Fast, Fair, Credit Repair - Credit Repair Services

    Helpful Reminders

• Pay your bills on time.
• Keep revolving balances below 50%.
• Pay off debt rather than moving it     around.
• Bring past due balances current.
• Don’t arbitrarily close accounts     without advice.
• Open new accounts responsibly.
• Use your new accounts in     moderation.
• Do your credit shopping in a focused     period of time.
• Never let anyone else use your name     or social security number to apply for     credit.
• Credit scores improve over time.
• Recognize that it's ok to request your     own credit report from a credit     reporting agency or the myFiCO.com     website without affecting your score.

FAQ - FREQUENTY ASKED QUESTIONS

QUICK LINKS:

» How were credit scores developed?
» What is credit scoring?
» What are the key factors influencing your credit score?
» Who are the national consumer reporting agencies?
» What is a credit bureau score?
» How do mortgage lenders use credit scores in underwriting their loans?
» How long does negative credit stay in your file?
» How do I obtain a copy of my credit report?
» What are my credit file rights under state and federal law?

How Were Credit Scores Developed?

Fair Isaac used credit data on millions of consumers and applied complex mathematical formulas to perform extensive research into credit patterns that forecast repayment performance.
Fair Isaac identified distinctive credit patterns that correspond to a likelihood a consumer will make payments as agreed or be 90+ days delinquent in the next 24 months.
These credit patterns were refined to determine the items or combination of items most predictive of risk for a mortgage loan.

What Is Credit Scoring?

It is a quick, accurate and consistent scientific method for assessing risk based on information stored in a single national Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) file.
It weighs and balances approximately 40 to 50 varying pieces of information stored within the consumer’s CRA file to quickly and precisely assess the risk of repayment of debt.
It significantly increases the level of predictive power to determine a Good payer from a *Bad Payer* (a Bad Payer is defined by Fair Isaac as a consumer with a 90+ day late in his or her file).

Credit Scoring is Risk Assessment based on the consumer’s Payment History and Credit Utilization, not their job history or how much they make.

What Are the Key Factors Influencing
Credit Scores?

Who Are the National Consumer Reporting Agencies?

The Three National Consumer Reporting Agencies are:

•

Experian

•

Equifax

•

TransUnion

What Is A Credit Bureau Score?

It is a “Snapshot” of the consumer’s reported payment history and credit use at the moment that the credit report is obtained from the CRA. The score is a composite of all of the consumer’s good and bad credit data; no one factor alone will be the sole cause of an unacceptable score.

It is the summation of what your past payment performance and current utilization of credit say about the level of risk you represent to the lender of being 90+ days late or more during the next 24 months.

Credit Scores are NOT stored in the consumer’s credit file as they change as often as new data is reported to the CRA.

Classic FICO scores range from a low of 300 to a high of 850.

The higher the score the lower the risk indicated to the lender.

How Do Mortgage Lenders Use Credit Scores in Underwriting Their Loans?

Credit Scores are used as one piece of the underwriting puzzle; it is not the only factor considered in approving a loan application. Examples of other factors are job stability, income, liquid reserves, type of loan product and value and type of property.

There is no specific “cut off score” - lenders each decide the level of risk they are willing to accept based on all the underwriting criteria and compensating factors.

Credit Scores take the subjectivity out of underwriting loans helping lenders better prevent discrimination and comply with the Fair Lending regulations.

Credit Scores allow the lender to make more credit available to the public at a lower cost when they can judge risk more effectively.

How Long Does Negative Credit Stay in Your File?

Judgments; Chapter 7 & 11 Bankruptcies stay in the credit file for 10 years from the date of filing; a Chapter 13 stays for 7 yrs.
Tax liens stay in a file for 7 years after being paid.
Late payments and charge-offs stay in the file for 7 years from delinquency.
Collection accounts stay in a credit file for 7 years and 6 months from the date the account went delinquent.
Just because a negative account is paid or satisfied it does not get removed from the file. It will be shown as paid, 0 Balance, but will still remain in the file for the same referenced amount of time appropriate for the type of account.

How Do I Obtain A Copy Of My Credit Report?

Three ways to get your credit report.

    • Dedicated Website.
          » www.annualcreditreport.com

    • A Toll-free telephone number.
          » 877-322-8228

    • A Postal Address.
          » Annual Credit Report Request Service
             P. O Box 105281
             Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

Ordering Direct from a CRA will cost money.

What Are My Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law?

What are my credit file rights under state and federal law?

You have a right to dispute inaccurate information in your credit report by contacting the credit bureau directly. However, neither you nor any ''credit repair'' company or credit repair organization has the right to have accurate, current, and verifiable information removed from your credit report. The credit bureau must remove accurate, negative information from your report only if it is over 7 years old. Bankruptcy information can be reported for 10 years.

You have a right to obtain a copy of your credit report from a credit bureau. You may be charged a reasonable fee. There is no fee, however, if you have been turned down for credit, employment, insurance, or a rental dwelling because of information in your credit report within the preceding 60 days. The credit bureau must provide someone to help you interpret the information in your credit file. You are entitled to receive a free copy of your credit report if you are unemployed and intend to apply for employment in the next 60 days, if you are a recipient of public welfare assistance, or if you have reason to believe that there is inaccurate information in your credit report due to fraud.

You have a right to sue a credit repair organization that violates the Credit Repair Organization Act. This law prohibits deceptive practices by credit repair organizations.

You have the right to cancel your contract with any credit repair organization for any reason within 3 business days from the date you signed it.

Credit bureaus are required to follow reasonable procedures to ensure that the information they report is accurate. However, mistakes may occur.

You may, on your own, notify a credit bureau in writing that you dispute the accuracy of information in your credit file. The credit bureau must then reinvestigate and modify or remove inaccurate or incomplete information. The credit bureau may not charge any fee for this service. Any pertinent information and copies of all documents you have concerning an error should be given to the credit bureau.

If the credit bureau's reinvestigation does not resolve the dispute to your satisfaction, you may send a brief statement to the credit bureau, to be kept in your file, explaining why you think the record is inaccurate. The credit bureau must include a summary of your statement about disputed information with any report it issues about you.

The Federal Trade Commission regulates credit bureaus and credit repair organizations. For more information contact:

The Public Reference Branch
Federal Trade Commission
Washington, D.C. 20580