The truth is, there’s no magic to fixing credit.  There’s no trick, no secret, no scam and no special science—it’s actually very straightforward and simple.  So if you’re ready to resolve your credit problems and start turning things around, here are 5 easy (and proven-to-be-effective) ways to improve your credit and start restoring your financial health…

1. Correct your credit report—if there are any mistakes on your credit report, they’re probably hurting your score.  Inaccurate collections, for example, can hurt your score by up to 50 points or more.  But if the report is genuinely inaccurate, it shouldn’t be difficult to fix by sending a debt validation letter.  And doing so is one good way to raise your score.

2. Pay down credit cards—having high credit balances is another way to bog down your score.  Pay them down.  The more debt you have, the more of a risk you are to lenders, and the lower your score will be.

3. Open new credit cards—not having enough credit can also affect your score.  While there’s no exact recipe for good credit, having the proper number of cards (3 is often recommended) along with the right combination of credit (installment, revolving and open) will help you to optimize your score.

4. Pay your bills on time—we all know how late-payments can hurt your credit score.  So the best way to avoid this damage is to make sure you always pay on time.  Remember, late-payments are one thing that’s seriously considered when lenders try determine your credit worthiness, so steer clear of this pitfall by being prompt with each and every one of your payments.

5. Age your credit—time has a great reputation for curing all.  And this is even true for credit repair.  One of the very best ways you can effectively raise your credit score is by aging your existing credit.  This, of course, may require that you keep the right number of cards and the right mixture of credit, pay your bills on time every month, and never spend more than you can afford to pay.  With time, you’ll probably see a noticeable improvement to your credit score. 

It’s true— there’s no magic to fixing your credit score.  But it’s never going to happen if you don’t take the first step.  It’s unfortunate that people have a hard time putting faith into credit repair, but understanding the process and taking the appropriate steps is the best way to ensure success.

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So What Do Most Credit Repair Companies Do?

Actually, there’s an industry term for most of these guys—they’re called dispute mills. Dispute mills are credit repair companies that attempt to remove as much negative information from credit reports as possible by sending dispute letters to credit bureaus.  And that’s about it.  Dispute letters, of course, are intended only to fix reporting errors (and not just to remove a lifetime’s worth of bad credit).  And the problem with dispute mills is that they’ll often dispute credit report information whether it’s accurate or not. 

Can You Really Fix Bad Credit With Dispute Letters Alone?

In most cases—not a chance.  That’d be like trying to build a whole house with just a hammer.  Real credit repair involves a combination of different approaches.  What works in one situation may not work as well in another.  Dispute letters may or may not be a part of the process, and they may or may not be combined with other services like debt relief.  Whatever the scenario, truly effective credit repair is a result of flexibility, planning, and action.  Unfortunately, dispute letters can’t cover everything. Not even close.

So How Can I “Fix” My Credit?

This can be easy.  It involves five steps.  In short, they are:

1. Review your credit report—how will you know what you need to fix if you don’t know what’s on there? Study it.  Make sure it’s accurate and complete.  Get an idea of what your challenges are going to be and how you might address them. 

2. Fix credit errors—a big part of the reason you should review your credit report is to spot potential errors.  And they’re common—about 79% of all credit reports have mistakes.   So if they’re there, find them and contact the appropriate credit bureau, collection agency or creditor to have them corrected.

3. Reduce your debt—it may seem impossible, but it’s not.  With debt settlement, you can negotiate reductions to your debt by up to 60%.  Find out who you owe, how much you owe them, give ‘em a call and make an offer.  Chances are, they’ll be willing to reduce your debt down to an amount you can actually afford.

4. Establish new lines of credit—it’s one of the best ways to put that finishing touch on your new credit profile and a very effective way to raise your credit score.  Regardless of your credit history, shouldn’t have much trouble finding someone to give you a second chance with credit.

5. Manage your credit responsibly and let it age— One of the best ways to optimize your credit is to let it age.  So hold on to it.  Practicing the same financial responsibility that helped fix your credit will also help you to maintain it appropriately.  And the longer you show good faith and responsibility, the more credit-worthy you’ll be.

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1. A Fool-proof Way to Fix Bad Credit

If you’re not happy about what’s become of your personal credit, you can turn things around.  Most of the time, the only thing that holds people back from fixing credit problems is their attitude towards money and responsibility.  Realizing the importance of good credit is the first (and maybe the most important) step toward change.

What Is Bad Credit Doing To You?

Are you having a hard time getting a credit card or a loan?  With bad credit, these kinds of problems are just the beginning.  These days, it seems like everyone’s running a credit check.  If you want to rent an apartment or house, establish utility accounts, set up a cell phone contract, find yourself a decent job or just save some money on interest rates, bad credit is going to make it difficult (if not impossible). 

But there’s more.  Bad credit can have an effect on your relationships, emotions and overall health.  Having to hide your “secret” credit situation from the world can make you feel isolated, unimportant, and unstable.  It can (and probably will) lead to stress, anxiety and depression.  And not having adequate financial resources can leave you deprived of even your basic needs and wants.  So can you think of one good reason to let your credit problems continue to run your life?

There’s a Solution to Your Credit Problems

Think about it.  Your life has more meaning than a bundle of lousy credit problems.  And the less effort you put into eliminating these problems, the more control they’ll have over you.  And what are they—some old, unpaid bills?  In the grand scheme of things, paying off a few debts, making a few corrections to your credit report, and having a little responsibility with your money is a very small price to pay for the rewards you’ll gain through having good credit.  So why waste anymore time?  It’s not as hard as you think.  In fact, there is a very simple, straightforward approach to fix credit, and anyone can have success with it.  Even you.

So cast your doubts aside.  Learn more about credit repair and what it can do for you.  There’s no risk, and there’s really no reason not to.  Like thousands of others, you’ll see just how easy credit repair can be, and how it can help you to turn everything around, once and for all.

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1. There’s No Magic to Fixing Credit

But first let's talk about what "credit repair" means to alot of these other companies.

How are Most Companies Fixing Bad Credit?

Perhaps the reason so many credit repair companies claim their services to be "fast" and "easy" is because they take so many short-cuts.

A common approach to dealing with negative credit reports is to send dispute letters to the credit bureaus and collection agencies, in hopes of getting as many removals as possible. 

And what's the problem with that?  It's ineffective at best and illegal at worst. 

Dispute letters are intended strictly for the purpose of having credit report errors corrected.  Any time a credit repair company disputes accurate credit report information, they are operating unlawfully and can add further complications to your credit situation. 

In some cases, disputing accurate information can even get you sued. 

So What's the Alternative? There's more than one way to fix bad credit.  But Dispute letters alone will not entirely resolve your problems.  That's why following a few simple steps can take you a long way in the credit repair process.

Remember that every credit situation is different–what works for others may not be the best option for you. But one way or the other, the laws that govern consumer credit and and the credit repair industry provide ways for you to gain conrol of your financial problems and get your credit back on track. 

So here they are…

The 5 Steps to Fixing Bad Credit that Anybody Can Follow

Step One:  Start A Working Budget It should be no surprise to hear that managing your money responsibly is the only way to establish a good credit history.  So if that's your goal (as it should be) then why put it off any longer?

The very best way to get things in order is to start budgeting–now!  Not only are you going to need some extra cash to pay off your old debts during the credit repair process, but you're going to have to have a handle on your money after you establish new lines of credit. 

Don't put it off–watch what you spend.

Step 2:  Get Familiar with Your Credit Report If you're going to fix your credit, you first have to know what's wrong with it–and that's pretty easy. 

Get a copy of your credit report (you can get it for free) and look over it carefully.  It should identify everyone you owe, how much you owe them, and the status of each account, etc., etc.  This, of course, is the only way to determine the approach you intend to take to resolve these problems, and therefore, getting familiar with your credit report should be a priority.

Step 3:  Have Fun Correcting Mistakes Correcting mistakes on your credit report can be fun–if you like writing dispute letters.

If you notice any errors on your credit report, you'll have to dispute it if you want to make it right.  This, as mentioned, is where many credit repair companies go wrong. 

Dispute letters do work, but they usually only work if they're intended to correct errors.  For all problems that dispute letters can't resolve, you'll have to take a different approach–and many of these companies do little beyond disputes.

Step 4:  Reduce the Heck Out of Your Debt After you've managed to ensure an accurate credit report, you may be wondering what you can do about all those unpaid debts and collection accounts.  And while getting yourself out of debt may seem impossible, learning how to negotiate debt-settlements can make it happen. 

A debt settlement occurs when a collection agency or creditor agrees to settle your debt for a reduced amount–an amount you can afford to pay.  And it works.  Our debt-relief specialists, on average, are able reduce most debts by as much as 60%.  So who says getting out of debt's impossible?

Step Five:  Establishing New Credit (and not screwing it up) so at this point you've learned to budget your money, you've conquered all credit report errors and you've managed to pay down your debt.  Your credit score has made a noticeable improvement, but you're still not experiencing the results you'd imagined.  Well, throw some new credit into the mix and relax.

You've done your part.  Your credit has improved, and it's going to get better.  Establishing new lines of credit is the best way (and the last step) to fixing bad credit.  And with proper management, you'll never have to worry about having bad credit again. 

For the Record… Credit repair is not a scam.  It's not ineffective, and it's not dishonest–or at least it doesn't have to be.  If you're worried about the troubles that can be caused by choosing the wrong company, do the smart thing and make sure you choose the right company.  There's just no room for short-cuts when it comes to credit repair–so stay away from the guys who can't offer a well-rounded, fool-proof approach to your credit problems.

Take the first step
Find out how My Credit Group Inc. can help turn your problems around – Sign up today.
No credit card needed and our service is backed with a risk-free refund policy

Related posts:

1. Fix Credit Errors: What Does It Mean?
2. Can I repair My Credit With Disputes Alone?

The 7 Items on Your Credit Report You Should Know

Looking at your credit report, you’ll see a section that lists every one of your accounts—and these will include all the data you need to identify errors.  Typically, there are 7 specific items you should be looking for:

1. The name of your creditor
2. The account number
3. The type of credit it is
4. Your payment history
5. Your balance and limit
6. The date you opened the account
7. The date of last activity

All of these items are important—they should bring to your attention anything that doesn’t seem accurate or complete.  Naturally, in order for you to fix credit report problems, you’ll first have to know what they are.

How to Identify Mistakes on Your Credit Report

Here’s how keeping your own records can be useful.  It’s easy to compare the information on your credit report to your own personal records.  If you haven’t held onto your records, you can still identify mistakes (or at least possible mistakes) by memory.  Anything that just doesn’t seem right to you may be worth verification.

• The Name of Your Creditor and Account Number—basically, if you don’t recognize the creditor, there’s a reason to assume it may be inaccurate or not even your account at all.  Keep in mind that defaulted accounts are often sent to collection agencies you may not be familiar with.  If you have any doubts, an investigation may be necessary.  The account number is important, of course, if you wish to have the account verified—you’ll have to reference it later.

• The Type of Credit—generally, there are 3 kinds of debt: installment, revolving and open.  Installment loans, such as mortgages and auto loans, are debts that require fixed payments each month until the balance is completely paid off.  Revolving credit—credit cards, for example—are small “credit” loans made each month that carry a limit and a minimum balance.  Open credit commonly includes utility accounts and other services such as cell phone and internet packages.  You are expected to pay your balance in full each month.  The reason the type of credit you have on you report is important is because your credit can be optimized by having the right combination of account types.  If your report indicates inaccurate credit types, your score may drop.  This is an error you can easily fix.

• Your Payment History—it’s important that your payment history is reporting accurately.  That’s because even minor marks, such as late pays, can be considerably damaging to your credit score.  An accurate payment history can also help resolve issues with collection accounts, as your date-of-last-activity will help determine if any one account is rightfully under collection status or not.

• Your Balance and Limit—this one’s easy.  If your credit report indicates you owe a creditor more than you actually do, it’s necessary to have it corrected (See dispute original creditor).  Additionally, if your limit (or balance) is reporting inaccurately, it can throw of your whole balance-to-limit ratio and lower your credit score—it can also result in higher than normal interest rates and cost you more money in the long run.

• The Date You Opened the Account—knowing what date you opened any account can help you track payment issues, balance issues, and other credit history concerns.  For example, if your account has been actively maintained for 5 years and your report indicates that it’s only been 2, you’re not getting fair credit for three years worth of positive activity.  This is a good example of how any small reporting error can cause unnecessary damage to your credit.

• The Date of Last Activity—the date of last activity is important to any account.  Charge-offs and collections are determined by this date, and you may have had 1 or more accounts go into default unrightfully.  In addition to charge-offs and collections, the statute of limitations will be affected by an inaccurate date of last activity, possibly resulting in other credit repair complications.

By law, you are entitled to a fair and accurate credit report.  If you feel for any reason that there is inaccurate or incomplete information on your credit report, you have a right to have it verified or validated.  This can be done by writing a dispute letter or validation letter.

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1. How to Repair My Credit

Q:   I keep hearing about how credit repair is so “easy.”  I decided I would take a swing at fixing my own credit report.  After going through a major pain to actually GET the report online, I realize that there is so much information on these reports.  

I have several accounts that I can’t even identify let alone figure out whether they are valid or not.  I see letters and numbers and dates…numeric current status rating??? What is this stuff! Can anyone please help me make sense of this.  I need to figure out what kind of debt I’m looking at here so I can make sure it’s accurate.

A:   It is possible to repair your credit on your own.  But one of the reasons so many people turn to credit repair companies for help is because credit repair can be downright complicated—especially when it comes to understanding credit reports.

If you just learn the basics, the rest will come with time.  So start by carefully analyzing your report.  It should contain every account you have with a section that lists your current balance.  Whether the account is a mortgage, auto loan, credit card or some other kind of account—it will be listed there.

There are, typically, 3 kinds of debt:

1.    Installment Debt—money owed to a creditor who expects payment over a fixed period of time made in agreed-upon monthly amounts.  Installment loans commonly include auto and home loans. The Numeric Current Status Rating will use an “I” to indicate that your debt is an installment debt.

2.    Revolving Debt—money owed to a creditor who bases your monthly payment on your current balance.  Revolving debts commonly include credit cards, gas cards, and department store cards.  The Numeric Current Status Rating will use an “R” to indicate that your debt is revolving debt.

3.    Open Debt—Money owed to a creditor for an account with no pre-determined limit such as a cellular phone or other service.  Each month your creditors expect you to pay your balance in full.  The Numeric Current Status Rating will use an “O” to indicate that your debt is an open debt.

Understanding how debt is listed on your credit report is important if you plan on making any sense of it—it will enable you to determine who you owe, how much you owe, why you owe them, when you owe them and how you’re expected to pay.  Being able to make these determinations is the first step to successfully making corrections to your credit report.

Take the first step
Find out how My Credit Group Inc. can help turn your problems around – Sign up today. No credit card needed and our service is backed with a risk-free refund policy

Related Articles:

• Credit Repair Strategies 
• Do it Yourself Credit Repair

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So before you go and hire a credit repair company, you should understand how to find one that could potentially help you and how to spot one that may do nothing but take your money in return for incomplete or altogether ineffective services.

Make sure any company you hire is complaint with the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA).
CROA outlines what a credit repair company can and cannot do.  To help you make informed decisions when it comes to hiring a credit repair company, here’s an article we’ve written about credit repair scams.

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Most of them are right; they do need a little help with their credit.  However, what none of them are saying is, “I want to buy a home, but I need to take care of some outstanding debts.”  Credit repair is just as much about resolving debt issues as it is about credit repair.  You’d be surprised at how willing creditors are to negotiate and how much it can boost your credit score.

If you want to find out about our debt relief services, you can read about them here. Debt Relief

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We’ve been closely monitoring our new credit repair forum to answer your questions and address your concerns.  We’ve added many useful credit repair articles to give you a better understanding of the challenges you’re facing and the strategies you can use to overcome them.  Finally, we’ve updated our credit repair index to make sure you have complete access to the information you need to fix your credit successfully.  From dispute letters to new lines of credit, MyCreditGroup.com is here to provide you with the complete credit repair package.

As always, if you have any questions or credit-related concerns, we’d love to hear about it. Call us today and get more involved with what matters most—your credit.

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1. Your Credit Repair Questions Answered

We'd like to get your thoughts again with another 10 second survey.

Click here to take survey

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As if getting approved for a credit card isn’t hard enough these days, credit card companies actually have a way to make it harder for you to hold on to your credit card.  And here’s how they do it…

A bank issues you a credit card with a certain interest rate and a certain spending limit.  As long as you don’t overcharge it and you make all your payments on time, you should be fine, right? Not necessarily.

They can raise your Interest

The Universal Default Clause gives credit card companies the right to raise your interest if they feel that you’re a potential risk, and especially if you default on any one of your monthly bills.  Whether it’s another credit card payment, a utility bill, or even your car payment—your interest will go up if you don’t make all your payments on time.

But how do they get away with it?  The Universal Default Clause was enacted to compensate for the lender’s risk of extending credit to persons who have difficulty paying their bills.
And believe it or not, they regularly check your credit report to see if you have and late pays, overcharges, or insufficient payments.  Literally—they’re looking for a way to hit you, and if you give them a reason to, they will.

They can lower your Limit

In addition to raising your interest rate, credit card companies can also lower your credit limit if you’re deemed a “potential risk.”  And this can be the beginning of disaster. 

When your credit limit is lowered, your balance to limit ratio shifts, putting you even further into “risk” status.  Other creditors will probably notice this, and the result:  you’re caught in a cross-fire of raised interest, lowered limits and some serious money problems. 

And Most of them are Doing it…

That’s right.  More and more credit card companies are including the Universal Default Clause in their contracts, and if you are unfortunate enough to get hit by more than one creditor, you’ll really have to hustle if you want to avoid damaged credit.

Congress is currently debating the integrity if the Universal Default Clause and hopefully it will be decided that credit card companies should just mind their own business.  But until then, it’s never been more important to read and understand your contracts, manage your credit cards, and most importantly: pay your bills on time! Don’t get caught in the Universal Default Clause trap, and don’t give credit card companies an excuse to bully you. 

If your having problems, or would like a free consultation please give us a call: Credit Repair Services

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1. Your New Credit Card Rights, Part I

One of the most popular internet searches today is how to get out of debt.  What does this tell us? It tells us that out of the millions of people searching Google for answers each day, more and more of them are falling into debt and looking for a way out.

That’s why we’ve decided to give ‘em what they want.  Our new article, "How to Get out of Debt," discusses the fastest, most effective way to handle your debt problems.  And it’s probably a lot easier than you thought.  So check it out and tell us what you think.

As always, if you have any questions about debt relief or credit repair, you can contact a My Credit group representative for answers or post your questions to our new Credit Repair Q&A forum.  One way or the other, MyCreditGroup.com can help.

FYI We've also started  "How To" & "Q&A"sections. It's going to take us a couple to get them poplulated, so bare with us.

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But Jerry disagreed.  “When it’s finished,” he said, “it’s going to be bad-ass.”  And now, ten years later, it’s time to give credit where credit is due.  Jerry’s Edsel is, indeed, very cool.  Now don’t get me wrong.  It wasn’t always easy.  There were many times when Jerry simply wanted to throw in the towel.  But he knew what he needed and, more importantly, he knew it could be done.  And if you asked Jerry if it was all worth the trouble?  “Hell yeah it was” he’d say.  His Edsel is a masterpiece.  And he knows it.  In fact, everyone in town knows Jerry and his monster Edsel.  It is admired constantly, and he has gotten some outrageous cash offers for it.  So I guess Jerry’s project wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

The best part about Jerry’s car is that no matter what problem he encounters, he can fix it.  Need a new bumper?  Well, just throw one on.  Starter’s gone bad?  Ok, pop in a new one.  Whatever the problem, Jerry can fix it!

Now, as I write this story in a beach chair in front of Jerry’s garage, I watch as my friend toys with his Edsel; making some random repair, a simple adjustment, a “much needed” improvement.  And I’m thinking….How good it must be to know what you’re doing when it comes to something that’s so dear to you.  What peace must come with knowing that if something goes wrong, you can fix it!

You might be wondering, “What does this have to do with credit repair?”  Well, when it comes to your credit, and especially when having bad credit, never throw in the towel just because you’re facing a challenge.  Jerry had the right idea. This meant a lot to him, so he took the time to learn every detail of his car. And just like Jerry, understand there’s going to be trying times, but if it’s important to you – don’t give up.

Once you have a working knowledge of your unique circumstances, you begin troubleshooting.  Who do you owe, how much, and why?  And next, comes the fun part.  Repairs.  Don’t give up hope, even when things seem grim.  I have seen even the most pitiful cases turn to solid gold with a little elbow grease, hard work and determination. So, believe me, whatever the case, whatever the obstacle, whatever the challenge, don’t worry. You can fix it! 

The key is to stay on top of things.  Know your stuff.  You may, sometimes, like Jerry, have to start from scratch, but like anything else that carries such great personal value, quality must be built.  It must be maintained; cared for.  You may, from time to time, have to fix this or repair that, but in the end, it’s always worth it.  Just ask Jerry.

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Many clients tend to have the same questions, but we understand that every individual case is going to be unique in some way.  What better way to showcase the answers those particular questions than with a community-driven knowledge market known as MCG Answers.

In addition, we figured what better way to objectively populate our MCG Answers pages than by giving a free month of credit repair to our top contributor each month.  If you’ve had a credit repair experience, good or bad, or are informed about credit repair, we invite you to share your knowledge, and possibly win some free services.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be uploading the questions we’ve catalogued over the years; our hope is that if you can’t find an answer to your specific situation that you’ll enlist the help of our Credit Repair Forums.

MyCreditGroup appreciates that starting the credit repair process may be overwhelming.  Now with MCG Forums, you don’t have to go it alone.

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It might give the auto industry a little boost, and will probably help the used auto parts industry. That’s all cool. That means more jobs, maybe a little more spending etc.

The program may have some benefits.

But there’s a downside and we’re already seeing it with some of our clients. Yes you know who you are – and you knew this lecture was coming

In general when we really want something, we tend to put blinders on. We see what we want to see, and we always figure out a reason why it makes sense to buy it.

Yep, Cash for Clunkers is the perfect excuse for some of you.

What better time than now to finally get a new car right?

Uncle Sam is one hell of a guy and he’s going to make the down payment for us. Ok that’s super cool – Sam you’re the man! But he’s not making your monthly payment.

Do I need to remind everybody what happened with the housing market? If we had a pulse and could drool on a contract, lenders had the perfect adjustable rate mortgage for us.

We had no clue how we were going to make the payments, but who cares – we’re getting a new crib.

We are seeing a lot of our very own credit repair and debt settlement clients trade in cars that were working just fine, for new cars when you know you can’t afford the payments.

I get it, I promise I do. If I needed a new car, I’d probably be taking advantage of this program too.

But I can assure you, I’d be looking past the 4500.00 Uncle Sam is forking out, and I’d be focusing on the payments I’m obligated to for the next 5 years.

If you are absolutely sure you can afford a couple hundred more each month for the next 5 years, maybe it’s a great time.

If you’re sure you’re job is not the next to start letting employees go- than maybe it’s a great time.

If you’re credit cards are paid off – than maybe it’s a great time.

Am I starting to sound like Jeff Foxworthy?

But if you find yourself figuring out a way to buy a new car, than it’s probably not the right time. Do the right thing. There will be a better time later on – I promise.

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Stupid me! I sparked a bunch of questions which well, is a good thing. One of the questions, actually a comment came from our debt settlement department who are all ex-debt collectors. Yes they read our blog religiously.

Anyway Stacey, our settlement supervisor reminded me that her old employer would almost always sue as soon as they were sent a dispute letter. That is something I should have mentioned yesterday, so I will now.

Let’s go over the phrase again.

“Send us your credit reports, tell us what to dispute, kick back and let us do the rest”.

In my humble opinion (and a decade of watching it happen) is the stupidest thing I’ve heard. It is a recipe for disaster. It's probably not going to repair your credit, and could even make it worse. So, Let’s try the analogy version today and see if it makes more sense this way.

Let’s pretend you’re being charged with a crime. Your attorney is preparing your defense, so he can keep you out of jail. You tell me which attorney you’d feel more comfortable with.

Scenario No. 1

Chop Shop Attorney: Mr. Client. Log into my super duper client gateway and tell me how you want to plead this case. Guilty or not guilty.

You: Not guilty!

Chop Shop A: Ok. Sit back let me do the rest. (and keep your fingers crossed)

You: But wait I have proof. I was at the movies with my wife, and have my ticket stubs.

Chop Shop Attorney: I don’t get into all that. Besides, my super duper client gateway doesn’t have an area for important facts. I’m just going to say not guilty.

You: Well what if they find me guilty, can you at least plea bargain, negotiate or something?

Chop Shop Attorney: Nope. We're going to just wing the not guilty thing out there and see if it sticks.

You: Honey go to the garage, find me a piece of rope and that bar of soap

——————————————————————————————————-

Scenario No. 2

Smart Attorney: Tell me where you were that night.

You: At the movies with my wife.

Smart Attorney: Can she testify to that?

You: Of course

Smart Attorney: Do you have ticket stubs?

You: Sure do.

Smart Attorney: Did you stop anywhere on the way?

You: Yes, We dropped the kids off at the babysitters, then got gas and we stopped for dinner.

Smart Attorney: Do you have any receipts?

You: Yes, here’s my bank statement which shows the dinner and the gas.

Smart Attorney: Can your babysitter testify?

You: Sure, her parents too. They were there when we dropped our kids off.

LOL aren’t scenarios fun sometimes? Too bad it's pretty close to reality.

And even though the consequences may not be as serious, a chop shop attorney could just as easily get you sued, your paychecks garnished, bank levied, liens on your house and the list goes on.

You can’t just send dispute letters Like I said yesterday, you have to consider statutes, dollar amounts, the actual collector you’re disputing with and dozens of other factors.

Just like Chop Shop Attorney, simply stating “Not guilty”, disputing without some research and planning is pretty stupid, yet consumers fall for it everyday.

I don’t know, maybe he sounds like a good one to you – that’s your call I guess.

But honestly, which one would you want defending you?
What if they were the same price, then which one would you choose?

Folks, anybody can improve their credit. ANYBODY! You just have to be smart about it.

Let me put it to you one final way. It would save us a fortune in payroll if we didn’t do our one-on-one coaching. God life would be easy. We do it because without it, we would suck just as bad as the chop shop attorney mentioned above if we didn’t.

All characters in this scenario were fictitional. No actual attorneys were hurt, or abused in the making of this blog post.

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We received an email Monday that we really need to discuss again. I say again, because we’ve talked about it over and over. That being said, we really have noticed a change over the last year in your perception of credit repair. It’s a good change – you’re becoming much smarter about your credit, and you’re asking more educated questions.

Anyway, on to our email.

Louis writes:

"Hi I hope you can help me. I have pretty bad credit and after doing a lot of research I’ve decided to probably use mycreditgroup.com

I have a question before I get started though. Can I repair my credit just by disputing the bad stuff? I know you include debt negotiation and stuff, but I don’t want to pay 1 of the debts.

It was for verizon. After signing a 2 year contract, I moved to an area where they didn’t have service. They wouldn’t let me out of the contract, but I didn’t feel I need to pay, so I didn’t.

Now its on my credit, but I refuse to pay them.

So if we remove all the other stuff and leave this one alone, can I still repair my credit?

Thank you"

Answer: These types of questions are very difficult to answer and remind me of this post. But there are so many unique factors to consider when talking about repairing somebody’s credit, so all I can do is paint some broad strokes for you.

Improving a credit profile takes a well rounded approach and it’s much more than just sending dispute letters. In fact, if I had to name the most overrated and least effective means of repairing credit – it would be those dispute letters.

Further, disputing something without careful consideration of state statutes, balances, and whether or not you own property could land you in court. It really makes my blood boil every time I see a credit repair website that says something like:

“Send us your credit reports, tell us what to dispute, sit back and let us do the rest”.

Anyway, to get a little more specific about Louise’s question. If you’re trying to repair your credit by pounding out dispute letters and nothing more, you’re probably going to be disappointed.

Assuming you did manage to remove something, you’re only going to get so far because that verizon bill is a big black eye on your credit report.

And what about good credit, do you have any? Again, negative items is one little piece of a big puzzle.

In closing, consumers are getting much smarter about their credit. But if there’s one piece of advice I hope everybody listens to, it’s that you have to focus on the whole credit picture. There is no single aspect that’s going to turn your credit profile around.

• Look at erroneous debts and have them removed
• Make some sort of payment arrangements on accurate debts
• Make sure you have a responsible mix of good credit
• Keep your balance to limit ratio in check
• Keep your inquiries to a minimum

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1. Ask MyCreditGroup: Should I Ignore Outdated Collections On My Credit Report?

Sorry, what was that last one?

Apparently the generics aren’t happening so much. In fact, we’re buying more luxury foods and other home goods than ever before. There was a good article in the Atlantic Monthly recently called Home Economics, where researchers found that while people are spending less on pamper-me stuff outside the home, they were spending tons more on luxury materials INSIDE the home.

So instead of going out to a restaurant for a nice steak and a glass of wine, those same consumers go to the grocery store and lay down a fair chunk of change for some filet mignon and a nice cabernet to take home and make themselves. When you think about it, it’s a marked improvement. You can have your delicious food without that condescending waiter or that guy at the next table talking too loudly to his disinterested girlfriend about his many business conquests. Not bad at all.

Now, the idea is that all of these consumers are still saving themselves money. If you usually spend $100 on a nice meal and wine for two at your favorite restaurant, and the same meal components cost you only $60 to buy at the store, you’ve saved yourself $40 that you can then use to pay off your credit card debt. Rinse and repeat and you’ve got a nice little debt reduction strategy that you can gloat about over those homemade gourmet meals, right?

Not necessarily. The problem is that many people don’t actually budget precise amounts. They see a luxury item that they want (steak) and think, “Well, we stopped eating out, so we can afford to do this.” And that’s true. Unless they start indulging at home even more frequently than they once did out at a restaurant. In which case they may wind up spending more than they used to when they were gadding about painting the town red.

Our food example is simplest, so let’s stick with it. If you usually eat out once a week, and instead you substitute the homemade gourmet meal, you’ve saved yourself $40 by our count, right? Except since you’re not going out to eat, you think that you’ll indulge a little more often, because why should you have to live like a peon just because the budget is tighter these days? So now you do your luxury meal thing twice a week.

Every at home luxury meal costs you $60, remember. Every night out used to cost you $100. If you bump up your luxury meal to twice a week, you’re actually spending $20 MORE every week than you used to. You might as well go back to going out every week – it’d be cheaper.

So what’s my point?

Deciding to indulge at home is no big deal – in fact, it’s a great idea, since it can still give you that nice luxurious feeling while still allowing you to set aside extra money every month to put toward improving your credit. That said, you should sit down and crunch the numbers. Make sure what started as a money-saving idea doesn’t turn into just as much of a cash sink as the indulgence you just got rid of.

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The bad part is that with the lousy credit score you now have, no one’s willing to extend a new credit line to you. They think you’ll just max out that one too. They don’t realize that you’ve learned your lesson, and you’re trying to take steps to make it better.

It’s like being in a very deep hole with nothing in it but you. You’re certain that if someone could just give you a boost, you could get a hold of the edge of the hole and get yourself out of there. But since no one is willing give you a boost, you’re stuck down there. Forever.

We think that sucks. So we’re giving you guys a boost.

MyCreditGroup figured out a way to extend a $10,000 credit line to anyone, and that can possibly make a huge difference in your credit score.

We can’t  tell you how many points you could get added to your current score with this credit line - it's the ultimate credit repair tool. So this can go one of two ways: either you give us a call and ask us, given your credit history, what this will likely do to your credit score. Or you do a little research on your own and figure out just how much a $10,000 of credit line will do for you.

It should do a lot. This isn’t just a boost. This is like giving you a ladder out of the hole.

It’s not a borrowed trade line. It’s not a piggyback. It’s a new trade line. Plain and simple.

We just figure you need a boost. And we have a lot of faith that with this hand up, you’re going to get out of that hole no problem. We could do this with little tiny boosts too, and that also works. I just know that it’s a lot more gratifying if you start off with a huge improvement when you’re so far in the hole you can’t see daylight.

But you know what? If you want more help, we’re happy to give it to you. That’s what we do all day long at MyCreditGroup.

We’ve been trying to figure out how to do this for some time. I’m incredibly excited that we’ve managed to make it happen. And I really, really want you to take advantage of it. Come on over and get your credit line today.

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Someone’s got to break the vicious cycle. We decided it should be us. So here’s what we’re going to do.

We’re going to give you one month of free credit repair services with us.

All you need is that little boost. When you start to repair your credit with us, we’ll help you do things like:

• Lower your interest rate
• Get rid of erroneous marks on your credit report
• Dispute and settle items you can’t manage on your own
• Open new lines of good credit to improve your score

Every single one of those things is going to save you money in interest, credit card fees, and late fees. You save money, which then goes to repair your credit. Your credit gets better, and you have more money to keep repairing it.

It’s another Catch-22. But this one’s working for you, not against you.

How do you get that month of free credit repair service? Simple.

Just refer a friend who needs our credit repair services too. They shouldn’t be hard to find – pretty much everyone’s having credit trouble these days. You’ll be able to help your friend and yourself out with one easy step.

It’s that easy. Refer a friend, get a month of free credit repair with us, and get on the road toward a credit report you’re proud of. Get started today. Call your credit coach and ask how they can help you, help your friends.

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1. Your Credit Repair Questions Answered
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