West Legal Credit Repair

If The Item Is Removed From My Credit Report Do I still Have To Pay The Creditor? We have been asked many times over and over if a negative item that is reported to the credit bureaus is removed by a credit repair company, does the client still owe the debt. The simple answer to this question is yes. Just because a debt is removed from the credit bureaus does not relive the client from the financial obligation for payment. This article will explain the difference between havi...ng an item removed from a credit bureau such as TransUnion, Experian or Equifax and having a debt satisfied with the original creditor. Satisfied for this article will mean the balance was either paid in full or an amount was paid that was agreed to be the full amount by both the client and the original creditor. A credit repair company or a credit repair attorney has a sole focus and that is to clean a client’s credit file so they can move forward with their lives and regain the ability to borrow funds. The credit repair company is in most instances not negotiating the debt with the individual creditor but instead they are negotiating with the reporting companies TransUnion, Experian and Equifax to have the negative items removed. With the negative item removed from the reporting companies the client should then be able to secure new lines of credit. Even if the negative item is removed from a client’ file the creditor still retains the right to collect the outstanding balance. What the creditor may not do is continue to report the negative item on a client’s file once it has been legally removed. Have an item reported to a credit bureau is sometimes the sole reason a client would make payment on a past due account and this is the reason a creditor or collection agency would report the negative history. In other words if they are reporting this negative item to the bureaus and this is preventing you from obtaining new credit it is the creditors or the collection agency’s hope you will pay this balance so that it will show as paid before you apply for new lines of credit. A note of caution is also needed here. In some states and in some rare instances after a negative item has been removed from a credit report it can reappear. In no instance can a negative item that has been removed and is paid in full or paid as agreed return to your report. If you have further questions about this or just have questions in general about your credit file please feel free to contact us at West Legal Credit Repair at 1-866-56-FIXIT or visit us on the web at 299creditrepair.com

What Is The Lowest Credit Score I Need To Get A Mortgage? Many people with credit problems are trying to purchase a new home or refinance a home they currently have and wonder if they have credit problems will they be able to get a mortgage. The simple answer to this questions is YES! You will be able to get a mortgage even if your credit score is low. The question now is how low can your credit score be in order to get the loan you need. This article will answer that questio...n. To begin with a person can get a mortgage for a home with a credit score as low as 620 on all three credit bureaus, (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion), this would not be the best situation for a person to be in, however banks are willing to loan money to those individuals who fall into this category. The requirements will be higher and are as follows: first, to qualify for this mortgage the person will need to meet all other requirements such as length of employment and salary. They will also need to put at least 25% down on the purchase price if this is for a new home purchase. Finally the interest rate will be at the highest level. This mortgage is best suited for those individuals who have had credit issues in the past, but now are working their way back to financial stability. The person should make sure they are in a position to be able to afford all the monthly payments including taxes and insurance without stretching their budget. If you were to obtain this particular loan it would be advisable to correct the issues on you credit file as soon as possible and at the end of one year ask the lender to refinance your loan. Many lenders will be glad to do so as long as you have made all payments on time and have raised your credit score since applying for the loan. Understand if you have been making on time loan payments and you have been able to have a few negative items removed from your credit over the past year your credit score should increase very quickly. After this happens you should check into the advantages of refinancing your current loan. Only do so if your payment will be low enough to cover any closing costs you incur. If your credit score is over 640 you will be able to get a mortgage with a lower interest rate and you will be able to put less of a down payment. We hope this information was helpful if you would like to speak to us at West Legal Credit Repair about your credit please feel free to contact us at 1-866-56-FIXIT or visit us on the web at 299creditrepair.com

How You Know If Your Credit Repair Company Is Working For You This is a subject that we feel we need to touch on as in the past there has been a number of instances in which clients have come to us and asked this exact question. It is important to understand that before anyone hires a credit repair company they do the research necessary to uncover who they are dealing with. That being said the following is a guide to understand the credit repair process and what you as the cl...ient should expect from the company you have retained to work for you. Before we go any further you should always realize, and this is something that if you have contacted us at West Legal Credit Repair in the past or have read any of our postings you should already know and that is a credit repair company cannot do anything for you that you cannot do on your own. It would be wise to stay clear of any company who claims differently. Now what you should expect is first and foremost to be treated fairly and to always be informed of what is going on with your case. At West Legal Credit Repair we accomplish this by allowing our clients 24/7 access to their files though a software program we had designed entitled Client Portal. This program allows our client complete access to everything we have completed so far on their account and the items left to be covered. It also explains the reasons we are doing what we are doing. If your company does not have such a system do not worry not all company’s process this software as it is costly. However, the company should then keep you updated via emails or phone calls as to what they are working on. Next you should always be able to ask what is going on with your case and get an immediate response. The most important thing to remember is that the credit repair company works for you and that they should be able to answer any questions you have within a reasonable timeframe. This does not require the company to have the most elaborate software only that the people working at the firm have knowledge of your case and are willing to take the time to communicate to you what is happening. If a company does not have an online system for you to keep abreast of your case nor do they keep you informed of what is happening with your case it may be time to look for a company that puts your interests first. If at any time you have questions about credit repair please feel free to contact us at 1-866-56-FIXIT or visit us on the web at 299creditrepair.com

What is the Difference Between a Dismissed Bankruptcy and a Discharged Bankruptcy? Recently we have been asked to explain the difference between a dismissed bankruptcy and a discharged bankruptcy and further explain how each will affect your credit report. A dismissed bankruptcy is one in which a client decided to file for bankruptcy at some point in time and later either changed their mind about doing so or the bankruptcy court dismissed the case because the client did not f...ollow through with certain procedures. In either instance the case never moved forward. So why then does it appear on a credit report? It appears because once someone files for bankruptcy the credit bureaus will get notice of this and will then report to on the client’s credit file that they was a bankruptcy filing. This record will remain on the file for 7 to 10 years depending on the type of bankruptcy that was filed. Seven years for Chapter 13 and ten years for Chapter 7. In this case there is no difference in reporting than if the client had gone through with the actual bankruptcy. The negative report on the file also has the same damaging effect if the person had gone through with the bankruptcy. A discharged bankruptcy is one in which the client filed for bankruptcy and the case has made its way through the courts system. The case has now been settled and the client is discharged from any and all responsibility to the cr4editors. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy this means the client is not responsible for making and further payments to the creditors. This filing will remain on the client’s credit report for ten years. A discharged Chapter 13 is different in the fact that the case is not discharged until the client has made all payments to the creditors and the Court deems the case paid in full. When this happens the negative information will remain on the client’s file for seven years. With any mention of bankruptcy on a client’s file it will have a divesting effect on the client’s ability to get credit. It is very important to take steps to have this information removed from your file as quick as possible. Understand just because the law states the negative information needs to be removed from the file within 7 or 10 years does not always mean the credit bureaus will do so. It is your responsibility to make sure these negative items are removed. If at any time you feel the need for professional guidance please feel free to contact West Legal Credit Repair at 1-866-56-FIXIT or visit us on the web at 299creditrepair.com

My Spouse Needs to Establish Credit How Can I Help Them? If you want to help a spouse establish credit for the first time and you are a person who has good credit this will be easy. The government created a law, FICO 8, specifically for this reason. Over the past few years it has been used by many credit repair experts for other means but the sole purpose the government established this law was for people looking to help their spouses establish credit. Here is how the FICO 8 ...Law works. You will need to pull copies of all three of your credit reports, (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion), and them examine these reports to see which tradelines will best help your spouse. What we mean by this is to look for accounts you have that you have been making the payments on time for the longest time frame. If you have an account that you have had for more than two years and have never been late than this would be best. Also you should make sure your utilization rate on these accounts is under 30%. Try and establish three revolving accounts, credit cards, that you have that will fit into the above criteria and then look for an installment account that also fits this criteria. It is important to have a mix of credit revolving and installment to do the best job. Now that you have uncovered which accounts you will be using you need to contact the lenders for each of the accounts and request that your spouse is added as an authorized user to these accounts. A point to understand the accounts will always be in your name and you will be the sole party responsible for repayment. It is just that now your past positive credit will appear on all three credit bureaus under your spouse’s name as well as yours. This will show to the credit bureaus that your spouse has past credit history. Next you should direct your spouse to go to MyFICO.com and look for secured credit cards that report to all three bureaus. There will be several to choose from, however it is important that you only choose cards that report to all three bureaus. Apply for one of these cards and wait for it to arrive in the mail. As soon as this card arrives activate the card and pay whatever fee may be associated with the account. Many of these cards will have a setup fee; this should be paid right away so there is no balance on the card. By following these directions your spouse should now have credit in their name and be able to readily get credit on their own. If at any time you feel the need for professional guidance please feel free to contact West Legal Credit Repair at 1-866-56-FIXIT or visit us on the web at 299creditrepair.com

How To Remove A Tax Lien From Your Credit Report This article will assist you in removing a tax lien from your credit repair. It is important to understand two things before we go further. First, a tax lien that is issued by the government will have a divesting effect on your credit score and because of this many lenders may not be willing to loan you money. If you are looking to refinance or purchase a home this tax lien can be incorporated into your new loan and satisfied i...n full allowing you to get the loan. This does not mean the tax lien will be removed from your credit files. To remove a tax lien form your credit report requires a lot of work and negotiation, this being said all the time and effort you put in will be well worth it as a tax lien will damage your credit score more than anything else. To remove a tax lien you must first satisfy the lien. There is no other way, regardless of what you may have been told, to remove a tax lien from your credit report. When we state you must satisfy the lien it does not mean you must pay the full the full amount asked. You must pay an amount that both you and the governing authority have agreed to in order to satisfy this lien. When you have reached a settlement agreement with the proper authority and before you transmit any funds draft a letter to the person you have been speaking with and explain that you will only make payment if the lien is removed from all three credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. When you have the returned letter in your position remit the funds and have the authority acknowledge they are in receipt of said funds. Now you need to draft a second letter and send it to the authority requesting they remove the negative information from you credit file as agreed. Make sure you enclose a copy of the first letter that states your agreement along with conformation of the agreed payment. They should respond within 30 days. If not send a follow-up letter and also draft a letter to the three credit bureaus requesting they remove the tax lien from your reports. Enclose the copies of the agreement and the conformation of the payment. If you do not get a response from either the authority or the credit bureau regarding the removal send a final letter demanding removal in 30 days or you will file a complaint with the FTC. If the tax lien has not been removed it will be removed now to avoid the complaint. If you feel overwhelmed please feel free to contact us at West Legal Credit Repair at 1-866-56-FIXIT or visit us on the web at 299creditrepair.com

Can I Fix My Own Credit Many people ask the question can they fix their own credit. The answer is quite simply YES. There will never be something a credit repair company or credit repair attorney will be able to do for you that you would not be able to do for yourself. The advantage these companies and attorneys have is that this is their profession and because of that they take the business very seriously and spend all of their time working with clients, credit bureaus and c...reditors and on behalf of their clients. Furthermore these professionals have spent their time researching laws pertaining to the credit restoration business and have had success in the past with other clients that they can now use to help you or other clients they may acquire. This is the main benefit these professionals have the second main benefit is that this is a business for them. They do not need to make time to correct your credit this is what they do day in and day out. Therefore they will never miss a deadline or forget to follow up because this is what they do every day. How can you do this this on your own? First, spend some time reading and understanding your credit report. Take notice of the codes the three credit bureaus use to define your particular tradelines and then find those that are listed as negatives. Second you should make sure that all three credit bureaus are reporting all of your positive credit tradelines on your reports. This has become a major problem in the past few years, where creditors are not reporting your positive credit to all three bureaus. This will affect your credit score as much as negative items being reported. Once you have read, understood and detected the negative items on your credit it is now time to address each issue. This is done by writing directly to the individual credit bureaus and requesting the information to be either corrected or removed. Make such you send your letters U.S. Postal Service Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested and when you receive the return post card you mark down the date the credit bureau received. In most cases the credit bureau will have 30 days to respond, 45 days if you received a free copy of your credit report from them and 20 days if you live in Maine. If the credit bureau has not corrected the issue within this time period they are required by law to remove the negative entry from your credit report. It is that simple. If you feel you need professional assistance in this matter please feel free to contact West Legal Credit Repair at 1-866-56-FIXIT or visit us on the web at 299creditrepair.com and we will be glad to help you.

How Does Your Credit Score Affect Your Insurance Premiums? The cost of insurance is again on the raise and many people feel they are being charged too much for their auto, home, health or life insurance, but they cannot fully understand why. Most people understand that the better your credit rating is the lower your insurance premiums will be, but what most people do not realize is that there are different credit scores for insurance premiums then there are for credit or for ...employment and these scores are easier and faster to correct if you have had issues in the past then it would be to correct your FICO score. Raising your insurance premium is by far the easiest score you can raise. What is most important to understand about this particular score is what are transaction histories of your most recent transactions. We at West Legal Credit Repair have seen clients whose FICO score would classify them as a poor credit risk to have excellent insurance premium scores. This happens because the insurance premiums score will only looking at your past 12 to 24 month credit history whereas the FICO score looks back as far as ten or more years. Therefore, if you have had credit issues in the past but now you have been able to secure new credit and have made these payments on time for the past year or two you should be able to negotiate with your insurance company to give you the best available rate. In other words if now you are back on track it should be easier and cheaper for you to get insurance. A point to understand is it is in the best interest of the insurance company to keep you at your current rate because for the same risk they are collecting a higher premium so do not despair if your current company is unwilling to rerate you. Remember they were the company who first pulled your credit when you may not have been the most creditworthy and they feel they should be able to keep you paying at this rate. If your current insurance company will not reduce your premiums you should shop for other insurance. You also do not need to worry about reducing your credit score by having the insurance companies pull your credit report as an insurance company is pulling your credit from a different file. Therefore, this will not affect your Fico score. If you feel overwhelmed by this process and you feel you need to speak to a professional we are always here to help you. Please feel free to contact West Legal Credit Repair at 1-866-56-FIXIT or visit us on the web at 299creditrepair.com

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Will Be Overseeing The Major Credit Bureaus Great news for the general public as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be overseeing the major credit bureaus in an attempt to correct all the inaccurate information that appears in credit files today. The government has finally realized the damage this has done to so many families for so long that it has now decided to step in and take charge. What will happen no one is sure but ...the one thing we are sure of is the credit bureaus must be rushing around to try and find a way to correct as files as possible before the government comes in. there are just so many files that are inaccurate. Effective September 30, 2012, the government will begin supervising credit bureaus and companies. What this means is that Credit Bureaus and Credit reporting agencies will be required to provide updated and more accurate data to the general public. This is something that we at West Legal Credit Repair have been fighting for so many years. What this will mean for consumers is that as clients they will be provided with higher quality credit reports which should be free of the many flaws these reports have had in the past. This is the first time in history the three major credit bureaus will be supervised at a federal level. Under the new rule, which will take effect on September 30, 2012, Equifax, Experian, TransUnion and hundreds of other companies involved in credit reporting will be subject to federal oversight. Once in effect, oversight may include on-site examinations, discussions and ongoing monitoring. Supervising this market will help ensure that it works properly for consumers, lenders, and the wider economy. There is [so] much at stake in making sure it is both fair and effective, said Steven Corday of The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. According to the latest numbers from the Consumer Data Industry Association, three billion consumer reports are issued each year. Not to mention, 36 billion file updates are made to files each year. It is important this information is correct because the consumer reports and the credit scores formulated from them may determine whether an individual is eligible for a loan. The CFPB is hoping the decision will help put a stop to credit report inaccuracies. We at West Legal Credit repair have reported in the past that as much as 79% of all credit files contain some form of inaccuracies. With this new law just about to come into place now has never been a better time to fix your credit as it would appear the credit bureaus would like to clean up their records before the federal government comes in. If you are in need of assistance in resorting your credit please feel free tom contact us at West Legal Credit Repair at 1-866-56-FIXIT or visit us on the web at 299creditrepair.com

The Fastest Way To Remove A Negative Item From Your Credit File This article will explain to you the quickest method you can use to remove a negative item from your credit file. This method should only be used in those times that you need this one removal in order to go forward with your current plans, such as applying for a home or auto loan or any other time you need a quick raise in your credit score. This is not a method we suggest to our clients at West Legal Credit Repa...Continue reading

What To DO If Your Creditor Is Not Responding To Your Requests. Is There Any Help? If your creditor is not responding to your requests they are in violation of Federal Credit Reporting Laws. Most creditors know and understand this, but believe that the average consumer does not and therefore more times than not the creditor will just ignore your requests. If this is happening to you do not worry this article will explain to you what steps you should take. You must always send... your correspondence to the creditor via U.S. Certified Mail and keep a copy of the letter as well as the mail receipt for your records. After 45 days if the creditor has not replied to your request for information, verification or deletion you should send a second letter to them and reference the original letter. Explain in this second letter that they are in violation of Federal Law and that if this issue is not addressed immediately you are going to seek legal help by contacting the FTC. A copy of this second letter should be sent to the three credit bureaus Experian, Equifax and Transunion along with the reason you believe this item should be removed from your file. Only send this letter to the three bureaus if all three are reporting the debt. Never send a letter to a credit bureau that is not reporting a debt on your behalf. If the item remains on your credit file after 45 days and the creditor has not replied to your requests you should now file a formal complaint with the FTC. This can be done online by filling out the online form at https://econsumer.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/ make a copy of this complaint and send it certified mail to the creditor as well as all three credit bureaus. More often than not the mere sight of this FTC complaint will make the creditor back down and have the negative item corrected or removed. If the creditor does not back down you should let the FTC work their magic and in due course the item will be removed. While the complaint is making its way through the process you should continue to request the creditor as well as the three credit bureaus correct or remove the negative items. Do not just wait for the FTC to finish their investigation. Now that the creditor realizes there is an open complaint against them for this issue they will work much harder to supply you with the information you requested. If at any time you believe you need professional assistance in this or any credit repair matter please feel free to contact West Legal Credit Repair at 1-866-56-FIXIT or visit us on the web at 299creditrepair.com.

Should You Pay Down Your Mortgage or Pay Off Your Credit Cards Many people are asking the question, should they pay down their current mortgage or pay off their credit cards? The question may have more than one answer but for this article I am going to draft a single answer. The answer is directed to those individuals who are looking to increase their credit score by either reducing their mortgage principal or reducing their credit card debit. For the individuals looking to... increase their credit score there is a simple answer and that is to pay off your credit cards. Not only do your credit cards have a much higher interest rate than any installment loan the high credit limit you carry on these cards will actually hurt your credit score, whereas an installment loan will not hurt your overall score. When a lender grants you a mortgage for a certain amount of money and they set the terms you can repay, most lenders expect to wait this time period before the loan will be repaid. For this reason a mortgage that is being paid on time will have the same effect on your credit score as a mortgage that is paid down or for that matter paid in full before its time has elapsed. On the other hand a credit card with a high limit the lender does not expect the cardholder to charge the card to the maximum amount and this is the reason when a utilization rate exceeds 30% a credit score begins to go down even when the cardholder is making the payments on time. If you are in the position to either pay down your mortgage or pay down your credit cards from a credit score prospective it will always be best for you to pay down or pay off the balances on your credit cards before making any additional payments on your mortgage’s principal. This will also save you much more money on interest than if you paid down your mortgage. If after you have paid off your credit cards you are still in a position to make additional payments on your mortgage principal it would at this point in time be a very wise decision. Remember there is always more than one correct answer to a question and this question is no exception. The answer provided above is directed to those individual clients who are looking to increase their credit score. We at West Legal Credit Repair hope this answer is of benefit to you. If you ever feel you are in need of assistance please feel free to contact us at 1-866-56-FIXIT or visit us on the web at 299creditrepair.com we are always here to answer your questions.

How To Approach Someone to Allow You To Become An Authorized User To in our office we hear this question over and over, how do I ask someone to let me be an authorized user on their account and what is the risk for both parties. Authorized users have become very popular recently as it is a quick way to increase your credit score. All of the positive credit from the tradeline will be instantly attached to your credit file. This article will explain to you how you can approach ...someone to allow you to be an authorized user on their account with no risk to them. First it is important to know the person you are requesting this from very well. We at West Legal Credit Repair always suggest you start with a family member and a close family member at that. If you do not have a family member then you should ask a close personal friend if they will allow you to become an authorized user on their account. When asking someone to make you an authorized user it is important to explain to them the reason you are asking for this. Explain that by posting their good credit history which is associated to their account on your credit file it will help to increase your credit score. You should explain the reason you are attempting to raise your credit, i.e. you want to buy a home or a care or you need to refinance your current mortgage. Next explain that you are not going to be using their account for any purchases and in fact you will not have access to their account. When someone places you on their account as an authorized user the credit card is mailed to their home not yours. Furthermore the account does not fully appear on your credit report as the last four digits are blacked out. This is done for the primary cardholder’s protection. Finally put your request in writing and state you are not going to use the account for any purchases and that the only reason for the request is to help boost your credit score. Now what is your risk? The risk you have is that the account may not be in good standing at this point in time. It is therefore important for you to ask the person to see their credit report that shows this account and trace the card back 24 months. Another problem to look for is utilization on the card. If the credit card has a $1000.00 and more than $300.00 is charged on this card it will not be a benefit for you to place this account as a tradeline on your credit report. The final risk you may entail is if the primary cardholder begins to make late payments on the account. This would hurt your credit score even though you are not responsible for making payments as the late payment history will now also appear on your credit file. If this information is unclear or you would like additional information please feel free to contact us at West Legal Credit Repair at 1-866-56-FIXIT or visit us on the web at 299creditrepair.com