Bad Credit – A Brief Guide

Filed under: Your Credit Score

If you’ve ever applied for a loan but been rejected, it might be because you’ve got bad credit on your credit history. Believe it or not, it’s actually a problem that many people suffer from, sometimes without even knowing it – latest reports suggest that around 25% of people applying for loans have bad credit on their credit history! Even worse, it can appear on your record in several ways, including some you might not have realised…

Some ways of it being generated are obvious: for instance, if you take out a credit agreement or loan and fail to make the repayments, you’ll default on what you agreed to pay. The same also goes for paying bills like gas, electricity and telephone late, meaning suppliers have to send you red bills. However, it can also be gained by regularly applying for credit (loans, credit cards, hire-purchase and more) and being turned down. This is because applying for credit causes a check to be made on your credit history – more checks means more activity on your credit record, which can ultimately lower your credit score. Bet you didn’t know that being turned down for the credit on that washing machine could lead to bad credit, did you?

Unfortunately, many people think that the problem will fix itself with time. While that’s technically true, bad credit can actually stay on your record for between 7 and 10 years – that’s an awfully long time to avoid getting credit in. Thankfully, there are ways of repairing a poor credit rating, some of which are very easy. Registering to vote, for example, is one element taken into account on a credit record, as is having utility bills registered in your name with a fixed address. Debt consolidation can also help, as it reduces your monthly outgoings into one manageable monthly payment and adds a sense of reliability to your previously bad credit score. And while you don’t want to be snowed under with credit cards and loans, it’s often wise to at least have some credit that you manage easily – this can help repair your credit rating, since it proves to lenders and loan providers that you can be trusted to repay money that you’ve borrowed.

Of course, even if you’ve had financial problems in the past, it’s not totally impossible to get a loan; many lenders and loan providers have allowances for Bad Credit Loans (loans given to people with bad credit that usually have a higher rate of interest on repayments). These can also help to repair a bad credit rating, so they’re worth considering as an option if you have nowhere else to turn. There are also a select number of credit cards designed for people with bad credit, although these too have higher-than-usual interest rates and are usually quite restrictive on the credit limit offered too.

If you think that you might have bad credit, it’s worth getting hold of your credit report to check for what might have caused it. You can do this easily online through one of the main credit reference agencies like Experian or Equifax – it’ll only cost £2 for the report and can help you understand exactly what’s going on behind the scenes.

In Summary

Bad credit can…

  • Prevent you from being accepted for loans and credit cards
  • Be earned by not repaying loans or regularly applying for loans without success
  • Stay on your credit record for up to 10 years
  • Be repaired by taking out a Bad Credit Loan or other form of secured credit
  • Be avoided by paying your bills and other debts on time!

Copyright: Individual Finance, 2010
About the Author:   IF’s Martin Mathers is a professional journalist with 12 years of experience, covering everything from finance and business to movies, music and technology.

Individual Finance has informative articles on a wide number of aspects relating to UK finance. It also keeps users up to date with the latest money-saving offers and vouchers through regular e-mail newsletters.

Tags: , , ,

Bad Credit? Acquire A Good Credit Card Deal Regardless!

Filed under: Credit Tips

You must have heard people say – ‘I got a good credit card deal’. So if you happen to be looking for a credit card at that moment, do you just go with what your friend has told you as a good credit card deal?

Let’s check what one can term as a good credit card deal. A credit card deal is good if it works for you. So, if the credit card fits into your lifestyle in a way that rakes in maximum benefits for you, that is a good credit card deal. The most important thing to realize here is the word ‘your’ as in ‘your lifestyle’. So logically speaking there is nothing like a good credit card deal.

What it is – is good credit card deal for ‘you’ i.e. the individual who is going to use that credit card. This is because the lifestyle and the needs differ from person to person (and that is precisely the reason why every credit card supplier offers so many different kinds of credit cards). It might be true in some cases (where the lifestyle of two individuals/friends is similar) that the credit card deal which is good for one be good for the other too, however, this is just in a few cases.

You can always check with your friend who has recently got a credit card deal, since that might cut down the time needed for researching/hunting-for a good credit card deal. However, it’s really a matter of evaluating your own needs. If you travel a lot and to far off places by air, a card that offers you good rewards/rebates/benefits on travel would comprise a good credit card deal. Sometimes the airlines themselves have their own credit card issuing/supplying company from where you can get a good credit card deal.

For people shopping at a particular retail store or a shop, a good credit card deal would be a card that offers discounts, rebates and rewards on shopping. Again, the retail stores themselves might have credit cards on offer that could be beneficial to you. Then there are credit card deals that are linked to gasoline stores or big grocery chains. If you don’t have any specific needs, you might use a general purpose credit card that gives reward points on every purchase you make on your credit card. These points can then be redeemed for cash/rewards. Hence, this card could become a good credit card deal for you.

Good, for credit card deals, is really a relative term and there is no credit card deal which is equally good for all. Its easy to get a credit card if you have a good credit history, but what about those of us who are not so lucky in terms of past credit? Here is when a bad credit credit card would help you.

“Bad credit credit card” is used to refer to credit cards that can be obtained even with a bad credit rating. The bad credit credit cards provide opportunity to people (with bad credit rating) to improve their credit rating. In that sense, bad credit credit cards act as rescuer for such people. So, bad credit credit cards also act as necessary a training ground for people who have not been able to control their spending urge in the past.

Bad credit credit cards are commonly known as secured credit cards. The bad credit credit card (or secured credit cards) requires the individual to open up an account with the credit card supplier and maintain some cash balance in the account. Why is that required? Well, credit cards are a business for the credit card suppliers; so how can they trust someone who has defaulted on his/her payments in the past? After all, a business is about profits and such risks are a threat to profits.

The bank or the credit card supplier will generally pay interest on the balance in your account. However, it’s best to check this with the bad credit credit card supplier/bank. The credit limit on the bad credit credit card is determined by the cash balance in the account and is generally between 50-100% of the cash balance. These bad credit credit cards are also referred to as debit cards, owing to the fact that they work less in a credit-giving manner and more in a debit-giving manner.

There are plenty of bad credit credit cards available in the market. When searching for the bad credit credit card that is best suited to you, you should consider four things in particular: the minimum balance that you are required to maintain in the bank account, the credit limit that you will receive (i.e. the percentage of your bank account balance that you are allowed to spend on your bad credit credit card), the fees/other-charges applicable to the procurement of bad credit credit card and the rate of interest that you will receive on the balance in your bank account.

An ideal bad credit credit card would have no fee/other-charges associated with it and would require zero or a very small amount as minimum bank balance. It would also have something like 90-100% of bank balance as its credit limit. Moreover, an ideal bad credit credit card would also offer a good interest rate on the bank balance.

Bad credit credit cards are really a good concept that provides respite to people with bad credit rating by letting them enjoy the benefits of credit cards while they mend their credit rating.

About the Author:  Emory Hodges.  Find tips about ammonia smell in urine and ammonia uses at the High Ammonia Levels website.

Review and apply for credit cards designed to give you a fresh start today!

Tags: , , , ,

Do It Yourself Credit Repair Tips

Filed under: Articles

While many people believe that getting their bad credit repaired can only be done through a professional agency, this is simply not true. By going to a credit agency, you might find that it takes a great deal more time and money than if you just worked on it yourself. Before you get in touch with a professional credit repair service, refer to the steps listed below, and you
might find that repairing your own credit is not that difficult at all.

When you repair your own credit, you must understand that it is a lengthy process that requires patience. The first thing you need to do is contact credit reporting agencies in writing, and request a copy of your credit report. Federal Law states that everyone gets a free credit report annually. You can locate the three main credit-reporting agencies that you will need to get in touch with by performing an Internet search using the terms
“Credit Reporting Agencies”. You might also consult your local phone directory.

Contact the agency in writing, and include the following information in your request:

1. Request a free copy of your credit report.

2. A copy of your state identification (such as your driver’s license)

3. Copy of proof of your current address (such as a utilities bill showing
your home address)

4. Provide your previous addresses for the past 5 years.

5. A copy of your social security card.

6. Make sure you close the request with your signature.

Your credit report should take approximately 4-6 weeks to be generated and sent to you. If you receive a letter denying you credit, make a copy and enclose it with your written request for a copy of your credit report. If you have already received your free annual credit report permitted the free yearly report, you can use a denial letter of credit within 60 days of its receipt.

When you receive your reports from the agencies you contacted, look over each report for accuracy and discrepancies. Create a log in order to track the differences. If you find invalid accounts or errors in your reports, do not hesitate to file disputes. If you need to file a dispute, most agencies provide the forms to do so via their website. Each credit report should
provide contact and account information for each creditor. Keep a log of all your debt information and creditors. Most debts older than 7 years old probably won’t appear on the report, and if so, leave them alone. Most creditors after 7 years will write off the debt, though some might continue to pursue you. Whatever the case, don’t open the Pandora’s box if the account isn’t listed on your credit report.

The next step is to contact each creditor to make payment arrangements. Most of them will be willing to work with you, while some might not be so agreeable. If a creditor is being difficult, feel free to ask for his or her supervisor or speak with someone else. Expect some creditors to be rude and unwilling to work with you. Try no to feel discouraged, be persistent, and ask to speak with someone else. Offer a settlement amount. Keep a written log of the conversation, including the person’s contact information each time you speak with a creditor.

It can take as many as 6 months to feel like you are making headway on your credit repair, but rest assured that your credit will get better within a year or two.  It is very important that while you are paying off your debts
that you pay by check or money order and retain all receipts. Make sure that you request a receipt for the payment from the agency.

Continue to obtain copies of your credit reports annually from each agency. Do not create new debts while paying off your current ones. If you receive credit offers, throw them away. Remain focused on your goal to get out of debt and document your payments, contact with the creditors, their names, extension, time and date you spoke with them and list any pertinent detail
regarding your conversations.

About the Author: Nigel Frederick 
Visit the Types Of Bullying website to learn about text bullying and emotional bullying.

Tags: , , , ,

Welcome to Fresh Start Card Offers!

Filed under: News & Updates

Welcome to Fresh Start Card Offers!  If you’ve had a major life setback, such as divorce, bankruptcy, foreclosure, repossession……you know how hard it is to rebuild your credit! Fresh Start Card Offers was created for those of us with less than perfect credit. Not only do we have a few excellent deals for people with a blemished credit record, but we also have several card options that may actually help you to rebuild your credit rating over time. Check us out, compare offers, and apply online!

Be sure to bookmark our site, and come back often!  We update it regularly with new offers, and we will be adding tips to improve your credit rating, credit card offers for other countries, and more!

Tags: , , , , , ,