Don’t Make a Deal to Get Better Credit

Who would not want to try out a deal, when it will only take you a couple of bucks to get a better credit score?

Today, a lot of ads from fliers to large billboards offer this opportunity for customers but really, even if money is indeed to boost your credit you do not need other people to do that for you. Oftentimes, instead of helping you gain a better credit, they give you with a bigger headache.

Take the experience of Pine Bluff, he gave $500 so that he could have his credit score improved. His long wait for the credit status improvement never paid off. Bean Eagle, the man he gave the money, was nowhere to be seen.

After searching for Ben’s whereabouts, the authorities found out that he has been locked behind bars for over a year, and he’s got another year to go to for his sentence: insurance fraud.

Clients should be careful who they give their trust to. Here are some things you should always put to mind: don’t trust anybody who asks for money in exchange for good credit or if that somebody tells you that talking to credit bureaus will be no help.

Bad credit is not the kind of problem that goes away overnight. When someone asks you to drop everything and leave it all to them that they will take care of your problem, they are lying.

Anyone who is really willing to help you restore your credit will ever charge money. They will not take the responsibility of improving your credit score for you.

So, you want to have better credit? Take these tips at heart: first step in recovering from bad credit, pay bills on time, even if you just pay for the minimum amount. If you fail to pay on time, don’t wait after a month to settle the account.

Second, always check your credit score and review them for possible mistakes. Finally, use money to pay for your purchases and bills until your credit account is back on track.

Benjamin Eagle may be behind bars, but he’s not the only criminal who’s willing to prey on unknowing clients.

Want a Car? Bad Credit Won’t Stand on Your Way

When you have bad credit, then you’re probably scratching your head right now, trying to figure out how you can get an automobile loan. But to worry is really not what you should be doing.

According to a field study by J.D. Power & Associates there has been a significant decrease in the FICO score in the credit worth of automobile purchasers this past two months. From the average of 737 in 2009, it has gone down to 725 this 2012. This also led to the decrease in the retail transactions of vehicles from $29,223 by the end of 2011 to $27,953 this February.

The recession that occurred in the United States in 2009 led to the bankruptcy of credit cards in the country, this also affected the sales of vehicle manufacturers. But the impact was not at all that bad since it also paved way for the credit criteria to be less demanding, and the auto industry was able to recover right away. Now, according to the study by Power, those with bad credit have better chances of getting a car compared to those with excellent credit scores.

The D tier, those with 0 to 624 FICO scores have the highest percentage of purchases at 23% compared to last year. The C tier those with score of 625 up to 649 grew at 19%, the B tier with 650-679 increase at 15%, the A tier, those with good credit at 680 to 719 at 11% and the most excellent credit the A+ tier with credit standing of 720 to 999 composed the least percentage at 7%.

As a result of this slide toward the least-able consumers, “C” and “D” buyers combined accounted for 15 percent of all retail sales in the first two months of this year.

Those who composed the C and D tier composed 15% of the retail purchasers in January and February. These customers are young people with lesser money than other car buyers.

This also took as an advantage with the U.S. automobile industry’s drive for creating fuel-efficient cars. These automobiles are less expensive and they will definitely take the retail market by storm.

Transaction price are what people pay for when they purchase new automobiles, other fees just follow. According to TrueCar.com consumers in the United States have spent roughly $30,091 for a single vehicle purchase in March. This estimation is slightly smaller than the price during November last year, and the record of General Motors had for March.

But Power has a different view on events, according to them if transaction prices continue to decrease then there will post a problem for the industry’s profit.

19,000 Children’s Identities Stolen by Thieves Last Year

Identity theft in the internet is a very common crime today. But imagine yourself as a parent checking your child’s credit account, only to find out it contains thousands of dollars’ worth of debts.

Yes, it is possible, in fact according to the Federal Trade Commission about a total of 19,000 innocent children’s identities across the United States have been stolen last year. Talk about stealing candy form a baby.

One victim of this offense is 7 year old Ian Umscheid. According to his parents, the incident started when one of the hard drives of their health care provider went missing.

Though the doubtful purchases made with the stolen identity were detected and reported immediately, the perpetrators were already able to steal an amount close to $15,000. Now, not only does the little boy have a bad credit, he also owes the Bank of America $5,400,the Ally Financial Bank $2,700 and the California jewelry store $4,500.

According to Ian, the perpetrators must have acquired the computer hard drive’s files, found his name and stolen his identity.Children are convenient targets because of their clean record from debt. Not only that, but according to authorities, the crime often gets discovered much later when the child becomes a teenager and would apply for a student financial assistance or other loaning purposes.

Simon Umscheid, Ian’s father, has been a district attorney for 12 years, but this does not exempt his family from the crisis.

If you are a parent, you never want this to happen to your child. Here are some precautions you should take in order to prevent this case. First, never carry around your child’s Social Security number unless it is very important that you do. Second, always watch over your child’s internet activities, you never know who might be taking advantage of them.

Trying to catch these perpetrators is not an easy task. In fact, you can try and trace these people for years but there is no guarantee that you would catch them.

Crime chooses no one. Criminals will strike anyone, in anytime, and in any possible way. Though parents do all they can to protect their child, there are just some dangers that even they can’t prevent.

1.5 Million Credit Blunder by Global Payments

One of credit cards’ worst histories of security breach has occurred this year. Visa and MasterCard users are facing the possibility of having their personal information stolen and according to sources Global Payments was the one to blame.

No records of credit card accounts, Social security numbers, house address and much other information were said to be taken from the archives of the company. However, Global Payments admit that they have been the mishap of the system and they estimated that about 1.5 million of their subscriber’s records have been tapped.

According to the company, though personal info was not taken, the possibility of identity theft and fraud may happen. In 2007, Heartland Payment Systems a company that manufactures swipe machines for credit cards also had their system hacked and 130 million credit cards were affected. For this weakness in their security, they had to pay a $139 million worth of legal charges in 2009, and it is very likely that Global Payments will suffer the same fate.

Visa has already removed the company’s name from its official list of providers; this is until they fix their security system. This does not prohibit Global Payment from delivering its job;though the move momentarily marks them for potential danger. The company expects to be restored in the list after they have updated their safety measures.

Last year, Global Payments had over 2.44 billion dealings with its 800,000 merchants all over the United States, making it rank seventh in the business.

Though investors may become hesitant in investing to the company after the incident, this does not mean that it will run out of business. Heartland, which had its blunders, was able to regain its loss. If Global Payments handles this fine, they will get their name reinstated in Visa’s list in no time.

Teens Should be Financially Literate

The month April has been declared as the National Financial Literacy Month. The purpose of this is to educate teenagers to be financially literate. It is very important for your young teenagers to know about credit rating before they are allowed to have credit cards. They have to know that lenders are investigating credit information before they issue credit cards. Educating teenagers to be financially intelligent would help them properly manage their finances in the future.

Avail of your free credit report. You can get a free credit report from the three big nationwide credit bureaus, Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. These three bureaus have a common website at www.annualcreditreport.com. The free credit report is provided once every 12 months. You can also link to the Federal Trade Commission website at www.ftc.gov for free credit report.

Review with your teen the credit report. Evaluate your own credit report with your teen. Discuss with him or her every detail of information reflected in the report so that he or she can avoid financial pitfalls in the future. Discuss   most especially the importance of paying on time.

Essential information you need to discuss:

The credit report compiles the following information: Payment behavior of consumers, current balances and other information related to consumers’ credit cards and loans. Bankruptcies and liens are also compiled in the credit report. This information is reported by financial institutions to the three big credit bureaus.

What is the purpose of credit report? Credit report is the basis of lenders in approving or denying a loan or a credit card. It is also the basis of determining the rate of interest. A good credit history allows borrowers to get a new loan at favorable interest while a bad credit history requires a higher interest rate or it can even lead to a loan rejection.

Pay your bills before the due date. Credit report records every payment made. Payment made on or before the due date is a major factor in building an excellent credit rating. When the credit rating is excellent, consumers get the best interest rate for future loans, credit card and mortgage.