A judgment is the legal document stating the final decision on the outcome of a lawsuit. For many consumer credit cases the judgment involves a debt that is owed. In these cases, the judgment is frequently a monetary award to the plaintiff which is usually a creditor such as a credit card company or bank. The judgment in debt disputes may include a formal document issued by the court ordering the defendant to pay a certain amount of money to the credit card company or bank or whomever who has … [Read more...]
Identify Credit Report Problems
December 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
One of the first steps to improve a credit score is to fix the credit report that is the underlying problem directing the low score. An individual’s credit score, whether it is good or bad, is based solely on the data found in that individuals credit report. To improve a credit score therefore requires an improvement in the underlying data in the credit report. In order to repair any issues in a credit report that is the cause of an individual’s low credit score, it is necessary to … [Read more...]
How to Increase Your Credit Score
November 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment
In order to improve your credit score, it's important to know where your credit stands currently. By understanding how your credit report looks now, you can see what factors are driving down your credit score and what aspects of your credit needs work to increase your credit score. Your credit score is calculated based on the information in your credit report. Any errors or negative information in the credit report can push your credit score lower as can limited credit or limited … [Read more...]
Credit Reports are the Foundation for Credit Scores
October 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment
A credit score, often referred to as a FICO score, is a number based on the information in an individual’s credit file or credit report. Because your score is constructed from the information in your credit report it is always worthwhile to review your credit report to find out what is causing either a low credit score or a good credit score. In fact, it is hard to improve your credit score numbers if you don’t know what is in your credit report causing the low numbers. Since a … [Read more...]
Debt Validations Letters
September 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) gives consumers the right to request that a debt be validated which can be requested with a debt validation letter. Debt validation is different from the verification process that can be done through the credit reporting agencies. A request to verify a debt simple means the credit reporting agency requests that the creditor verify their records for accurate information. A debt validation requires that the collection agency prove the debt is … [Read more...]
Credit Scores and Collection Accounts
April 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Collection accounts will almost always have a significant negative impact on a credit score. A collection account is a listing in a credit report that represents a consumer account that has been assigned to a company to collect on an unpaid debt obligation. If a consumer stops making the contractual payments on an account or debt, the lender or creditor may assign the account or sell the account to a collection agency. This action turns a credit account into a collection account. The … [Read more...]
Changes to Credit Score Calculations
February 27, 2010 By 1 Comment
In 2007 Fair Isaac Corporation, creators of the FICO credit scoring system announced that they would change how their credit score models evaluate credit report data. The new credit score, referred to as FICO 08, was delayed in its implementation until the second half of 2009. The FICO score model is kept under wraps by the company that created it, but it is always a good idea to obtain a general understanding as to what makes a good or bad credit score. With the knowledge of what drives … [Read more...]
Beware of the Little Things that can Hurt Your Credit Score
August 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Countless articles regarding credit inform consumers about the big events that can have a negative impact on their credit score. But, many consumers fail to realize all the little transactions or little known transactions that may have a fairly significant and harmful influence on their credit score. We all now the importance of good credit and a good credit score in our society with its wide ranging impact from credit and borrowing to employment to insurance and housing and more. Most … [Read more...]