|
1. What is a credit report?
A credit report, or credit file disclosure,
provides you with all of the information in your credit
portfolio maintained by a consumer reporting company
that could be provided by the consumer reporting company
in a consumer report about you to a third party, such as
a lender. Your "report" also includes a record of
everyone who has received a consumer report about you
from the consumer reporting company within a certain
period of time ("inquiries"). The credit report includes
certain information that is not included in a consumer
report about you to a third party, such as the inquiries
of companies for pre-approved offers of credit or
insurance and account reviews, and any medical account
information which is suppressed for third party users of
consumer reports. You are entitled to receive a
disclosure copy of your credit file from a consumer
reporting company under Federal law and the laws of
various states.
2. What is a credit score?
A credit score is a complex mathematical
model that evaluates many types of information in a
credit file. A credit score is used by a lender to help
determine whether a person qualifies for a particular
credit card, loan, or service. Most credit scores
estimate the risk a company incurs by lending a person
money or providing them with a service –– specifically,
the likelihood that the person will make payments on
time in the next two to three years. Generally, the
higher the score, the less risk the person represents.
3. How can I get
my credit score?
You can purchase a credit score by contacting
one of the nationwide consumer credit reporting
companies directly.
You can also purchase a
credit score when you request your free annual credit
report through:
Your score is derived from the three repositories and
Fair Isaac and each of them have their own mathematical
algorithms they use to obtain a three digit number for
you which will range from 300-850.
4. What factors determine my
credit score?
35% = payment history
30% = balances
15% = credit history
10% = type of credit
10% = credit inquiries
5. I recently moved. Will that
prevent me from using the automated system to get my
credit reports?
Yes, it might. If they do not have a record of your new
address in their system and are unable to verify your
information, you will have to request your reports in
writing and provide a clear copy of your ID, Social
Security Number, & proof of your current address.
6. A friend of mine works for a
national lender, can I just have him pull my credit
report?
We don’t recommend it since that will count as
an inquiry and could reduce your FICO score even more.
We recommend that you order your reports online at any
of the consumer sites available. When doing so,
we also recommend that you obtain all three reports and
scores. You do not need any other services other than
that. We seldom advise the monitoring offered by all
three bureaus and Fair Isaac because this is a simple
and very profitable moneymaker for them and seldom truly
assists the consumer in the long run.
7. I already have my reports
and I would like you to give me a quote, what do I do?
You can fax a copy of your complete report to us at:
800-758-0801. Please attach a cover letter with your
name and contact information, including email, so we can
respond with a free confidential quote within 48 hours.
8. I have a lot of derogatory
items and fear you'll be too expensive. Do you
have a payment plan?
While we obviously prefer to be paid in full at the time
of the signing of the contract, in certain circumstances
we will agree to a payment plan. We do try very hard to
work with our clients; however experience with chronic
debtors has made us leery of becoming creditors
ourselves. Please speak with your sales rep for billing
assistance.
9. Do you guarantee that your
company will be able to remove every derogatory account
being listed about me on all three credit bureaus?
This is probably the question asked most often. And the
answer is no. We make no expressed or implied guarantee
to remove any specific derogatory information. It would
be not only unethical but also illegal for us to speak
on behalf of another company. Any company that
guarantees to give you perfect credit is lying or
breaking the law.
The credit bureaus are paid by the creditors
and have no incentive to be the consumer’s advocate. We
have to fight the bureaus, the creditors, the collection
agencies, the mortgage companies, and anyone who is
reporting negatively about you. Therefore, we have no
control over the actions of any of these companies.
Further, we must work hand in hand with the client and
the client must follow the guidelines we set out for
them which is to pay all current, open accounts on time,
every time; not to apply for any new credit without
letting us know and discussing the viability of the
application; pay off or settle on any delinquent
accounts we recommend paying and follow all payment
plans set up for the client; to forward all credit
reports and or correspondence by any creditors to us
within 10 days of receiving them; to pay down any
revolving credit accounts we recommend paying down and
closing any accounts we recommend be closed, etc. We must
work together in restoring your credit and we will
educate you along the way but we cannot guarantee that
you will have a perfect credit score or report, we will
however guarantee a significant increase in your scores
and a substantial decrease in the number of derogatory
items remaining on your report.
|
 |
10. Do you do debt
consolidation or credit counseling?
No and when at all possible, we advise against it.
Taking a loan to consolidate revolving debt and
installment loans may look like a good idea but more
often than not, the consumer takes on more debt and gets
deeper in debt and soon only bankruptcy looks appealing.
Credit counseling may be better than filing bankruptcy
but understand that it will have a negative impact on
your credit score and will be reported as such. However,
once you have completed the program, the notation of
being in credit counseling should be removed. Also
understand that all credit counseling companies do not
act ethically and fail to inform clients who have not
yet missed any payments that there is a down time of
30-90 days when their monthly payments to creditors
could be late as a result of the change into counseling.
I would only consider companies favorable reviewed by
the BBB and ask questions if you are uncomfortable with
anything. I would also highly recommend reading any of
Mary Hunt’s excellent books on debt management.
11. I am not planning on buying
a house any time soon so why should I care if my credit
is trashed or not?
Your credit is reviewed for so many things these days,
it’s important to know where you stand so you know your
getting the best deal possible. Cell phone companies
pull credit, banks pull your credit to open even a
savings account, a future employer might pull it to see
how you handle your finances and to see if they deem you
to be “responsible,” your insurance company might pull
it to determine what your premium is going to be since
studies have shown that consumers with low FICO scores
have more accidents than those with higher scores, a
landlord will more than likely pull your credit when you
apply to move into a new apartment, your credit card
company routinely pulls your credit to see if they want
to continue to do business with you or if they should
increase the interest rate and lower your credit limit
based on your credit report or if they should lower the
interest rate and increase the limit. These three
numbers have a huge impact on your life style and it’s
not about the life styles of the rich and famous
anymore. Everyone has credit issues – income does not
make one incapable of having bad credit and being
relatively poor does not mean bad credit. It’s all about
how you handle the debt you have and not so much by how
high or low your level of income.
12. I’ve had my score “pulled”
by two different mortgage lenders around the same time
and the scores differ by 50 more points. How can that
happen?
There are many versions of the scoring software out
there – old and newer versions. Because the newer
versions cost more or due to expense of purchasing the
newer version of software, the two companies could just
be using different versions which have new and old
mathematical algorithms being utilized. It’s like saying
why does a 2004 Lexus drive smoother than a 1995 Lexus.
Additionally, all three credit repositories have their
own version of scoring software as do other third party
companies, such as mortgage lenders, automobile lenders
and telecommunications. They do not play by the same
rules, nor do they consult with each other on the
fairness of their software. This is an area that Daly
Financial hopes to one day successfully lobby against so
that all information regarding how you are scored is
placed fairly out on the table so that we know everyone
is getting a fair shake in regards to their financial
future.
16. What do I do if I've been a victim of "Identity
Theft?"
If you've been a victim of or think you may have
been a victim of Identity Theft or fraud...
-
Immediately file a police report in the jurisdiction
where you believe the crime occurred
-
Contact all 3 credit reporting agencies and place a
security fraud alert on your file. A "Hawk" alert
monitors any attempts to obtain credit using your name
or Social Security Number
-
Contact your credit card companies and financial
institutions and alert them to be wary of any out of the
ordinary purchases or withdrawals. If your wallet was
lost/stolen, cancel all your credit cards and have them
replaced immediately.
13. What about companies that
claim they can improve my credit report for a fee?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
cautions consumers to be wary of companies that make
claims regarding credit repair. These companies,
commonly called credit clinics, don't do anything for
consumers that consumers cannot do for themselves at
little or no cost. Beware of any organization that
offers to create a new identity and credit file for you.
The FTC and state attorneys general have filed actions
against those who pursue these fraudulent practices.
Here are some warning signs that the FTC and others say
consumers should look out for to determine if they might
be dealing with a credit clinic:
- An organization that "guarantees" to remove late
payments, bankruptcies, or similar information from a
credit report
- An organization that charges a lot of money to
repair credit
- A company that asks the consumer to write to the
credit reporting company and repeatedly seek
verification of the same credit account information in
the file, month after month, even though the
information has been determined to be correct
- An organization that is reluctant to give out
their address or one that pushes you to make a
decision immediately
For a helpful brochure about credit clinics, you can
write to the Federal Trade Commission, Sixth and
Pennsylvania Avenues, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004 and
request a brochure titled "Credit Repair: Self Help May
Be Best."
15. How secure is my
information?
Due to the extremely confidential nature of
our clients’ personal information, privacy is of the
utmost importance to the Daly Financial
Group. Therefore, we take the most extreme precautions
to insure that our clients’ personal and financial
details are kept under lock and key. We do not sell,
rent, share or disclose any information regarding
personally identifiable information about you to third
parties without your prior consent. If you have
given us consent to use your name and personal
information and wish us to cease doing so, please
contact us and we will immediately remove your
information from our database and shred all relating
documents. If you have any questions regarding our
privacy policy, please contact us and we will be happy
to discuss this with you.
Neil Daly, CEO
The Daly Financial Group
 |
