that your report is updated regularly. It also will keep the lender interested in you as a customer. If you get a credit card and never use it, the issuer could cancel the account.

Just remember the credit tips mentioned earlier:

• Don’t charge more than 30% of the card’s limit.
• Don’t charge more than you can pay off in a month. As mentioned earlier, you don’t have to pay interest on a credit card to get a good credit score, and it’s a smart financial habit to pay off your credit cards in full each month.
• Make sure you pay the bill, and all your other bills, on time.

Posted in authorized users, build credit, credit, credit bureaus, credit history, credit reports, credit scoring, establish credit, installment accounts, no credit, revolving accounts | No Comments »